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Lecture 5. Marxist Structuralism

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Cultural Studies 1983
This chapter is in the book Cultural Studies 1983
lecture 5Marxist StructuralismIn this lecture I want to consider Marxist structuralism, or more spe-cifically, the Althusserian break. It is such an important moment in the development of theorising in Cultural Studies that we have to re-cover it and reflect on it in some detail. It represents a very substantial break in the paradigms which are being used, though its consequences are more contradictory than that might suggest. My intention is not to provide a complete reading of Althusser’s work but to relate some of his more important positions to the line of continuous theorising which I have been sketching out here. Thus, the reading of Althusser will be defined by my own preoccupations and biases.I want to begin by suggesting something about his general project in relation to the paradigms and problematics of Cultural Studies which I’ve already talked about. Althusser’s status as an important theorist emerges at the point at which non-Marxist structuralism begins to intersect and overlap, not only with classical Marxist propositions, but with some of the problems I have alluded to in classical Marxist theorising. From my point of view, Althusser picks up on a whole range of structuralist theorising outside of Marxism and uses many of its advances, conceptualisations, and formulations to rethink a number of problems within the Marxist tradition: the effectivity of the superstructures, the problems with the base-superstructure metaphor, and the problems of economic and class
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

lecture 5Marxist StructuralismIn this lecture I want to consider Marxist structuralism, or more spe-cifically, the Althusserian break. It is such an important moment in the development of theorising in Cultural Studies that we have to re-cover it and reflect on it in some detail. It represents a very substantial break in the paradigms which are being used, though its consequences are more contradictory than that might suggest. My intention is not to provide a complete reading of Althusser’s work but to relate some of his more important positions to the line of continuous theorising which I have been sketching out here. Thus, the reading of Althusser will be defined by my own preoccupations and biases.I want to begin by suggesting something about his general project in relation to the paradigms and problematics of Cultural Studies which I’ve already talked about. Althusser’s status as an important theorist emerges at the point at which non-Marxist structuralism begins to intersect and overlap, not only with classical Marxist propositions, but with some of the problems I have alluded to in classical Marxist theorising. From my point of view, Althusser picks up on a whole range of structuralist theorising outside of Marxism and uses many of its advances, conceptualisations, and formulations to rethink a number of problems within the Marxist tradition: the effectivity of the superstructures, the problems with the base-superstructure metaphor, and the problems of economic and class
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Editors’ Introduction. Lawrence Grossberg and Jennifer Daryl Slack vii
  4. Preface to the lectures by stuart hall, 1988 1
  5. Lecture 1. The Formation of Cultural Studies 5
  6. Lecture 2. Culturalism 25
  7. Lecture 3. Structuralism 54
  8. Lecture 4. Rethinking the Base and Superstructure 74
  9. Lecture 5. Marxist Structuralism 97
  10. Lecture 6. Ideology and Ideological Struggle 127
  11. Lecture 7. Domination and Hegemony 155
  12. Lecture 8. Culture, Resistance, and Struggle 180
  13. References 207
  14. Index 211
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822373650-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Editors’ Introduction. Lawrence Grossberg and Jennifer Daryl Slack vii
  4. Preface to the lectures by stuart hall, 1988 1
  5. Lecture 1. The Formation of Cultural Studies 5
  6. Lecture 2. Culturalism 25
  7. Lecture 3. Structuralism 54
  8. Lecture 4. Rethinking the Base and Superstructure 74
  9. Lecture 5. Marxist Structuralism 97
  10. Lecture 6. Ideology and Ideological Struggle 127
  11. Lecture 7. Domination and Hegemony 155
  12. Lecture 8. Culture, Resistance, and Struggle 180
  13. References 207
  14. Index 211
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