CCST2220: Cultural Studies Theory
Assessment

Mid-Semester Test:
One mid-term test on the material covered in the course lectures, in the set text, British Cultural Studies and the online readings set during weeks 1-5. This test will count for 40% of the final grade and will occur in the normal lecture time (Tuesday 2.00 pm) on September 7th, Week 7.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM LAST YEARS TEST

Short answer questions

Name the book in which Richard Hoggart compares pre-war British working class culture with post-war mass culture.

For the first two decades of its history, British cultural studies was dominated by the issues of class.  Name the two political issues that Chapter 7 of British Cultural Studies suggests have challenged class for attention since that time.  

The work of a particular European Marxist theorist helped to shift orthodox positions away from seeing ideology as determining and irresistable, and towards emphasising negotiation and consensus.  What is the name of this theorist?

Give me one criticism made of cultural studies' appropriation of ethnographic methodologies for audience studies.

Among the historical changes implicated in the shift in the definitions of culture since the nineteenth century are the breakdown of the aristocracy, and the democratisation of education.  Can you name two more?  

Name two areas where feminist interventions have made particularly significant contributions to cultural studies. 

Multiple choice

The politics of post-Thatcher Britain given the name of "new Times" responded to dramatic changes in British society, particularly

a) the decline of the Labor party

b) the decline of traditional working class politics

c) the rise of entrepreneurial feminism

The accusation of technological determinism Williams levels at Mc Luhan is provoked by accounts of television which

a) ignore the concept of "flow"

b) assume television has a determining effect on viewers' behaviour

c) ascribe to television a set of intentions and effects which are independent of hsitory

The notion that ideology is a false consciousness which intervenes between us and the real conditions in which we exist comes from:

a) structuralism

b) Gramscian theories of hegemony

c) Classic Marxism 

The 'diasporic' identity is

a) a feature peculiar to postmodern cultural identities

b) an identity which recognises more than one location, home or language

c) the effect of migration upon identity.

Research Assignment:
One research assignment of 2,500-3,000 words which applies the cultural studies approaches presented in the course to a topic of the student's own choosing. This will account for 50% of the final grade.

Tutorial Participation:
Tutorial attendance and participation. This will be allocated on the basis of students’ preparation for and attendance at tutorials. It will account for 10% of the final grade

All assessment in this course will assume you are familiar with the basics of essay writing, and can:  

• write clear and intelligible statements,  
• use the grammatical conventions of formal essay style,  
• use the standard punctuation marks, and  
• construct an argument. 

The School of English, Media Studies and Art History uses MLA style, and you are expected to use this for all your assignments.  A Style Sheet summarising MLA style and giving examples to use is available for free outside the School Office on the fourth floor of the Michie building.  

All assignments should be submitted using the School Cover Sheet, which is also available from outside the School Office. You should get a copy of this early, and make yourself familiar with the general guidelines for submitting assignments you will find on the back of it.  You can also see these guidelines on the "Presentation and submission of assignments" page on the School website.  From this page, or from this link, you can also download a copy of the Cover Sheet in MS Word format, to cut and paste into and print off with your assignment.