Abstract: “Cultural Unconscious” is a vague concept in cultural and literary studies. Although it has been used by Western theorists before, it has not yet been explored in depth conceptually. Moreover, its nature and logic require further exploration from a theoretical perspective, and its subject matter and form in the global context need to be further clarified. In the postcolonial age, cultural unconscious is not a concept that simply combines “culture” and “unconscious,” but refers to the mechanism of cultural psychology and epistemology generated by culture and the unconscious through the interaction of history, psychology, discourse, and other factors. By investigating how culture and the unconscious generate cultural unconscious on the conceptual dimension from the integrated approach of psychoanalysis and semiotics and conducting a conceptual inquiry of its operating mechanism, this article aims to turn the vague concept into a new theory with practical applicability for cultural studies. After outlining the internal mechanism and operating mode of cultural unconscious, the article applies the working rationale suggested by this theory to the analysis of some cultural phenomena and literary texts so as to confirm that this cultural theory may not only help understand the deep logic of personal and social consciousness, but also establish an in-depth methodology for cultural studies and literary criticism, thus providing foundational theoretical support for some cultural and critical theories.

Key words: critical theory, culture, unconscious, cultural unconscious, cultural studies