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IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony

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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 30
IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE
Ideology
An ideology is a collection of ideas. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of
looking at things Ideology can also be seen as a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to
all members of this society.
For example, different types of gender ideologies would describe what roles are expected of women and
men in a society. The ideology of economic liberalization could be seen to particularly promote the interests
of the business classes.
Ideology in Everyday Life
Every society has an ideology that forms the basis of the public opinion or common sense, a basis that
usually remains invisible to most people within the society. This dominant ideology appears as `neutral',
while all others that differ from the norm are often seen as radical, no matter what the actual circumstances
may be.
Influencing Ideology
Organizations that strive for power influence the ideology of a society to provide a favorable environment
for them. Political organizations (governments included) and other groups (e.g. lobbyists) try to influence
people by broadcasting their opinions, which is the reason why so often many people in a society seem to
think alike.
A certain ethic usually forms the basis of an ideology. Ideology studied as ideology (rather than examples of
specific ideologies) has been carried out under the name systematic ideology. There are many different kinds
of ideology: political, social, epistemological, ethical.
The popularity of an ideology is in part due to the influence of moral entrepreneurs, who sometimes act in
their own interests. A political ideology is the body of ideals, principles, doctrine, myth or symbols of a
social movement, institution, class, or large group that references some political and cultural plan. It can be
a construct of political thought, often defining political parties and their policy.
Hegemony
When most people in a society think alike about certain matters, or even forget that there are alternatives to
the current state of affairs, we arrive at the concept of Hegemony, about which the philosopher Antonio
Gramsci wrote. The much smaller-scale concept of groupthink also owes something to his work.
The ideologies of the dominant class of a society are proposed to all members of that society in order to
make the ruling class' interests appear to be the interests of all, and thereby achieve hegemony. To reach this
goal, ideology makes use of a special type of discourse: the lacunar discourse.
A number of propositions, which are never untrue, suggest a number of other propositions, which are. In
this way, the essence of the lacunar discourse is what is not told (but is suggested).
Epistemological ideologies
Even when the challenging of existing beliefs is encouraged, as in science, the dominant paradigm or
mindset can prevent certain challenges, theories or experiments from being advanced.
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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
The philosophy of science mostly concerns itself with reducing the impact of these prior ideologies so that
science can proceed with its primary task, which is (according to science) to create knowledge.
There are critics who view science as an ideology itself, called scientism. Some scientists respond that, while
the scientific method is itself an ideology, as it is a collection of ideas, there is nothing particularly wrong or
bad about it.
Other critics point out that while science itself is not a misleading ideology, there are some fields of study
within science that are misleading. Two examples discussed here are in the fields of ecology and economics.
Useful Terms
Discourse: discussion or dialogue
Proposition: proposal or plan
Paradigm: standard, pattern or example
Doctrine: set of guidelines
Comprehensive: complete, all-inclusive
Ecology: concerning the species found in the natural environment
Moral entrepreneurs: those who make up new morals according to their cultural needs
Suggested Readings
Please visit the following web-site for this lecture, which provide useful and interesting information:
Ideology7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology
7 Please visit the hyperlinks on the website to read more about topics mentioned in the lecture
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Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?:Cultural Anthropology, Internet Resources
  2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  3. MAJOR THEORIES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Diffusionism
  4. GROWTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY (continued):Post Modernism
  5. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Comments on Fieldwork
  6. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):Census Taking
  7. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
  8. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
  9. FOCUSING ON LANGUAGE:Languages of the World, Structure of Language
  10. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE (continued):Levels of Complexity, Cultural Emphasis
  11. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:Optimal Foraging, Suggested Readings
  12. FOOD AND CULTURE (continued):Food Collectors, Food Production
  13. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURE (continued):Pastoralism, Agriculture
  14. RELEVANCE OF KINSHIP AND DESCENT:Kinship Criteria, Rules of Descent
  15. KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
  16. THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage
  17. ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
  18. GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings
  19. GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty
  20. STRATIFICATION AND CULTURE:Social Ranking, Dimensions of Inequality
  21. THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION (continued):The Functionalists, Conflict Theorists
  22. CULTURE AND CHANGE:Inventions, Diffusion, Donor, Conventional
  23. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
  24. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization
  25. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms
  26. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):State Systems, Nation-States
  27. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):Social Norms, Informal Mechanisms
  28. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE:Emotional Development, Psychological Universals
  29. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE (continued):Origin of Customs, Personality Types
  30. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony
  31. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE (Continued):Political ideologies, Economic Ideology
  32. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES:Variation in Associations, Age Sets
  33. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (continued):Formation of Associations
  34. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE:Similarity in Human Adaptations
  35. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (continued):Inter-group Relations
  36. CULTURE AND BELIEFS:Social Function of Religion, Politics and Beliefs
  37. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:Changing Definitions of Local Knowledge
  38. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (continued):The Need for Caution
  39. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions
  40. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Contentions in Development
  41. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Operational
  42. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART:Relevance of Art, Art and Politics
  43. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART (continued):Art as a Status Symbol
  44. ETHICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:Ethical Condemnation, Orientalism
  45. RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Ensuring Cultural Survival