Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
18. A Gramscian Inversion: Hegemony in Theory and in Practice
Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
Thomas Carrico [+]
Florida State University
Thomas J. Carrico, Jr. is a PhD candidate at Florida State University’s Department of Religion. Focusing on the matchstick industry in Victorian England, Carrico’s dissertation elucidates social, political, and economic constraints on moral reasoning, especially in response to industrial disease.
Description
In this chapter, I argue against an Althusserian conception of ideology wherein a dominated group accepts the definitions and categories provided by a dominant group. Rather than viewing this as acceptance, I argue that dominated groups are not uniform, their consent may be strategic, and hegemonic unity is never as stable as it is often made to appear. Further, building on the work of James Scott, I argue that those in dominated groups tend to be very aware of these dynamics, even when they are portrayed as willing participants in hegemonic systems.