Cultural Studies
Analysis of Daily Life
Media, conflicts and questions from daily life influence our behaviour, thinking as well as culture. The approach of cultural studies is to understand the concepts of culture through an analysis of daily life considering conflicts, questions and media. Especially media, e.g. visuals when used in a research process, enable deep insights into cultural and intercultural processes, constructs and developments as well as the political, social and economical history. Overall when doing research the following five subjects have to be incorporated into it:
1 Context
In which context do you build or identify culture? It is not possible to understand any cultural practice, behaviour or thinking without its context: the individual relations between the historical, political, technical, social and economical situation.
2 Theory
When thinking about the context, what kind of theory will you need to explain culture? Understanding and exlaining intercultural scenarios in depth needs culture specific knowledge about historical, political, social and economical developments of different personal and individual stories.
3 Intervention
The analysis of intercultural scenarios integrates theory and context. It is extra important to gain as outcome of an intercultural analysis or a cultural study knowledge that can be used to enable interventions and changes.
4 Interdisciplinarity
Culture as a construct of different personal identities and stories including religions, traditions, orientations, politics, behaviours, desires, memories and imaginations shows a high complexity and interdisciplinarity. Approaching interdisciplinarity means to find a disciplinarity that privileges certain classes of elements as a basis of research.
5 Selfreflection
It is mandatory necessary hat researcher as well as educator and trainer know about their own understanding of theories in a research process. So, how does your own cultural background influence the intercultural scenario or the outcome of a cultural study? Processing selfreflection through media, e.g. visuals is a highly effective approach.
Selfreflection in the Research Lab