Charlotte Fraser
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charlottefraser.bsky.social
Charlotte Fraser
@charlottefraser.bsky.social
240 followers 470 following 25 posts
PhD researcher in Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex. Interested in 'crisis', everyday life, infrastructure, energy, narrative, and politics.
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charlottefraser.bsky.social
Preparing for the 'Cultural Analysis in the World' symposium in Amsterdam next week and have really enjoyed reading Aylin Kuryel's excellent essay on the field's vexed relationship with 'social relevance'.
Quote: 'Despite the meticulous and inspirational methodological premises that surround social relevance, the notion itself is often not comprehensively unpacked and it appears as a rather broad concept that implies some form of contemporaneity, connectivity, and functionality. In its varying connotations, it seems to suggest a preexisting social field to which analysis is pertinent and applicable, and in which what is relevant can be known in advance. To be “relevant to” implies a prior knowability of the tenets and needs of a context according to which the (ir)relevance of knowledge/analysis can be measured. Perhaps this is also what makes social relevance, beyond cultural analysis, a useful term for the administrative bodies to talk about how knowledge/research/departments contribute to the (cultural and economic) vibrancy and prestige of the institutions. In this sense, relevance comes rather closer to other beloved notions of the neoliberal university such as efficiency and impact.'
October 14, 2025 at 11:07 AM