SOC 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Sociological Theory, Cultural Studies, Antonio Gramsci
12 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Combines theories from both the Conflict Approach and Symbolic Interaction paradigms
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Thought he should be making more than 35k
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Examines gaps between empirical reality (objective) and imagined reality + lived experience (subjective).
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Once it's produced, power needs to be reproduced; need to keep reaffirming.
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10% of pop. Controls 40% of wealth -> how do we struggle and transform our lives if we feel like we're powerless individuals?
Cultural studies explains this.
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Critical theory examines "how power is produced and reproduced [and] how people struggle over the ideas and meanings they use to
make sense of the world, form identities, interact with others, and transform the conditions of our lives."
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Poverty statistics were part of our objective empirical reality (census, countable).
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Imagined reality
Objective reality
Poverty
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4. Cultural Studies (Micro/Macro)
Put into jail bc saw threat to political power.
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Marxist: nature of the system is it will produce inequality. But inequality will grow so big that people will decide to overthrow this.
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This didn't happen with his community. He wondered why.
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Came up with concept of Hegemony: process that sustains dominate mode of infrastructure.
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Antoni Gramsci
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How dominant groups maintain power over subordinate groups by gaining their support.
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Maintains consensus for ideology of dominant groups.
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Normalizes the power over the subordinate groups and makes it look fair and correct.
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Hegemony is a process.
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Wealthy ppl deserving of their wealth.
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Work hard, get successful.
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If you fail, that's your fault.
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All supports relations of power.
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Hegemonic ideologies naturalize dominant power relationships.
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Popular culture is a key terrain for establishing, negotiating, and maintaining hegemony.
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Ex. Avg salary of top CEO's 15mil/year. Give ppl 3% tax cut. That person saved 400 000 from tax cut. 15k/year, save $450. Tax es pay
for services: healthcare, public transit, education. All those services lose money, and most of it goes to the wealthy. The ppl who benefit
from tax cuts are those who are already wealthy, and don't need those services. Yet majority of people vote for tax cuts, an d against tax
raise.
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Big fish, society organized in your favour = "The world is just."
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Hegemony
Week 3 - Sociological Paradigms
Thursday, January 28, 2016
11:05 AM
SOC 202 Page 1
