CMST 2C03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Louis Althusser, Structural Marxism, Semiotics

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Communication Studies
• Course: CMST 2C03
• Professor: Staff

Document Summary

1: more or less the same, looking for hidden meaning, we all have an ideology, a worldview, think about what should be valued, important, etc. Earliest guy, in terms of scholars we are looking at. Louis althusser (1918 1990: ideological state apparatuses: capitalist societies governed by ideological state apparatuses (eg. legal systems, schools, religious institutions, media communications etc. ) People were dissatisfied with capitalism there was an ownership of the means of production. Sell our labour in order to get work. They think that it is unequal and get people to have power over others: more linguistic/discursive conception of ideology reproduced by institutional structures and practices, implicitly promote ideologies of power political institutions (eg. governments, armies, etc. ) Reinforce the status quo: individuals unaware their lives repressed by institutions that appear to serve them. Individuals in their actuality exploit us and this becomes a big problem according to him: internalize ruling capitalist ideologies (pose constraints to awareness)