Reconciling Hall with discourse,written in the shadows of ‘“Confederate” and Rainbow Flags

ABSTRACT

This essay addresses Stuart Hall and discourse theory, focusing on his essay “Signification, representation, ideology.” Reflecting upon recent events involving representation and identity—US legalization of gay marriage, murders at a gay nightclub, removal of the “Rebel Flag” from the South Carolina state capitol, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign—I attempt to destabilize the counterproductive dualism of material/discourse in Hall’s critique of poststructural discourse theory. Finding amenability between Hall and Foucaultian discourse theory, I describe Hall’s utility for discourse scholars, such as his perspectives on ideological practices and generation of new discourses as an interventionist act.     

Thinking Culture and Cultural Studies—from/of the Global South

ABSTRACT

This essay invites us to consider the need to rethink culture and some theoretical/intellectual assumptions in Cultural Studies when we bring up the issue of the “Global South.” The essay makes a case for “going South” in Cultural Studies. It advances a notion of the South that is based on a frame of dispossession. The first section offers a historical overview of the Global South and considers where the Global South is today. The second section attempts to rethink the notion of ‘culture’ and some intellectual orientations in Cultural Studies when we move to the Global South.     

Object lessons: Using trans porn in class to explore gender fluidity

Gender categories and gender fluidity can be explicitly performed and demonstrated in sexually explicit media such as pornography. In this class lesson, a rhetoric/performance studies class on pornography focuses on trans* performers in scenes. A critical communication pedagogical approach is used to encourage dialogue and intersectional analyses of trans* identities and erotics in the scenes.

Courses: Media Studies, Porn Studies, Popular Culture, Critical/Cultural Communication, Gender in Communication, LGBTQ Studies in Communication, Sex Communication

Objectives: Students will (1) gain knowledge about gender identity, sexuality, and sex work; (2) increase their skills in critical thinking on the fluidity of gender and sexuality; and (3) demonstrate the capacity to be more attentive to trans issues in conversation.     

Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model and the circulation of journalism in the digital landscape

ABSTRACT

Notions of circuitry are central to Stuart Hall’s conceptualization of how communities, cultures, and media constitute each other. This is very explicit in his encoding/decoding model from 1973. Hall here reserves the term “circulation” for a delimited process within a broader argument for a circular movement, or a “reproduction” of culture through media. In this broader view, however, Hall sees circulation as both technological and hermeneutical processes through which meaning and/or ideology move into and out of discursive form. The encoding/decoding text(s) refer on several occasions to “current affairs” but later applications of this model have somewhat neglected the sphere of journalism. This paper consequently situates Hall’s notions of circulation in relation to new modes of circulating journalism on participatory digital platforms. Given the status of Hall’s model, the overall goal of this re-reading is twofold: seeing Hall through contemporary issues puts into perspective key aspects of Hall’s thinking, while Hall’s framework in turn helps illuminate important characteristics of how journalism is ascribed meaning in a digital landscape. The paper ultimately argues that while Hall’s insistence on seeing the circulation of journalism within a broader circuit of culture is as important as ever, some of his main tenets and assumptions need to be rethought and supplemented in light of newer developments.     

Reference Sources and Research Methods

Lorna M. Daniells' Business Information Sources (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976---$14.95)

Gene V. Glass, ed. Evaluation Studies: Review Annual Volume I, 1976 (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1976---$29.95)

The Concise and Comprehensive Reference Guide to Black Journalism, Radio and Television, Educational and Cultural Organizations in the USA, Africa, and the Caribbean (Black List, Box 3552, New York, N.Y. 10017---$50.00, two volumes, paper)

Ray B. Browne, ed. Abstracts of Popular Culture: A Quarterly Publication of International Popular Phenomena (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1976---$50.00 per year/$90.00 for two years/$200 for five years)     

Affective learning,teacher clarity,and student motivation as a function of attributional confidence

This study examined the differences in student affective learning, teacher clarity, and student motivation as a function of attributional confidence. More specifically, the degree to which students’ report being able to predict the behavior of his/her teacher should be related to affect toward course and instructor, teacher clarity, and student motivation. Results indicated significant positive correlations between attributional confidence and affective learning, student motivation, and teacher clarity. Results are discussed in terms of implications for Uncertainty Reduction Theory.     

Book reviews

Christiane Brosius and Melissa Butcher (Eds.), Image Journeys: Audio‐Visual Media & Cultural Change in India New Delhi: Thousand Oaks; & London: Sage Publications, 1999, 339 pp.

Clement Y. K. So and Joseph M. Chan (Eds.), Press and Politics in Hong Kong: Case Studies from 1967 to 1997. Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999, 539 pp.     

Stuart Hall at the Open University

ABSTRACT

Accounts of the influence of Stuart Hall's thought on subsequent developments tend to neglect his work at the Open University. This unjustifiable neglect is illustrated by the example of his contribution to the course on Beliefs and Ideology, especially his article on 'Religious ideologies and social movements in Jamaica' [Hall, S. (1985). Religious ideologies and social movements in Jamaica. In R. Bocock & K. Thompson (Eds.), Religion and ideology (pp. 269–297). Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press].     

英国文化马克思主义与二战后媒介研究的生成

"媒介研究"是英国文化研究发轫以降的一大核心旨趣,其兴起与二战后英国"丰裕社会"的来临、媒介文化的爆炸以及"新左派"诞生的特定历史情境紧密相关。"文化马克思主义"旨在破除教条主义对"经济基础与上层建筑"理论模式的机械阐释,强调从一种隐喻意义上理解二者之间的复杂交互关系,并且在社会历史总过程中将"文化"重构为一种"日常的"生活方式。霍加特、威廉斯以及青年霍尔的早期研究充分展现了"文化马克思主义"在媒介研究领域的理论特性。     

Theory stranded at the borders,or, Cultural Studies from the southern fringes

ABSTRACT

Isolating certain critical blind spots that one encounters in studying lifeworlds of the global South, this essay calls for: (1) a grasp of the irreducible singularity of each historical formation as an essential aspect of southern Cultural Studies, so that its lessons are not readily erased, dismissed as signs of failure, or bracketed as idiosyncratic exceptions to universalized standards; and (2) the recognition of volatile and illicit forms of popular agency—emerging in friction with the security-obsessed governmentality of the borderlands, the exclusionary institutions of civil society, and the normativities of citizenship—as legitimate heralds of a global political futurity.     

Media in the Devetopingk Countries

John A. Lent Topics in Third World Mass Communications: Rural and Developmental Journalism, Cultural Imperialism, Research and Education (Asian Research Service, G.P.O. Box 2232, Hong Kong, 1979—$6.95, paper)

Techniques for Improving Educational Rradio Programmes by James M. Theroux (Educational Studies and Documents No.: 30,1978—-&3.25, 43 pp. )

Communication Policies in The Republican of Korea by Hann Bae-ho (1978– $4.00, paper,50.pp)     

Foreign and International Media

G. Stuart Adam's Journalism, Communication and the Law (Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall of Canada Ltd., 1976---price not given, paper)

T.J. Allard's The C.A.B. Story: 1926- 1976, Private Broadcasting in Canada (Ottawa: Canadian Association of Broadcasters, 1976---apparently free on request, paper)

Comptroller General of the United States, Suggestions to Improve Management of Radio Free Europe' Radio Liberty (Washington: General Accounting Office, 1976---either free or $1.00 depending on your classification (see 7:150), paper)

Television and the February 1974 General Election by Trevor Pateman (1974, 78 pp., $2.60)

Television News by Richard Collins (1976, 56 pp., $2.60)

Benno Signitzer's Regulation of Direct Broadcasting from Satellites (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1976---$12.50)

Robert F. Amove (ed.) Educational Television: A Policy Critique and Guide for Developing Countries (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1976---$15.00)

B.D. Dhawan's Economics of Television in India (New Delhi: S. Cahnd & Co. Ltd., 1974--Rs 35, current conversion to dollars not known but about $7.00)

Broadcasting in Asia and the Pacific (Philadelphia: Temple University Press/Heinemann Educational Books, 1977--$25.00/and a yet to be announced lower paperback price)

Guided Press in Southeast Asia: National Development vs. Freedom of Expression (Buffalo: SUNY at Buffalo Council on International Studies, Special Studies Series, 1976---price not yet announced)

Cultural Pluralism in Malaysia (Dekalb, III.: Northern Illinois University Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Special Report No. 14, 1976--price not yet announced)     

The forced choice as a measure of television station image

That intangible attribute of a broadcast station commonly called its “image” isn't quite as hard to measure as that other intangible asset, “good will.” Nevertheless, measurement isn't simple, and the standards for measurement are not yet agreed upon. In the following article, a new technique of indexing a station's image without special training and supervision of the respondents is illustrated. Malachi C. Topping, author of “The Cultural Orientation of Certain ‘Western’ Characters on Television” in the Fall, 1965 issue of the Journal, earned his Ph.D. at Ohio State University and is Assistant Professor of Radio and Television at Oklahoma State University.     

Other Foreign/International

Michael Balfour's Propaganda in War 1939-1945: Organizations, Policies and Publics in Britain and Germany (London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979---$37.50)

Glen Fisher's American Communication in a Global Society (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing, 1979---$17.50)

Studies of Broadcasting (NHK Theoretical Research Centre, Radio & TV Culture Research Institute, Nippon Hoso Kyokai, 2-1-1, Atago, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, Japan---apparently free on request, especially if you have some research of interest to exchange)

Eighteenth Report by the International Telecommunication Union on Telecommunication and the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Geneva: ITU, 1979---5 swiss france, paper)

Robert N. Pierce's Keeping the Flame: Media and Government in Latin America (New York: Hastings House, 1979---$14.50/7.95)

Godwin C. Chu and Francis I.K. Hsu, eds. Moving a Mountain: 'Cultural Change in China (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1979--- $16.00)

Intergovernmental Conference on Communication Policies in Asia and Oceania (Paris: Unesco, 1979---limited distribution [whatever that means in practice] with no price given, paper)

Miriam Williford, Source Directory: Assistance to Third World Broaecasters (Ford Foundation, P.O. Box 559, Naugatuck, Conn. 06770---$5.95, loose-leaf binder)     

Foreign and International

Isaiah Litvak and Christopher Maule's Cultural Sovereignty, The Time and Reader's Digest Case in Canada (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1974---$13.50)

Survey of Public Attitudes Towards the Computer (Ottawa: Department of Communications, 1973---$1.00, paper)

Bernard Rubin's Propaganda and Public Opinion: Strategies of Persuasion (Middletown, Conn.: Xerox Educational Publications, 1973---copies on request, paper)

Jim Richstad, Michael McMillan, and Ralph Barney's The Pacific Islands Press: A Directory (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1973---no price given, paper)

Judith Tegger Kildow's Intelsat: Policy-Maker's Dilemma (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/Heath, 1973---$12.50)     

Developing Proactive Partnerships

Summary

Enhancing diversity programs and initiatives has been a challenge for higher education and academic libraries. Financial constraints at colleges and universities have made it essential to develop academic partnerships with other departments on campus to exchange ideas and combine resources. One academic diversity program, which has been around for approximately 30 years, is Minority Cultural Centers. Minority Cultural Centers provide an invaluable support service for minority students. This article provides background and current knowledge about Minority Cultural Centers and obstacles these centers face as we head into the 21^st century. A sample proposal, outreach ideas and marketing strategies will help librarians get started into developing a long lasting relationship with Minority Cultural Centers.     

Book reviews

Interactive Television. TV of the future or the Future of TV Eds. Jens F. Jensen & Cathy Toscan, Media & Cultural Studies 1, Aalborg University Press, Aalborg, Denmark, 1999, ISBN 87–7307–625–2 / ISSN 1399–1752 http://www.forlag.auc.dk/en/

Killer Content: Strategies for Web Content and E‐Commerce written by Mai‐Ian Tomsen. Addison‐Wesley, 2000, 224 pages, ISBN: 0201657864. http://www.aw.com

The Business of Digital Television written by Chris Forrester. Focal Press, Oxford, Auckland, Boston, Johannesburg, Melbourne, New Delphi, 2000. ISBN 0 240 51606 0. http://www.focalpress.com     

From University Heights to Cooperstown: Halls of Fame and American Memory

ABSTRACT

This article examines the development and function of American halls of fame as cultural memory institutions. By comparing the Hall of Fame for Great Americans with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the author posits that halls of fame illuminate the ways in which cultural memory institutions can, through an archival process, preserve, instill, and/or distort a national memory.     

SNAP Challenge in the communication classroom

Courses Health Communication, Gender Communication, Communication and Food, Communication and Diversity, Ethnography, Critical/Cultural Studies, or Qualitative Methods

Objectives

• Explain, assess, and critique the social, cultural, and political discourses related to food.

• Analyze how communication about food reflects and influences issues of inequality.

• Examine and alter damaging racist, sexist, and classist stereotypes of low income people and SNAP recipients.

• Practice composing scholarship informed by communication theories and personal health behavior.

     

International Media

Charles Roetter, The Art of Psychological Warfare:1914-1945 (New York: Stein and Day, 1974–$8.95).

Benjamin Draper (ed.) Pacific Nations Broadcasting III and Bibliography (Broadcast Inudstry Conference, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, Cal. 94132—$10.00, paper)

Structures of Television by Nicholas Garnham (48 pp.)

Light Entertainment by Richard Dyer (43 pp.):

The Cultural Policy of the United Republic of Tanzania by L.A. Mbughuni (72 pp., paper, $3.30):

Cultural Policy in Hungary (79 pp., paper, $3.30):

Culturalyolicy in Liberia by Kenneth Y. Best (59 pp., paper, $2.65):

Cultural Policy in Romania by Ion Dodu Balan (70 pp., paper, $3.30):

Unesco in Perspective by Rene Maheu (129 pp., paper, $3.30):

For Books: Unesco and its Programme by Emile Delavenay (74 pp., paper, $1.00):