Eng. 609 – Week 7 Blog 1

Jean Franco, in “Cultural Studies” (2005), offers a fascinating overview of cultural studies and its place and impact upon globalization as well as the history of cultural studies and its births in Britain, America, and Latin America. Also, if one analyzes this essay with the topoi of “contraries,” we see a contradiction between English Studies and Cultural Studies. Composition and rhetoric sometimes excludes other fields because its status seems tremulous at times—and justifiably so, with budget cuts, etc. On the other hand, cultural studies embraces other fields because it needs them to grow, create its foundation, and continue to offer items for theorization. In the end, neither way is wrong, although I do feel composition would benefit from bringing other fields input into our trajectory.

Back to Franco… he supports his narrative with cultural theorists like Antonio Gramsci (prominent theorist of hegemonic influences on society) who helped created the field and its current contemporary position and place of growing prominence. His purpose is to give his readers an overview of cultural studies and its cross-bordering influence on English studies, academia, and society at large. Franco creates an informal relationship with his audience of graduate students, instructors, and scholars.