Cultural Studies focuses on two particular systems of meaning-making, i.e. a set of beliefs, ideas, practices, etc. These two systems are Humanism and Poststructuralism.
In particular, Humanism has been extremely important to Western culture’s development, and so has become naturalised. Humanism therefore can be considered to be a ‘common sense’ way of interacting with the world; Poststructuralism was created in response to critically analyse and engage with Humanism. (Sullivan, n.d.)
Humanism is defined by Mansfield and Fuery as “the basic value system of the traditional humanities… most closely associated with the study of human arts and cultures, literature, history, fine arts, philosophy, and languages”. (as cited in Sullivan, n.d., pp.1) This means that humanism is “a human-centered system”. (Sullivan, n.d., pp.2) Humanism is atheistic, it was created in response to the lessening belief in God as the centre of the universe, during the Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries). (Sullivan, n.d.)
Humanism can be considered a type of universalism. Habermas, who Sullivan (n.d.) describes as a ‘common-sense’ style philosopher, argues that at the most basic level humans all share similar characteristics - that is, that we are all human. Therefore our different ethnicities, gender, sexuality, class, etc. is secondary to the fact that we are all human and so are capable of “enlightened progressive thinking”. (Sullivan, n.d., pp.12)
Most importantly in regards to Cultural Studies, Humanism is rooted in dichotomous logic - it operates on a binary level or “a series of oppositions” (Sullivan, n.d., pp.13) of same/opposite or true/not-true. For example, Mind/Body, Reason/Emotion, or Man/Woman. (Sullivan, n.d.; Spencer, 2004)
Cultural Stud...
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...ognitions, comparisons, exclusions, demarcations, divisions, alignments and realignments.” (Spencer, 2004, pp.23)
Cultural Studies aims to engage with Humanist theory, i.e. the natural, common sense way of looking at the world, by using Poststructuralism to disrupt and denaturalise the Humanist view.
Works Cited
Belsey, C. (2002). Post-structuralism: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Grosz, E. A. (1994). Volatile bodies: Toward a corporeal feminism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Lewis, J. (2002). The Body. In Cultural studies: The basics (pp. 294-304). London: SAGE Publications.
Spencer, B. (2006). The body as fiction/Fiction as a way of thinking. Ph.D. Thesis. Retrieved from http://www.bethspencer.com/body-as-fiction.html
Sullivan, N. (n.d.). Humanism and Poststructuralism. In Lecture notes. Sydney: Macquarie University.
Humanism is a literary and linguistic movement cultivated during the Renaissance that was founded on revising classical Latin and Greek texts, styles, and values. Humanists encouraged looking to the past to discover what is good and how people should act including leaders. Many humanist wrote about how they believe a prince should act and what he should do to be successful in his rule. Most humanists believed that princes should be virtuous in order to be successful rulers as many ancient leaders were. However, Machiavelli in his work The Prince uses history as a part of his argument to undermine some humanist ideals such as being purely virtuous and morality being the key to good government but also uses it to promote humanist ideals such as looking to the past to discover how a leader should behave.
The book, Humanism: A Very Short Introduction, most definitely gives a clear and precise understanding of what exactly Humanism is and consists of. There are several different meanings behind the term and it means more than a person’s opinion on whether or not God truly exists. Humanists are very open-minded and believe that science and reasoning are tools that should be used to evaluate the human lifestyle. The history of humanism dates back to Ancient Greece and the days of Confucius who believed in the Golden Rule which is well known as being, “Do not unto another that you would not have him do unto you” (Law, 9). It appears ironic that both religious groups and humanists embrace such rule. In the beginning of the book, the author gives seven characteristics to help the reader better understand what humanism actually is.
Humanism is a philosophy that involves the search between truth and morality, through humans means in support of human interests. Humanism rejects transcendental justifications, such as the supernatural and divine disclosure. A common form of this rejections would be The Bible. This philosphy also tends to be even-handed, seeking to make all people equal in terms of wealth and social status. The movie advocates all of these features of humanism.
Humanism is the idea of human individuality, knowledge, and facts based on evidence instead of superstition. Humanism started trending when the rich hired humanists to teach their children. (By)The nobility and royal families then spread propaganda to the people for humanism, so that the people would believe in themselves more and trust that the king is not a tyrant.
Overall Christian humanism relates to the Renaissance spirit of emphasizing individualism but exemplifying Christian ideas as well and it challenged the Church as Christian humanist sought a truer way of Christianity which sparked religious reformations17
Humanism is the idea that a higher power is not superior. People who believe in humanism reject religion and instead believe that the church does not hold all the power, but people and humanity do. Humanism started during the Renaissance Period around the 14th century.
Humanism was more of a code of civil conduct, a theory of education, and a scholarly discipline more than a philosophical system. Italian humanists were concerned chiefly with human values and interest as distinct from but not opposed from religions otherworldly values (Kleiner, 2010).
And this is where Humanism can in. Humanism was the belief that man has beauty, worth, and dignity. Humanism was not a religious or philosophical stance, but a form of scholarship: humanists were united in their enthusiasm for and interrogation of documents, but they disagreed profoundly about the meaning and value of those documents (Spence 56). From the first beginnings of the printing press, humanist writers showed active interest in the new technology and saw it as a means to disseminate the texts of ancient and modern literature and learning ( Ashcroft 3). So Humanists was trying to tell the people that life on earth should be cherished. The Catholic rulers wanted to extend their power and control everything in the Church. The Reformation ended the Catholic Christianity. Their religion was for everyone in the church. So Martin Luther argued and challenged the pope and the Catholic Church. Luther argued that the Bible, not the Pope, determined God’s word. But later on the church forgot about Martin Luther and his ideas. Many Humanists was changing the mind of many people in the church. The idea was to have the people thinking that the church was beauty and worthy instead of sin and control. In other words, they wanted to people to think less about God and the afterlife. But more about themselves and how the world is now. The
Humanism means a field studying human behavior and creations. During the Renaissance, humanism became an important driving force behind the much socio-cultural behavior, and therefore was a major influence on art and artistic production.
Humanism was a new way of thinking that came about in fourteenth century, the time of the Renaissance. Many scholars refer to it as the "Spirit of the Renaissance." Humanism was a lay phenomenon that emphasized human beings - as opposed to deities - as well as their interests, achievements and capabilities. Humanism is derived from the Latin word humanitas, which Cicero, the noted orator of the Roman Empire, referred to as the "literary culture needed by anyone who would be considered educated and civilized."
...ey concepts in cultural studies. In Cultural studies: Theories and practice (pp. 8-12). London, England: Sage.
Many diverse ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a lasting impact on the world. Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. The aspect of humanism first thrived in 14th century Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Initially humanistic ideas about education were quickly adopted by the Italian upper class. The Italian ideas and attitudes towards life and learning impacted nobility in other parts of Europe. They were able to accept and adapt to this new lifestyle. Humanism during the Renaissance helped to spread ideas about the basic nature of human beings, how people should be educated to become well rounded individuals, and how education impacts an individual’s life.
The word humanism is a relatively broad term described by Merriam-Webster as, “a system of values and beliefs that is based on the idea that people are basically good and that problems can be solved using reason instead of religion”. While this seems a perfectly reasonable definition for the present day, it does not adequately apply to medieval society. If such a definition was used by a person from the 12th century, that person would likely be looked at incredulously and then swiftly called a heretic or a blasphemer. The role of religion in medieval society is too ingrained in the medieval world. Richard Southern provides a more likely definition of medieval humanism. He describes humanism as having “elements of dignity, order, reason and
Encarta Dictionary says that Humanism is a system of thought that centers on human beings and their values, capacities and worth. Encarta also goes on the say that, in philosophy, humanism is an attitude that emphasizes the dignity and worth of an individual. A basic premise of humanism is that people are rational beings who possess within themselves the capacity for truth and goodness. I see myself as a being a humanist through everyday life. I always try to see the good in a person when he/she makes me angry or sad, and say I to myself that maybe that person has had a bad day and living life is difficult at the moment. Socrates was even an early humanist of sorts. He can be quoted as saying, "to know the good is to do the good." He believed that nobody voluntarily commits an evil act because evil comes from ignorance, ignorance being not stupidity, but having a lack of knowledge. If all people thought as humanists, would peace be spread across the globe?
M. H. Abram's A Glossary of Literary Terms defines Renaissance Humanism, stating that some of the key concepts of the philosophy centered around "the dignity and central position of human beings in the universe" as reasoning creatures, as well as downplaying the "'animal' passions" of the individual. The mode of the thought also "stressed the need for a rounded development of and individual's diverse powers... as opposed to merely technical or specialized training." Finally, all of this was synthesized into and perhaps defined by their tendency to minimize the prevalent Christian ideal of innate corruption and withdrawal from the present, flawed world in anticipation of heaven. (p. 83)