Re: hegemony and the polyphony of culture
JAMES BENTHALL (st26h@jane.uh.edu)
7 Dec 1994 21:02 CST
In article <3c2o46$aco@news.ycc.yale.edu>, whchan@minerva.cis.yale.edu (Wing-Hoi Chan (GD 1999)) writes...
>JAMES BENTHALL (st26h@jane.uh.edu) wrote:
>: Thats hegemony. When the masses *believe*, without questioning, that the elite
>: culture is superior then they have fallen into a hegemonic relationship. The
>: internalization or acceptance of such a belief is what Gramsci called
>: "ideological hegemony". A good example is Social Darwinism in America. Many
>
>i am glad that some one finally responded.
>but then i think the same problem comes up in your response:
>belief in superiority of elite culture does not involve internalizing
>elite culture.
Then how do these people _know_ that the "superior" elite culture is superior?
In most [all] studies I've read people don't readily agree that their culture
is inferior to another. I don't know how many anthropological "stories" i've
heard where the "less developed" group thinks the "developed" group is
positively silly with all their contraptions and such. A necessary part of
being human is having a healthy self-image--people don't just abandon this
belief at the drop of a hat. It usually only occurs after an "inferior"
group has been in contact with a "superior" one for a period.
I believe (and this is JUST my belief) that it doesn't occur until the
subordinate group has been in contact with the dominant group long enough to
*internalize* their belief system (i.e. long enough to adopt their criterion
on what is superior/inferior).
If anyone has any sources about this quandary please post them.
!Vivan los Zapatistas!
james b.
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