Chapter 6: Cultural Analysis Flashcards
Def ideology
Ideology: An ideology is a system of ideas that unconsciously shapes and constrains both our beliefs and behaviors.
List the 4 ways that ideology structures our social world
Limitation ➔ limits the range of acceptable ideas in a particular cultural context
normalization➔ normalizing relationships of power
privileging ➔ privileges some interests over others (i.e. males vs females)
interpellation ➔ ideology serves as the force that interpellates us or calls us into existence as social subjects ➔ through hailing: when indiv recog and respond to an encountred ideology and allow it to represent themselves
Def myth
Myth: (Roland Barthe’s theory) A myth is a sacred story or “type of speech” that reaffirms and reproduces ideology in relation to an object.
Def doxa
Doxa: (Pierre Bourdieu’s concept) Doxa represents knowledge “which is beyond question and which each agent tacitly accords by the mere fact of acting in accord with social convention”
Def Hegemony
Hegemony- (Antonio Gramsci’s concept): The process by which one ideology subverts other competing ideologies and gains cultural dominance.
Def american dream
• American Dream: The unquestioned assumption that hard work leads to success, and that success is measured in terms of economic wealth.
Def token
• Token: An exception to a social rule that affirms the correctness of an ideology.
Def conspicious consumption
• Conspicuous Consumption: The belief that one can attain the kind of happiness or completeness often conceived of as upper class through the purchase of material goods and services.
Def exclusion-symbolic annihilation
Exclusion - Symbolic Annihilation: The symbolical annihilation of various cultural groups through erasure or under-representation.
Def sterotyping
• A misleading and reductionistic representation of a cultural group.
Def assimilation
Assimilation: - The process of “white washing” ethnic diversity by de-historicizing cultural difference.
Def othering
Othering: - The process of marginalizing minorities by defining them in relationship to the majority, which is assumed to be the norm.
Def difference
Difference: - The depiction of others who are subordinate to, but a source of pleasure for, US American tourists and consumers.
Def exocitism
Exoticism: - Images of foreign lands and bodies that romanticize or mystify other cultures.
