How did cultural studies challenge the separation between high culture and popular culture?

In the context of literary criticism, cultural studies challenged the traditional separation between high culture (elite art) and popular culture (mass culture) by rejecting the notion that these two spheres were irreconcilable antagonists.12

Instead of viewing high culture as inherently superior or isolated, scholars in the field—notably those associated with the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS)—advocated for a broad, inclusive definition of culture. They argued that all forms of cultural expression, whether popular or elite, are worthy of rigorous academic inquiry. By applying theoretical lenses from sociology, history, and anthropology, these critics demonstrated that popular culture is not merely a passive or degraded product of mass media but a site where audiences actively engage in processes of resistance, negotiation, and meaning-making.2

Ultimately, cultural studies shifted the focus from aesthetic hierarchies to the study of ideology, power, and social institutions. This approach effectively erased the rigid lines between "high" and "low" culture, framing both as interconnected elements of a broader social and political landscape.324