문화연구자의 현실정치 의미 탐구

Exploring the meaning and critical engagement of Cultural Studies Researcher: Focusing on Won Yong-jin’s journey of practical intervention with Cultural Action

이 논문은 원용진 교수의 정년퇴임과 문화연대 공동대표 퇴임을 맞아 그의 사회참여활동의여정을 돌아보고 그 의미를 논하는데 목적이 있다. 많은 문화연구자들이 시민단체와 함께 현실비판활동을 하고 있지만, 원용진 교수는 시민단체 ‘문화연대’ 초기 설립 구성원이자 교수 정년 퇴임 전까지 공동대표로서 비판적 활동을 수행했다는 점에서 조금 다른 의미를 갖는다. 그가 오랫동안 해왔던문화정책비판, 저널리즘, 미디어 리터러시 운동은 이후 지역운동, 기후위기, 문화예술인 블랙리스트운동, 디지털 기술 비판담론 등으로 확장되었다. 문화연대를 기반으로 대중정치를 추구하였고, 정치적·사회적 의제들을 중심으로 비판적 개입을 해왔다. 문화연구자로서 사회참여의 가치를 중요하게 사유했던 그의 이론적 지향성이 문화연대 활동을 통해 강하게 작동했음을 알 수 있었다.

This paper aims to discuss the journey and meaning of Won Yong-jin's critical engagement in commemoration of his retirement as a professor and co-representative of Cultural Action. Although cultural researchers are engaged in activities to criticize reality with civic groups, Won Yong-jin has a slightly different meaning in that he was an early founding member of the civic group ‘Cultural Action’ and carried out critical activities as a co-representative until his retirement as a professor. The government's cultural policy criticism, journalism, and media literacy movements that he has been involved in for a long time later expanded into regional movements, climate crisis, blacklist movement for cultural artists, and critical discourse on digital technology. He has been seeking to form popular politics and has engaged in critical intervention focusing on political and social agendas. As a result of examining his journey into practical politics, it was found that his theoretical orientation, which considered the value of social participation as a cultural studies researcher, worked even more strongly through Cultural Action.