Cultural Hegemony in the United States

1st Edition

Lee Artz; Bren Ortega Murphy
eISBN-13: 9781452221960

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Popular usage equates hegemony with dominance–a meaning far from Antonio Gramsci′s original concept where hegemony appears as a contested culture that meets the minimum needs of the majority while serving the interests of the dominant class.

This text is the first to present cultural hegemony in its original form–as a process of consent, resistance, and coercion. Hegemony is illustrated with examples from American history and contemporary culture, including practices that represent race, gender, and class in everyday life.

U.S. cultural hegemony depends in part on how well media, government, and other dominant institutions popularize beliefs and organize practices that promote individualism and consumerism. Corporate dominance and market values reign only through the consent of the majority, which, for the time being - finds material, political, and cultural benefit from existing social relations. As deep social contradictions undermine brittle hegemonic relations, the subordinate majority - including blacks, women, and workers will seek a new cultural hegemony that overcomes race, gender, and class inequality.

Sold By SAGE Publications
ISBNs 9780803945036, 1452221960, 9781452221960, 0803945027, 9780803945029, 9780803945036, 1452236437, 9781452236438
Language English
Number of Pages 349
Edition 1st