• Culture,
• Representations,
• Identity,
• Meanings,
• Ideology,
• Power

By the end of this course, students are expected to have acquired the following competencies:

• Produce critical analyses and well-founded interpretations of cultural, historical, artistic, and linguistic phenomena, drawing on multicultural and interdisciplinary perspectives.
• To exercise conscious and responsible citizenship, upholding humanistic principles in the analysis and resolution of cultural, social, and communication-related issues.
• To analyze and compare cultural, artistic, and identity-related practices in intercultural dialogues, applying comparative methodologies specific to the humanities.
• Mobilizar conceitos, métodos e instrumentos analíticos das Humanidades para fundamentar uma acção em contexto pessoal e profissional, articulando informação proveniente de fontes diversas com enquadramentos teóricos e metodológicos adequados. 
• Draw on concepts, methods, and analytical tools from the humanities to inform action in personal and professional contexts, integrating information from diverse sources with appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks.

By the end of this course, students are expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes:

• Identify and contextualize cultural, historical, and artistic phenomena, taking into account their social, historical, and discursive frameworks. 
• Examine cultural phenomena as social and symbolic constructs, developing well-reasoned arguments based on evidence and theoretical-critical frameworks.
• Analyze cultural phenomena from multicultural perspectives, recognizing diversity, otherness, and power relations across cultural contexts.
• Critically analyze tensions, conflicts, and negotiation processes in cultural practices, drawing on theoretical-critical approaches (e.g., ideology, representation, discourse), and demonstrating a reflective stance of conscious citizenship.
• Analyze and compare cultural, artistic, and identity-related practices in different contexts, identifying dynamics of power, hegemony, and marginalization. 
• Analyze and compare cultural, artistic, and identity-related practices in different contexts, identifying power relations, processes of hegemony, and forms of resistance, using comparative approaches.
• Apply theoretical and methodological frameworks to concrete situations, integrating different sources and empirical evidence.

1. The History of Cultural Studies
2. What Is “Culture”?
3. Culture, Ideology, and Power
4. Identity, Gender, and Representation
5. Race, Colonialism, and Cultural Memory
6. Structuralism and Systems of Meaning
7. Subcultures and Countercultures
8. Globalization, Hybridity, and Cultural Flows
9. Culture, Technology, and Media
10. Poststructuralism and Deconstruction

Bibliografia essencial

• Barker, C. (2012). Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.
• Cervulle, M. (2008). Stuart Hall. Identités et cultures. Ed. Amsterdam.
• During, S. (Ed.). (2021). The Cultural Studies Reader. Routledge.
• Glevarec, H.; Macé, E.; Maigret, E. (2008). Cultural Studies. A. Colin.
• Hall, S. (Ed.). (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage Publications.
• Storey, J. (2021). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Routledge.

Bibilografia complementar

• Adorno, T. W., & Horkheimer, M. (1944/2002). Dialética do esclarecimento. Jorge Zahar.
• Althusser, L. (1970/1980). Ideologia e aparelhos ideológicos de Estado. Em L. Althusser, Posições. Edições 70.
• Anderson, B. (1983/2005). Comunidades imaginadas. Edições 70.
• Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large. University of Minnesota Press.
• Barthes, R. (1957/2009). Mitologias. Edições 70.
• Beauvoir, S. de. (1949/2016). O segundo sexo (2 vols.). Quetzal.
• Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The Location of Culture. Routledge.
• Bourdieu, P. (1979/2010). A distinção: Uma crítica social do julgamento. Edições 70.
• Butler, J. (1990/2017). Problemas de género. Orfeu Negro.
• Cabecinhas, R. (2017). Preto e branco: A naturalização da discriminação racial. Húmus.
• De Certeau, M. (1974). La culture au pluriel. Union Générale d’Editions.
• De Certeau, M. (1980/1998). A invenção do quotidiano: 1. Artes de fazer. Vozes.
• Derrida, J. (1967/2013). Da gramatologia. Perspectiva.
• Fanon, F. (1952/2008). Pele negra, máscaras brancas. Fenda.
• Foucault, M. (1975/2014). Vigiar e punir. Edições 70.
• Gramsci, A. (1929–1935/2011). Cadernos do cárcere (seleções). Civilização Brasileira.
• Hall, S. (1973/1980). Encoding/decoding. Em S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, & P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, media, language: Working papers in cultural studies, 1972–1979 (pp. 128–138). Hutchinson.
• Hall, S. (1980). Cultural studies: Two paradigms. Media, Culture & Society, 2(1), 57–72.
• Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage.
• Hall, S., & Jefferson, T. (Eds.). (1975/2006). Resistance through rituals: Youth subcultures in post-war Britain (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style. Routledge.
• Hoggart, R. (1957). The uses of literacy. Chatto & Windus.
• Kilomba, G. (2008/2019). Memórias da plantação: Episódios de racismo quotidiano. Orfeu Negro.
• Lauretis, T. de. (1991). Queer theory: Lesbian and gay sexualities. An introduction. differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, 3(2)
• Lévi-Strauss, C. (1964/2021). Mitológicas: Vol. 1. O cru e o cozido. Zahar.
• Lyotard, J.-F. (1979/1989). A condição pós-moderna. Gradiva.
• McRobbie, A. (1991). Feminism and Youth Culture. Macmillan.
• Pereira de Almeida, D. (2022). O que é ser uma escritora negra hoje, de acordo comigo (2022). Companhia das Letras.
• Robertson, R. (1992/2000). Globalização: Teoria social e cultura global. Vozes.
• Said, E. W. (1978/2004). Orientalismo. Cotovia.
• Saussure, F. de. (1916/2016). Curso de linguística geral. Cultrix.
• Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.
• Eve Sedgwick, Kosofsky, E. (1990). Epistemology of the Closet. University of California Press.
• Thompson, E. P. (1963/1987). A formação da classe operária inglesa (D. Homem, Trad.; 3 vols.). Paz e Terra.
• Williams, R. (1958/1983). Culture and society: 1780–1950. Columbia University Press.
• Williams, R. (1976). Keywords: A vocabulary of culture and society. Fontana.

In this course, the learning experience is designed to give students greater flexibility in managing their study time, without sacrificing support and interaction with instructors, tutors, and classmates. Activities take place primarily online and asynchronously through the Universidade Aberta learning platform, combining periods of individual study with opportunities to participate in forums, discussions, assignments, and other activities that apply knowledge in a practical way.

Students take an active role in their learning process and are encouraged to reflect, share experiences, solve problems, and develop skills relevant to their academic and professional paths.

Throughout the course module, you will have access to a wide range of resources and guidance from the teaching team, who will provide regular support and feedback.

The teaching methods employed promote autonomy, collaboration, inclusion and flexibility, enabling each student to balance their studies with their personal, family and professional responsibilities.

To find out more about the Open University’s Pedagogical Model, please see: Portal UAb-Modelo de Ensino

Assessment in this module is designed to support students’ learning throughout the semester, placing value not only on the results achieved but also on the process of knowledge construction. The assessment activities aim to promote critical reflection, the practical application of the course content, active participation and the development of skills relevant to students’ academic and professional careers. Where applicable, assessment may incorporate different methods and tools, such as individual and collaborative activities, written assignments, projects, presentations, participation in forums or assessment tests, as set out in the Course Syllabus.

The assessment criteria, the planned activities and their respective weightings will be set out at the start of the module, ensuring transparency and enabling you to organise your learning journey from the outset.

To find out more about the principles and guidelines for assessment in the Open University’s Pedagogical Model, please see: Portal UAb-Modelo de Ensino