Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Introduction to Cultural Studies 2 Credits Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026
Syllabus for Introduction to Cultural Studies 2 credits
The University sets this paper under Scheme II only, so your college may not run it.
Module 1: Culture, Meaning, and Identity
- 1 Concept of Culture; Emergence and brief historical development of Cultural Studies
- 2 Signs and Representation- Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes (Denotation and Connotation)
- 3 Michel Foucault-Discourse, Power and Identity; Homi K. Bhabha- Hybridity
- 4 Representation of Gender and Identity in Everyday Culture
Module 2: Popular Culture, Media, and Society
- 1 Culture, ideology, and popular culture
- 2 High culture vs. low culture debate
- 3 Stuart Hall- Audience and Interpretation (Encoding and Decoding meaning)
- 4 Jean Baudrillard- Media, Reality, and Simulation
- Pedagogical Approach: Trainers are advised to introduce key concepts at a basic conceptual level, focusing on essential ideas rather than detailed theoretical frameworks. Classroom teaching should link the concepts to familiar examples from popular culture, media, and everyday life to support understanding.
- Discussions and short applied activities may be used to encourage learner engagement and develop foundational critical awareness.
Reference Books
- 1 Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers, Paladin, 1973.
- 2 Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 2008.
- 3 Durham, Meenakshi Gigi, and Douglas M. Kellner, editors. Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks. Blackwell Publishing, 2001.
- 4 Fiske, John. Understanding Popular Culture. Unwin Hyman, 1989.
- 5 Hall, Stuart. “Encoding/Decoding.” The Cultural Studies Reader, edited by Simon During, Routledge, 1993, pp. 90–103.
- 6 Nayar, Pramod K. An Introduction to Cultural Studies. Viva Books, 2008.
- 7 Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 6th ed., Pearson, 2014.
- 8 Willis, Paul. Common Culture: Symbolic Work at Play in the Everyday Cultures of the Young. Open University Press, 1990.