Culture--Recreating Social Sciences

Author: (British) Smith
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Culture, on one hand, has almost attracted the attention of all modern social science fields, as if it has become an unchanging backdrop in most stages. On the other hand, in the context of the cultural turn, the re-cognition of culture has become a brand-new journey, as if we never truly understood culture. Indeed, in the contemporary context, there is probably no social science concept more popular, more variable, and more puzzling than "culture." If we rely solely on the over 100-page book titled Culture, it would be difficult for us to suddenly resolve our confusion about culture, although limited by its length, the author cannot fully elaborate on a grand analysis of culture. However, his mastery and synthesis of various complex and intricate materials, as well as his clear argumentation of viewpoints, still leave us in awe of his scholarly expertise. Whether the author's post-disciplinary approach can effectively explain cultural transformation or what he refers to as "cultural backlash" is a matter to be discussed later. He effectively uses theoretical symbols from figures like Foucault and Althusser to subvert orthodox cultural concepts and proposes his own insights into the democratization of culture, countering the elite's accusation that the massification of modern culture is a low-level assimilation. He also emphasizes the importance of the relationship between cultural studies and social science practices. These perspectives are enlightening for us. Of course, it should be noted that the author discusses cultural issues from the perspective of Western scholars, and his understanding is highly limited. Additionally, many of his viewpoints show very obvious traces of postmodern theory, tending to be overly biased. Moreover, when discussing Marxism and the extension of Marxist theory by Western scholars, the author's grasp of related issues is not entirely accurate. These are clearly the result of the author's limitations in understanding. Regarding this point, readers are encouraged to maintain a rational and critical attitude while reading and to make appropriate choices.