...major superstructural “levels”: the one that can be called “civil society”, that is the ensemble of organisms commonly called “private”, and that of “political society” or “the State”. These two levels correspond on the one hand to the function of “hegemony” which the dominant group exercises throughout society and on the other hand to that of “direct domination” or command exercised through the State and “judicial” government. The functions in question are precisely organisational and connective. The intellectuals are the dominant group’s “deputies” exercising the subaltern functions of social hegemony and political government.” →Antonio Gramsci From Gramsci’s prison note books Introduction Hegemony is a concept that has been used to describe and explain the dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group or hegemon acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force. It is used broadly to mean any kind of dominance, and narrowly to refer to specifically cultural and non-military dominance, as opposed to the related notions of empire and suzerainty Gramsci and Hegemony The idea of a ‘third face of power’, or ‘invisible power’ has its roots partly, in Marxist thinking about the pervasive power of ideology, values and beliefs in reproducing class relations and concealing contradictions. Marx recognised that economic...
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...core religions * Religion can create social cohesion within civilisations but not across * Religious identity linked to civilisation, attack on identity cause conflict * Religion creates us and them relationshipsCasanova * Religion conflict can occur within civilisations | Middle East * Conflict occurring on boundaries, war in 1990s between western, Slavic-orthodox, * Religious differences harder than political ones to resolve because they are deeply rooted in culture and historyNorthern Nigeria * Increase in conflict * Christianity against Islam * Us and them relationship * Religious conflict occurred due to Islamic law in the state * Christians felt at threat and marginalised * Stayed true to their identity, causing them to be under threat * Bombing of Christian churches, metal detectors installed | Maduro and Gramsci | Religion is a major source of conflict * Working class have a dual consciousness, mixture of ruling class ideology and their own experience of exploitation * If working class develop class consciousness, can fight to overthrow capitalism * Counter hegemony * Need organic intellectuals, can spread class consciousness through working class * Creates conflict, working class fighting against their oppression | Maduro, Liberation theology * Latin America * Clergy in Catholicism had utopian thought, challenged hegemony * Encouraged new...
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...CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS GCE Advanced Level MARK SCHEME for the May/June 2014 series 9699 SOCIOLOGY 9699/33 Paper 3 (Social Inequality and Opportunity), maximum raw mark 75 This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have considered the acceptability of alternative answers. Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for Teachers. Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes. Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2014 series for most IGCSE, GCE Advanced Level and Advanced Subsidiary Level components and some Ordinary Level components. Page 2 1 Mark Scheme GCE A LEVEL – May/June 2014 Syllabus 9699 Paper 33 (a) Explain how the achievement of pupils may be influenced by pupil sub-cultures. [9] 0–4 A few general observations about pupils’ educational achievement, with no direct links to the question, would be worth 1 or 2 marks. A basic account of what is meant by pupil sub-culture, with no further development in relation to the question, would be placed in the higher part of the band. 5–9 Lower in the band, answers are likely to provide a basic...
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...Multinational enterprises A multinational enterprise (MNE) is a company that has a worldwide approach to markets and production or one with operations in more than a country. An MNE is often called multinational corporation (MNC) or transnational company (TNC). MNC as beauty - Potential contribution to economic growth and national welfare. - Important agent of change. - Increases competitive pressures on domestic firms. - Demonstrates and diffuses new technology. - Upgrades the quality of indigenous resources and capabilities. - Governments (in general) praise FDI. MNC as beast - Negative impact on the environment, labor and human rights. - MNCs’ and national state goals are not always compatible - MNCs out-compete local firms. MNCs have immense political power. 51 of the 100 biggest economies in the world are now MNCs. Business is in the driver’s seat, corporations determine the rules of the game and governments have become referees, only enforcing rules. Are MNCs really agents of technological change? Some scholars question the efficiency of MNCs, suggesting that they have become too large and bureaucratic to compete against more nimble and innovative smaller firms that are rapidly gaining advantage in highly competitive global markets. What is the three primary states of mind / attitudes toward the MBC? Ethnocentric (home-country oriented) - Home nationals are the best person to do the job - What works at home must work in the host country Costs: Fewer Innovations, lack of...
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...Asian professional immigrants have proven their material worth amidst native-born white hegemony by practicing advancement-conducive behaviors. For example, Zhou argues that Asian-American immigrants have “selectively unpack[ed Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist traditions such as]...two-parent families, a strong work ethic, delayed gratification, and thrift” to earn “about $3,500” above the national median income and “resemble the ideals of the mainstream (WASP) culture” (207; Portes & Rumbaut 28; Zhou 207). A large number of Asian-American immigrant families appealed to white values of nuclear family stability and low criminal activity to earn acceptance into white-dominated economic institutions. Furthermore, new generations of Asian immigrants americanized through educational institutions to socio-economically succeed. Seeking to...
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...Clash of civilizations script What Huntington thinks * in his hypothesis he thinks that today’s world has actually come to a period where the age of ideology or economically has ended. * Instead he says that the primary source of conflict between nations and humankind will be cultural and religious. That nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations ad even groups of different civilizations * Huntington also suggested that the main reason of world politics tend to be conflict between western and non-western civilizations Why civilizations will clash * differences based on history, language, region, religion, tradition and culture are more fundamental and stable that other differences between people. And these fundamental differences are product of centuries so they will not disappear anytime soon * The world is becoming a ‘smaller’ place and as a result interactions across the world are increasing which intensifies ‘civilization consciousness’ and the awareness of differences between civilizations and commonalities within civilizations * Due to economic modernization and social change, people are separated from longstanding local identities. Instead, religion has replaced this gap, which provides a basis for identity and commitment that transcends national boundaries and unites civilizations. * The growth of civilization-consciousness is enhanced...
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...Hegemony, Cultural Hegemony, and The Americanization of Imported Media Kerry Manderbach University of Missouri @ St. Louis COMM 6700 Dr. Alice Hall April 10th, 2012 Abstract Media product from the United States has found its way across the four corners of the Earth beginning early in the last century. Films, television programs, music, and printed materials depicting and reinforcing the American way of life have been the predominant form of mass communication and have in turn influenced people from around the world in political, religious and cultural matters. When this effect becomes pronounced due to American media product dominating the local mass communications industry of another nation, it is called cultural hegemony. However, the same effect is not felt in the importation of international media into the U.S. market. Here, most foreign cultural and political meanings are replaced with “Americanized” thought through audio soundtrack dubbing and other methods. This is most often done for commercial purposes rather than any nefarious plot to keep Americans from learning about other cultures. But the effect ends up the same. Here I present some examples from the past and present… Hegemony is defined in our classroom handouts as, “…a means of convincing the audience to accept the existing power structure” (Hall 2012). Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist, developed the modern concepts of hegemony and its variant, cultural hegemony. Jim Glassman (2012) said, “Gramsci’s...
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...Although the term is sometimes used more broadly, in most contexts it refers to the school of thought represented by the "Frankfurt School," which is a school of thought that combines psychoanalysis and Marxism. deconstruction - A term that, for all practical purposes, was introduced in the literature by Derrida. It means to undermine the conceptual order imposed by a concept that has captivated our imaginations and ways of seeing things. (See Shawver, 1996) see "deconstruction quilt" discourse - sometimes this term refers to any kind of talk, but often it refers to particular unified ways of talking that represents a kind of conversation across texts from different but related communities. discourse analysis - inquiry that leads us to reflect critically and creatively on our common ways of life. dominant discourse - A Foucaultian term that indicates a certain way thinking and talking is the most common and most accepted way. Often it implies an institutionalized...
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...AQA A2 Sociology revision Unit 3 (SCLY3) Beliefs in Society (scroll down to find SCLY4) 1. Non-religious belief systemsIdeology, science, hegemony, pluralism, patriarchy, falsification theory and paradigms 2. Defining religion and measuring religiositySubstantive and functional definitionsGiddens' and Durkheim's definitionsWays of measuring religiosity (attendance figures, the census)Problems of measurement - Davie. 3. Functionalism and religionDurkheim, Parsons, Malinowski, BellahReligion as a conservative force 4. Marxism and religionMarx and EngelsReligion as a conservative force (Marx)Religion as an initiator of change (Engels) 5. Neo-Marxism and religionGramsci, Maduro, TurnerReligion as an initiator of change 6. Feminism and religionDe Beauvoir, El Saadawi, WatsonReligion as a conservative force 7. Weber and religionHistorical study - Calvinism, LutheranismModern view - rationalisationReligion as a past initiator of change 8. Postmodernism and religionLyon, Bauman 9. Religious fundamentalismDefinitions, examples, links to secularisation 10. Religious participationBy social group (age, ethnicity, gender and social class) 11. Religious organisationsChurch, cult, sect, denominationTroeltsch, Weber, Stark & BainbridgeWallis - NRMsReasons for NRM turnover 12. SecularisationArguments for - Wilson, Weber, Bruce (etc)Arguments against - Durkheim, Parsons, ArmstrongProblems of measuring secularisation - Davie NEW: my A2 students have produced brief summaries...
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...Have Western liberal democracies effectively responded to challenges to their power? In your answer, refer to at least one internal and one external challenge. Introduction In 1989 political scientist Francis Fukuyama declared “the end of history.”[1] Despite his language, Fukuyama was not an apocalyptic religious fundamentalist awaiting the rapture, but rather, he saw with the collapse of the Soviet Union the ultimate and final triumph of liberal democracy. Fukuyama draws on Marxist and Hegelian interpretations of the narrative of history as one of progress, in this case with its apex at the liberal democracy best represented by the United States of America. The triumphalism of this context may seem naïve in a post-9/11 world, but it should be seen in its original context of the decades long cold war between the US (and its allies) and the Soviet Union. These two sides came to represent an ideological conflict rather than a purely physical one, between liberal capitalist democracy and authoritarian communism, between free enterprise and central planning. Liberal democracy emerged victorious economically, politically and, Fukuyama would argue, philosophically. However, Fukuyama would be hard pressed to defend his near-eschatological optimism today, and Marxist critic Terry Eagleton has said that “the End of History is at an end.”[2] Rather than the comparatively monolithic opposition it experienced in the 20th Century, today the political dominance of liberal democracy is...
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...factors such as ideology that shape human identity and act subconsciously over an individual. Ideology is the system of meaning that helps explain, define and make value judgments about the world (Croteau & Hoynes 2014, p. 152). As we live in an interconnected world there are many ideologies as there are social structures in any given society. Related to this is that dominant ideas are hegemonic. Marx created the superstructure, which is the domain of ideas for example religion, legal structures, family, institutions and these are influenced by the interests of the economically dominating classes in society. For Gramsci, ideological hegemony is a mechanism for the ruling/dominating class to maintain its power, either via force or consent or a combination of both (Croteau & Hoynes 2014, p. 158). Thus the level of ideological hegemony would vary between societies and countries. In places like Australia,...
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...Muslism Ummah can Reply? Introduction The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for a religious deity or the irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Blasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. It is taken as a gigantic nature of crime with the capital punishment Blasphemy Causes destabilization of world peace Blasphemy in different religions All major religions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism does not allow Blasphemy at all. Along with different religions different countries have made some Blasphemy laws to control it on some aspects. All the major religions books taught us not to go against any religious god, thing, holy personality or Prophet. But we face different cases of Blasphemy, not only interreligious but even in intra-religiously. Causes of Blasphemy Freedom of Expression Anti Islamic Sentiments Lack of Faith Lack of knowledge It becomes point to be famous and rich (Salman Rushdi) Inter-religious hegemony. Religious Laws against Blasphemy AS PER CHRISTIANITY & JUDAISM The punishment for blasphemy in most of the major religions is death. It is stated in the Old Testament of the...
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...Re-appropriated Fashion Cultural re-appropriation is extremely predominant in society today, especially in regards to fashion. One only needs to wait a couple decades after a trend goes out of style to eventually see its return into the hegemonic world. Many of the clothes in my own closet are derived from an ancestor that held an actual function or symbolism which over time has been recreated into a piece of clothing that is nothing more than a mainstream aesthetic apparel. High-waisted shorts were reintroduced in 2011, and oddly have been embraced by young women all across the nation, despite the previous norm of low-rise denim. Levi brand jeans first manufactured this unique style of short apparel in the early 1940s for women who were working in the fields while the men in their families were at war (Alvaranga 1). The high waist was designed to cover a woman’s midriff while still providing the comfort of wearing shorts in the heat. This functional garment carried into the 1950s as a fashion trend. Now, over 70 years after their inception, high-waisted shorts are designed in a variety of fabrics and styles for all occasions. A more controversial example of re-appropriation in today’s fashion is the use of “tribal” designs. Native Americans are known for their use of feathers, beading, and geometric patterns in their attire. This was first re-appropriated during the hippie movement of the 1960s. Hippies wore clothing from Native traditions as an expression of a generation...
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...Fatima Soleman Abdi Idd Hist 275 Essay 1 : Islam was born in the Hijaz in the 7th century and expanded to the rest of the Middle East where its key institutions were established. Simultaneously, it went through a rapid wave of expansion and eventually reached the African continent though North Africa and was progressively embraced in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, we cannot say there was such a thing as a unique process of expansion of Islam because an African identity was inexistent. Indeed, the continent and especially our area of focus, consisting of North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, was composed of different regions defined by their ethnicity and their ancestry. Furthermore, the physical separation created by the Sahara desert also played a major role into accentuating the disparities. We will explore here, how the introduction of Islam in both regions differed significantly and how in the secondary phase of “rooting” of the faith, this key difference in the first contacts the religion had in these two regions led to the establishment of two distinct Islams. Finally, we will demonstrate that when we look beyond the complexity of both processes, they ultimately share many similarities. The main difference in the process of arrival of Islam in North Africa and Sub-Saharan African is displayed by the rapidity of expansion. Whereas by 720, North Africa was controlled by the Muslims, the adoption of Islam below the Sahara appeared to be more slowly...
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...“Religion can be both a conservative force and an initiator of social change” to what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? Sociologists such as Durkheim and Marx have argued that religion is a conservative force in the sense that it maintains the status quo, disagreeing with sociologists such as Weber and Gramsci who say it is a more radical force and prompts change, and even some fundamentalist groups have gotten involved to argue that religion is conservative in the sense that it keeps tradition and the old ways. Even feminists such as De Beauvoir have had a say in this matter. Functionalists and Marxists have the general consensus that religion maintains the status quo within society rather than it causing social change. They believe that religion acts as a conservative force preventing social change. However, if any change happens it is due to the changes in society that shape religion. Religion as a conservative force can be defined in two ways; the first way of defining religion as a conservative force is to refer to religion as preventing change and maintaining the status quo. The functionalist perspective and Marxists perspective both provide arguments to support this definition of religion as a conservative force. Durkheim supports the idea that religion is a conservative force with his idea of a collective conscience, which is the shared morals and beliefs uniting society. Durkheim believed that "religion promotes social solidarity."...
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