Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony WalkmanIn recent years `culture' has become a central concern in a wide range of fields and disciplines. This book introduces the main substantive and theoretical strands of this `turn to culture' through the medium of a particular case study: that of the Sony Walkman. Using the example of the Walkman, the book indicates how and why cultural practices and institutions have come to play such a crucial part in our lives, and introduces some of the central ideas, concepts and methods of analysis involved in conducting cultural studies. |
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this is an important cultural studies text but almost in a historical sense - the normativity in evaluating any construct of consumer culture is too forefront to result in a truly insightful conclusion. Still, there is a lot of value in reading this historically, and considering the possibilities of 'reading' culture as text.
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activities Adorno advertising Akio Morita analysis argued articulation associated become Bourdieu cassette cassette-player Chambers Chinese Chinese popular music commodities concept consumer contemporary context cultural artefact cultural circuit cultural studies design at Sony Design Centre developed discourse discussion distinct dominant electronic everyday example explore Figure Frankfurt School global groups headphones Ibuka idea identity important individual involved Japan Japanese company Japanese design Kuroki language late-modern launch lifestyle London manufacturing Masaru Ibuka material cultural mechanical reproduction Menace II society miniature mobile modern Norio Ohga object particular personal stereo perspective play popular music portable practices of consumption production and consumption production of consumption radio Raymond Williams record referred relations representation represented role semantic networks sense significance simply social society Sony Corporation Sony Walkman Sony's soundscape sphere strategy Stuart Hall symbolic television term theorist things tradition transistor Ueyama words young