Cultural analysis

As a discipline, cultural analysis is based on using qualitative research methods of the arts, humanities, social sciences, in particular ethnography and anthropology, to collect data on cultural phenomena and to interpret cultural representations and practices; in an effort to gain new knowledge or understanding through analysis of that data and cultural processes. This is particularly useful for understanding and mapping trends, influences, effects, and affects within cultures. There are four themes to sociological cultural analysis:

1. Adaptation and Change This refers to how well a certain culture adapts to its surroundings by being used and developed. Some examples of this are foods, tools, home, surroundings, art, etc. that show how the given culture adapted. Also, this aspect aims to show how the given culture makes the environment more accommodating.
2. How culture is used to survive How the given culture helps its members survive the environment.
3. Holism, Specificity The ability to put the observations into a single collection, and presenting it in a coherent manner.
4. Expressions This focuses on studying the expressions and performance of everyday culture. This developed at the intersection of cultural studies, comparative literature, art history, fine art, philosophy, literary theory, theology, anthropology. It developed an interdisciplinary approach to the study of texts, images, films, and all related cultural practices. It offers an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of cultural representations and practices. Cultural Analysis is also a method for rethinking our relation to history because it makes visible the position of researcher, writer or student. The social and cultural present from which we look at past cultural practices—history— shapes the interpretations that are made of the past, while cultural analysis also reveals how the past shapes the present through the role of cultural memory for instance.