ANTH 425 Power and Change
27 September 2011
Kurtz, Donald V. (1996) "Hegemony and Anthropology: Gramsci, exegeses, reinterpretations." Critique of Anthropology. 16(2):103 - 135. Sage
Exploring what Kurtz says:
- how does he say Gramsci defined the concept of hegemony?
- what is it and how does it work?
- how does it relate to standard Marxist thought? (What is standard Marxist thought?)
- base/superstructure
- bourgeois
- who is involved in hegemonic processes?
- traditional and organic intellectuals
- how is hegemony related to culture, ideology and consciousness?
- what is "counter-hegemony"?
- how does he say others (Williams, Laclau and Mouffe, Comaroffs) have used a different concept of hegemony from Gramsci?
- how does Carstens’ work apply a Gramscian concept of hegemony?
Critically analysing what Kurtz says:
- how does power work in this model?
- How does this differ from the views presented by Gluckman, Foucault and Wolf?
- Can you think of an analogy from your society to practice with this approach?
- How might change come about as a result of the workings of this kind of power?
Coming to conclusions:
- Is this a useful way of thinking about power? Why or why not?