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Subfield · Social Sciences

Cultural Studies research

Cultural Studies is a subfield of Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 336k research works in it since 1950. 15.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: academic field of critical theory and literary criticism.

Research works
336k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
52k
per year above
Top-10% rate
15.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
38
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+61%
the tick is no change

What is Cultural Studies research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Local Wisdom, Intercultural Education, Cultural Diversity, Colonialism, Globalization, Gender. Gaining share since 2009–13: Indonesian Culture, Traditional Markets, Multicultural Education, Local Wisdom, Cultural Communication. Losing share: Japan, Society, Culture, Politics.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Local Wisdom20k▲ 6.2×3 topics
  2. Intercultural Education18k▲ 2.0×4 topics
  3. Cultural Diversity17k▲ 3.2×4 topics
  4. Colonialism17k▼ 0.57×8 topics
  5. Globalization16k▼ 0.74×10 topics
  6. Gender16k▼ 0.56×7 topics
  7. Identity15k▼ 0.52×8 topics
  8. Language15k▲ 1.93×3 topics
  9. Multicultural Education15k▲ 6.8×2 topics
  10. Literature15k▼ 0.56×8 topics
  11. Social Media13k▲ 4.0×2 topics
  12. Indonesian Culture13k▲ 6.9×1 topic
  13. Traditional Markets13k▲ 6.9×1 topic
  14. Cultural Communication12k▲ 5.8×1 topic
  15. Discourse Analysis12k▲ 5.8×1 topic
  16. History11k▼ 0.52×5 topics
  17. Gender Studies11k▼ 0.77×4 topics
  18. Culture11k▼ 0.47×5 topics
  19. Race8,683▼ 0.56×4 topics
  20. Politics8,607▼ 0.49×3 topics
  21. Indigenous Knowledge8,156▲ 2.4×3 topics
  22. Environmental Conservation7,929▲ 1.77×2 topics
  23. Education7,515▲ 2.5×5 topics
  24. Neoliberalism6,238◆ 1.10×3 topics
  25. Cultural Identity6,128▼ 0.52×3 topics
  26. Religion6,022▼ 0.77×3 topics
  27. Tourism5,931▼ 0.82×3 topics
  28. Violence5,878▼ 0.86×2 topics
  29. Ethnic Diversity5,807▲ 4.3×2 topics
  30. Hallyu5,682▼ 0.50×1 topic
  31. Korean Wave5,682▼ 0.50×1 topic
  32. Cultural Syncretism5,638▲ 5.1×1 topic
  33. Islam Nusantara5,638▲ 5.1×1 topic
  34. Japan5,331▼ 0.46×1 topic
  35. Society5,331▼ 0.46×1 topic
  36. Cultural Studies5,268▼ 0.70×3 topics
  37. Nationalism4,888▼ 0.64×3 topics
  38. Ethnic Identity4,694◆ 1.05×5 topics
  39. Postcolonialism4,333▼ 0.72×2 topics
  40. Generational Theory4,074▲ 3.1×1 topic

Which countries lead Cultural Studies research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, Indonesia and the United Kingdom rank highest in Cultural Studies. By volume, Indonesia and the United States publish the most (24k and 8.9k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 14.3% top 10% · 8.9k works
  2. 2 Indonesia · #3 all time 14.8% top 10% · 24k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 19.4% top 10% · 2.6k works
  4. 4 China · #9 all time 14.9% top 10% · 3.1k works
  5. 5 Germany · #4 all time 12.3% top 10% · 2.4k works
  6. 6 Australia · #5 all time 21.4% top 10% · 951 works
  7. 7 South Korea · #13 all time 20.3% top 10% · 1k works
  8. 8 Spain · #7 all time 14.5% top 10% · 3.8k works
  9. 9 Canada · #6 all time 16.5% top 10% · 1.3k works
  10. 10 France · #8 all time 6.7% top 10% · 4.9k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 49 countries ranked in Cultural Studies. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Cultural Studies

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Indonesia 24k works
  2. 2 United States 8.9k works
  3. 3 Russia 5.7k works
  4. 4 France 4.9k works
  5. 5 Spain 3.8k works
  6. 6 China 3.1k works
  7. 7 United Kingdom 2.6k works
  8. 8 Germany 2.4k works
  9. 9 Türkiye 2k works
  10. 10 Brazil 2k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Indonesia: 40.7%United States: 14.9%Russia: 9.5%France: 8.2%6 others listed: 26.7%41%largest
Indonesia24k · 40.7%United States8,880 · 14.9%Russia5,667 · 9.5%France4,888 · 8.2%6 others listed16k · 26.7%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Cultural Studies research?

Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu (Indonesia) ranks first in Cultural Studies on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Indonesia University of Education and Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia · Bengkulu · #18 all time 15.0% top 10% · 738 works
  2. 2 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia · Bandung · #32 all time 19.1% top 10% · 519 works
  3. 3 Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar Indonesia · Denpasar · #46 all time 16.9% top 10% · 438 works
  4. 4 Sebelas Maret University Indonesia · Surakarta · #16 all time 16.3% top 10% · 375 works
  5. 5 State University of Malang Indonesia · Malang · #50 all time 22.5% top 10% · 340 works
  6. 6 State University of Semarang Indonesia · Semarang · #62 all time 17.5% top 10% · 398 works
  7. 7 Universitas Negeri Surabaya Indonesia · Surabaya · #67 all time 18.4% top 10% · 420 works
  8. 8 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia · Yogyakarta · #55 all time 14.9% top 10% · 337 works
  9. 9 University of Indonesia Indonesia · Depok · #88 all time 14.8% top 10% · 323 works
  10. 10 State University of Padang Indonesia · Padang · #96 all time 11.6% top 10% · 542 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 232 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Cultural Studies.

Top 100 Cultural Studies institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 738 works
  2. 2 State University of Padang Indonesia 542 works
  3. 3 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 519 works
  4. 4 Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar Indonesia 439 works
  5. 5 Universitas Negeri Surabaya Indonesia 421 works
  6. 6 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 413 works
  7. 7 State University of Semarang Indonesia 399 works
  8. 8 Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta Indonesia 376 works
  9. 9 Sebelas Maret University Indonesia 375 works
  10. 10 State University of Malang Indonesia 340 works

Who are the leading researchers in Cultural Studies?

Among the most productive authors in Cultural Studies, Pierre Bourdıeu, Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Pierre Bourdıeu France · #2 worldwide 10k citations · 235 works
  2. 2 Michel Foucault Poland · #5 worldwide 4.6k citations · 194 works
  3. 3 Noam Chomsky United States · #7 worldwide 3.7k citations · 239 works
  4. 4 Norman K. Denzin United States · #16 worldwide 8.6k citations · 169 works
  5. 5 Sigmund Freud United States · #25 worldwide 2.7k citations · 174 works
  6. 6 Bruno Latour France · #46 worldwide 2k citations · 198 works
  7. 7 Judith Butler United States · #70 worldwide 6.7k citations · 132 works
  8. 8 Jacques Derrida France · #82 worldwide 1.3k citations · 192 works
  9. 9 Stuart Hall United Kingdom · #115 worldwide 1.9k citations · 137 works
  10. 10 Lawrence Freedman United Kingdom · #179 worldwide 1.2k citations · 214 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 3,585 highest-output authors in Cultural Studies. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Cultural Studies researchers

Where is Cultural Studies research done?

The largest centres of Cultural Studies research in 2022–2025 are Jakarta (Indonesia), Bandung (Indonesia), Moscow (Russia) and Yogyakarta (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Padangpanjang, Bantul and Dolinsk.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Jakarta Indonesia 2.3k works
  2. 2 Bandung Indonesia 2.1k works
  3. 3 Moscow Russia 2k works
  4. 4 Yogyakarta Indonesia 1.5k works
  5. 5 Surabaya Indonesia 1.5k works
  6. 6 Paris France 1.5k works
  7. 7 Medan Indonesia 1.4k works
  8. 8 Denpasar Indonesia 1.1k works
  9. 9 Semarang Indonesia 1.1k works
  10. 10 Malang Indonesia 981 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. PadangpanjangID · 310.6 works80×
  2. BantulID · 313.9 works59×
  3. DolinskRU · 23.4 works21×
  4. Palangkaraya22.5 works19×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Cultural Studies than the world average.

See Cultural Studies on the map

Cultural Studies research by country

The best places for Cultural Studies research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Cultural Studies?

Among universities, judged by research, Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar, Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta and Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 16.41%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar: 438, 16.9%Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta: 376, 10.8%Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung: 190, 19.0%Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta: 314, 11.1%Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang: 311, 10.4%University of Tarapacá: 52, 27.5%Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu: 738, 15.0%Indonesia University of Education: 519, 19.1%Universitas Negeri Surabaya: 420, 18.4%Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta: 323, 15.9%Institut Seni Budaya…Institut Seni Indone…Institut Seni Indone…Institut Seni Indone…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar Indonesia 64.816.9%73.5×438 +2785.4%
2Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta Indonesia 60.710.8%64.2×376 +671.8%
3Institut Seni Budaya Indonesia Bandung Indonesia 60.119.0%32.2×190 +277.1%
4Institut Seni Indonesia Yogyakarta Indonesia 59.911.1%59.1×314 +368.2%
5Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang Indonesia 59.110.4%79.9×311 +249.2%
6University of Tarapacá Chile 58.227.5%10.9×52 +170.1%
7Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 57.615.0%6.2×738 +565.3%
8Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 57.319.1%6.1×519 +1048.5%
9Universitas Negeri Surabaya Indonesia 56.818.4%6.6×420 +596.2%
10Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta Indonesia 56.615.9%7.7×323 +361.4%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Cultural Studies research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 61% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Cultural and Artistic Studies, Cultural and Religious Practices in Indonesia and Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Cultural and Artistic Studies+2002%
  2. Cultural and Religious Practices in Indonesia+1548%
  3. Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication+1042%
  4. History and Cultural Heritage+800%
  5. Education, Sociology, Communication Studies+667%
  6. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage+272%
  7. Asian Culture and Media Studies-11%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Cultural Studies include?

Japanese History and Cul…30kJapanese History and Culture: 30k fractional worksCultural and Artistic St…25kCultural and Artistic Studies: 25k fractional worksAsian Culture and Media Studies: 24k fractional worksDiscourse Analysis and Cultural Communication: 22k fractional worksLatin American and Latino Studies: 16k fractional worksDiverse Cultural and Historical Studies: 15k fractional worksCultural and Religious Practices in Indonesia: 13k fractional worksLanguage and cultural evolution: 12k fractional worksLatin American Literature Studies: 12k fractional worksBalkans: History, Politics, Society: 12k fractional worksEducation, Sociology, Communication Studies: 12k fractional worksPosthumanist Ethics and Activism: 11k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.