please enjoy Chapter 2

1. CH2: Culture,
Communication and
Representation
Instructed by Chheng Dolla
Contact: dolla.chheng@gmail.com
P/H: 0883020847

2. Course Outline

3. 2.0 Introduction

4. Culture is often
defined in
interrelation to
Communication
It means that Culture is passed on via communication and
communication reflects one′s culture!
“Culture is
communication
and
communication
is culture”

5. 2.1 The Organization of Meaning
• Raymond Williams: argues that the patterning of
meaning is a crucial starting point for cultural analysis:
• Spoken, Written and Visual Context : A ‘text’, quite
simply, is any cultural item that can be ‘read’ or
interpreted. These can be (semi)permanent, such as
books, letters or television shows, or can be more
temporal such as someone speaking or watching a live
football match.
• Communication and meaning: communication refers
to the process of making meaning which related with
Sender, Message and Receiver.

6. Con’t….
• Structuralism and the order of meaning: Structuralists
see culture as an ordered system or structure . Culture
is presented as a system of coded meanings that are
produced and reproduced through social interaction.
• Political economy, ideology and meaning: What are the
connections between ownership and control of the
media and cultural transmission? What is the role of
the economic infrastructure in the dissemination of
ideas? What are the links between technology transfer
and the transfer of knowledge?
• Ideology: a set of beliefs on which a political
or economic system is based, or which
strongly influence the way
people behave → philosophy

7. 2.2 Language, representation, power and inequality
• Representation and communication of cultural meaning
takes place through language because of two sets of
standardizations: the customary meanings attached to
words and the customary ways of speaking in given social
and cultural settings.
• Cultural politics: (Power) is a set of shared views and
normative judgments held by a population regarding
its political system. The notion of political culture does not
refer to attitudes toward specific actors, such as a president
or prime minister, but rather it denotes how people view
the political system as a whole and their belief in
its legitimacy.
• Language and class:
• Language, race and ethnicity

8. Con’t….
• Language and gender:
Male Female
Hierarchies Network
Big Talk Small
Powerful Powerless

9. 2.3 Mass communication and representation
• Mass media representations of race and ethnicity
• The mass media and representation

10. Con’t…
• Mass media representations of gender
• Mass media representation of celebrity
• Audiences: a group of people who come
to watch and listen to
someone speaking or performing in public
• Reception: a particular type of welcome for
someone, or a particular type of reaction to their
ideas, work etc → receive