Language and Hegemony: Principles, Morals and Pronunciation

Document Type

Article

Department

English (Scripps)

Publication Date

1987

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature

Abstract

There can be no doubt that the comparatively recent interest taken in the works of Gramsci stems from his formulation of the concept of hegemony. In particular, most attention has been paid to what can be crudely described as his revision of the classical Marxist position on the relations of the economic base and the cultural superstructure ― that is to say, a revision of the reductive formula which sees such relations as determinist and unidirectional, and according to which the economic base simply (or not so simply, according to certain versions) determines the forms of superstructural expression. The revision was not a simple reversal ― according to which superstructure would determine base ― but a dialectical view in which Gramsci stressed the interactive nature of the relations between the different levels of the social whole.

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© 1987 Taylor and Francis, an Informa Group

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