Hello dear Colleague and Fellow Researcher.
Chapter provides three foundational assumptions of structuralism as outlined by Saussure which are:
1. Language is arbitrary, meaning there is no inherent link between words and meanings;
2. Language is relational, with meaning arising from differences;
3. Language is
systematic, where language constitutes our world views and how we understand
it.
Arbitrariness: The idea that there is no natural or inherent
connection between a word and its meaning; meaning is derived by social
convention.
Binary Oppositions: Pairs of opposing terms (e.g., cat/hat) that create
meaning through their differences and interrelationships.
Signifier: The word or image, while the signified is the concept
or meaning that is associated with it.
While discussing poststructuralism,
chapter talks about the stability of the meaning. It argues that meaning is
never stable but is a result of “différance,” or the endless deferral of
meaning through difference. It says each signifier points to other signifiers
and there is no stable endpoint.
Différance: A term coined by Derrida to describe the way meaning
is created through both difference and deferral; meaning is always postponed or
deferred.
Power and knowledge, as discussed
in the chapter, are interwoven, and systems like law, religion and medicines
are all seen as discourses used to define and control populations. Foucault
suggests that power structures rely on knowledge to control and classify
populations, with discourses producing ‘subjects’.
Discourse: Systems of knowledge and power that create ‘subjects’
and ways of seeing the world.
Power/Knowledge: The inseparable relationship between power and
knowledge, where power creates knowledge and knowledge reinforces power.
‘Subaltern’ is discussed stating
that the term is used to describe oppressed or marginalised groups. Referring
to Spivak’s argument the chapter says that the subaltern cannot speak for
themselves because they are prevented by the structures of power.
Subaltern: A term used by Spivak to describe groups that are
marginalised and oppressed.
Discussing base and superstructure
in Marxism, the chapter says that the economic base, that is the material means
of production, influences the social superstructure, that is culture and
society. Class membership is defined by one’s relationship to production, and
unequal power relationships are naturalised by ideology.
Economic Base: The material means of production (e.g., factories,
land, resources).
Hegemony: The dominance of one group or class over others, which
is achieved through a combination of coercion and consent, and maintained
through cultural institution and ideologies.
Ideology: A system of beliefs and ideas that naturalizes social
and economic inequalities.
Social Superstructure: The cultural and social institutions, norms, and ideas
(e.g., law, family, education) that are shaped by the economic base.
Lyotard defines metanarrative, as
discussed in the chapter, as overarching explanations, or systems of knowledge,
such as Marxism or religion, which attempt to account for all aspects of
reality. He argues that postmodernism is characterised by a distrust of these
totalising explanations.
Metanarrative: An overarching story or explanation that tries to
explain all of reality. Postmodernism is characterised by a distrust of these
totalising explanations.
Similarly, the concept of
hyperreality is also discussed. Baudrillard suggests that in postmodern
society, the distinction between the real and its representation has broken
down and we live in a word of hyperreality. Simulation has taken over, creating
models of reality that have become more real than the real itself.
Hyperreality: A condition in postmodern society where the
distinction between reality and representation break down, and images or
simulations are considered more “real” than the original.
While discussing about the tenets
of feminism, chapter identifies patriarchal structures that seek to subordinate
women’s lives and is a critique of the ways in which women are represented,
particularly in the media. It argues that gender is a social construction, and
therefore it must be explored and critiqued.
Queer Theory: A perspective that seeks to destabilize traditional
understandings of sexual and gender identities, and to challenge the
normativity of heterosexuality.
Postcolonial theory studies the
influence of colonialism and the modes of representation through which colonial
power was established. It also examines the legacy of colonialism and how these
legacies inform global relations.
Postcolonialism: A critical perspective that analyses the effects of
colonialism on the colonized and examines the legacies of imperialism.
As argued by Ulrich Beck, risk
society generates risks which are correlated with technology. The risk society
is driven by technology, with risks themselves becoming part of commerce,
requiring solutions that generate further risks.
Technoculture and
Risk: The study of the ways that
technology and social/environmental risks interact, focusing on issues such as
consumerism, surveillance, and anxiety.
Risk Society: The idea that modern society is defined by its
engagement with manufactured risks, particularly once associated with
technology.
Posthumanism: A critical project that challenges the idea of the
human as a unique and superior species, seeking to reconceptualise its relation
to technology and other life forms.
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