Power, Hegemony and Resistance
This course examines the related concepts of power, hegemony and resistance as they have been debated in social theory and cultural studies. Questions such as: is “power” a concept best confined to the description of specific, intentional acts by political agents capable of enforcing their will on others, or is it rather diffuse, sometimes unconscious and potentially present in all social processes are considered? How is power legitimated, and to what extent are such legitimations accepted or contested? Are discourses and acts of resistance the inevitable consequence of the exercise of structural power? Or is resistance a chimera designed to diminish discussion of the potentiality of genuine rebellion or revolution?