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The Social Construction ofReality

Ideology, Discourse,Hegemony

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Reality?

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Social Constructivism1. Human societies organise and structure the world in particular

ways.

2. In so doing they construct the world and they constructreality

3. This reality tends to become normalised and naturalised so thatit is taken for granted thats life by the people in thatsociety.

4. We tend to forget that reality has been constructed or that itcould be organised differently.

5. We learn about the world primarily through language, and thus;language is crucial in this construction and in the transmissionof this construction to others (OShaugnessy and Stadler

2005:59).

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Philosophical Conceptions of

Reality

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Philosophical Conceptions of

Reality Materialists vs Immaterialists.

Materialists believe that reality exists external to and

independent from the human subject

Immaterialists see our perception of reality as being a

part of human subjectivity.

Three main types of Immaterialists: Idealists,Phenomenalists, Social Constructivists

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The Immaterialists Idealists believe that our view of reality is formed in the

intersubjectivity and collective consciousness of the human

subject.

Phenomenalists believe that we can only experience reality

through our senses and that this experience is what

constitutes our view of reality.

Social Constructivists believe that our understanding of reality

is shaped by the society we belong to.

A History of Western Philosophy in under 5min

http://youtube.com/watch?v=k6D6gO6CGdU

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The Social Constructivists Three main types of social constructivism: weak, strong and

radical.

Weak social constructivists acknowledge some kind ofconcrete existence outside of the human subject but stillbelieve our view of reality is formed by the society we belongto.

Strong social constructivists believe that everything is to some

degree a societal construction Radical social constructivists believe that its impossible to

know how closely our understanding of reality matches anexternal existence. They are particularly interested in the studyof technology and reality.

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The Social Construction of Reality Famous Book by Berger and Luckman

Key point is that all human perceptions of reality are based onor constructed by the society within which they were formed.

Luckman and Berger do not claim that nothing exists outsideof human thought, but that rather, we can only understand theworld around us through our senses and the way that we havelearned to interpret this sense data comes from the society

around us. At its most basic level Social Constructivism argues that

reality is a construct and that this construction happensthrough human activity.

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Culture and Context in Social

Constructivism Culture and Context are central to how society influences our

construction of reality.

If culture is ordinary and everyday then it includes all of thecommunication in a society (the transmission of information,ideas, beliefs, values etc)

Much of our communication is contextual - that is the wechoose different forms (and content) of communication in

different environments. Culture is made up of language and we use language to form

and maintain the way we see the world around us and theforms and types of language that we use depend on thecontext that we are using them in.

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Language and the formation of

realityLanguage, as the primary means of communication, is the

central medium used for the understanding, interpretation,and construction of reality (OShaugnessy and Stadler

2005:60).Two ways of looking at the importance of language in

comprehending the world:

1. The reflective or mimetic argument. That is that language isjust about describing the world around us, that we uselanguage to name and describe that which already exists.

2. The constructionist argument. This is where language is seenas constructing the world through naming it and henceconstructing our conceptions of the world around us.

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Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis This hypothesis basically states that the

language that a person speaks structures the

way that they think as well. Hence the way thatsome words are impossible to translate.

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OShaugnessy and Stadlers

position They adopt the constructionist argument overall and

argue that language shapes our perceptions and

feelings about the world around us by providing uswith labels for things that help determine not just how

we think about these things but what, when and why

as well.

Bruces Philosophy Song

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eE7Fe1cGLPk

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Ideology Ideologies are sets of social values, ideas, beliefs,

feelings and representations, by which people

collectively make sense of the world that they live in,thus constituting a world view. This world view is

naturalised, a taken for granted, common sense

view about the way the world works (OShaugnessy

& Stadler2005:152).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2rZlDM4Xuc

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Ideology - Karl Marx The term literally means the science of ideas.

Karl Marx used it to mean false consciousness.

Marx believed that the working class were led tobelieve through false consciousness that theirinterests coincided with the interests of the rulingclass. Marx described this in terms of the assertion

that the ruling or dominant ideas, beliefs and values ina given society coincide with the ideas, beliefs andvalues of the ruling class within that society.

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Dominant Ideology - Louis

Althusser Althusser used the phrase The Dominant Ideology to

conceptualise how social power was maintained bythe ruling class in society.

He believed it was the internalisation of the systemsof beliefs, ideas and values of the dominant class asnaturally occurring or as common sense that led totheir dominance.

The key difference between Marx and Althusser is thatMarx saw ideology as being imposed from the topdown whereas Althusser saw it more in terms ofimposing it on ourselves and others.

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InterpellationAlthusser believed that we internalise

ideologies in the formation of our identities (an

ongoing process) and that part of thisformation is through what is communicated to

us by others.

Interpellation is this naming (labelling)process or how we are hailed by others, in

particular those in authority.

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RSAs and ISAs Althusser saw two different sets of mechanisms that

transmit ideologies in society - Repressive StateApparatuses (RSAs) and Ideological StateApparatuses (ISAs).

RSAs use force and include; the legal system, thepolice, the prison system and the military.

ISAs use persuasion and include; religion, the family,the education system and the media.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wz3YNMPMNzU

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The Media and Ideology Althusser argues that the media generally support the

dominant ideology.

However to remain relevant to the majority of theaudience the media have to provide products that givepleasure to the subordinate groups (women,indigenous groups, the working class etc) whotogether make up the majority of the audience. Theyalso have to deal with issues that have resonancewith their audience.

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The Media and the Dominant

Ideology Three main ways the media support the

dominant ideology and interpellate the

audience into internalising it:

1. Masking and Displacing (avoiding or hiding).

2. Incorporation or Containment.

3. Providing Pleasure.

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Critiques of this model Not all media products consciously support the

dominant ideology.

Top down imposition of ideology can be seen

as too rigid can be countered with liberal

pluralist ideas.

The media can also act in opposition to ornegotiation with the dominant ideology.

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Discourse OShaugnessy and Stadler define Discourse as:

paradigms or ways of understanding that are

communicated through texts and language use, andthat organise knowledge and social power

(2005:150).

Discourse is used by Michel Foucault to examine

how societies understand and react to the issues ofmadness, criminality and sexuality

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Discourse Analysis Explores the ways in which power and knowledge

are communicated through texts, language use and

systems of thought (OShaugnessy & Stadler2005:150).

Foucault argued that society does change the way it

talks about particular issues over time and that a

range of different ideas and ways of thinking aboutparticular issues are brought together to make sense

of these areas.

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Disciplinary Power/Bio-power Is the regulation of mass society by getting

each person to self-regulate because we

believe that we are always surveilled and henceit will be known if we dont follow the rules and

we will be punished or socially sanctioned.

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Discourse and Institution Kresss definition of discourse sees discourses as

systematically organised sets of statements whichgive expression to the meanings and values of aninstitution (cited in Schirato & Yell2000:58).

Discourses are frequently marked by the type oflanguage or jargon that they use and that also Theydefine, describe and delimit what it is possible to say(and - by extension what it is possible to do or not todo) with respect to the area of concern of thatinstitution (Kress cited in Schirato & Yell2000:59).

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Hegemony OShaugnessy and Stadler define Hegemony as a

way of understanding how one social group maintainsits ultimate power over subordinate groups it iswhere Power and Leadership [are] maintainedthrough processes of struggle and negotiation,especially through winning the consent of themajority of people to accept the ideas or ideologies of

the dominant group as common sense (2005:183).

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Hegemony - Antonio Gramsci The concept of hegemony was developed by

Antonio Gramsci in the 20s and30s. Gramsci

believed that force was just one of the methodsby which the ruling class maintained their

power, however of far more interest to him was

the use of persuasion and negotiation for themaintenance of this control.

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Hegemony Hegemony is about negotiation, persuasion and struggle.

Subordinate groups do not meekly accept what they are told,there has to be a pay off.

In Western democracies there has to be enough freedoms,enough pleasurable activities, comfortable lifestyles andvarious entertainments so that these subordinate groupsaccept the status quo.

This means that hegemony is never total, it isnt just imposedfrom above and it allows for (and even expects) conflicts.

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Hegemonic Responses to

Challenges1. Incorporation/Appropriation involves subsuming a

radical or challenging viewpoint into itself so thatthe viewpoint is therefore neutralised.

2. Marginalization occurs when minority voices aresimply not given any space that it isnt a tokenstereotype

3. Suppression occurs when no mention of particulargroups or ideas or issues are allowed whatsoever.

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Identity/Subjectivity Its important to remember that identity is

shaped by communication and that

communication about identity is inherentlyideological.

Ernesto Laclau claimed that cultural identities

or subject positions are some of the mostimportant sites of ideological conflict within a

society.

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Counter-Hegemony World views or activities that are in opposition to the

hegemonic world view of the dominant groups.

Culture Jamming - A form of media activism thatsubverts and reworks the intended meaning ofexisting media texts or parodies major corporations,public figures, and their media images(OShaugnessy and Stadler2005:188).

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Culture jamming

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The Media and the Construction of

Reality The media play a key role in how society constructs reality

because they are the central means by which our societycommunicates about itself.

By taking a social constructivist point of view we are sayingthat the way in which we see reality is dependant on the way inwhich our society constructs its reality through language andculture and the media transmit the buildings blocks of thisconstruction through the sets of beliefs values and lifestyles

that are propagated and promoted. Clip from Wag the Dog

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Noam Chomsky and Manufacturing

Consent Chomsky puts forward the propaganda model of how the

media function in Western democracies.

The five essential elements or news filters of the propaganda

model of mass communication are:(1) the size, concentrated ownership, owner wealth, and profit

orientation of the dominant mass-media firms; (2) advertisingas the primary income source of the mass media; (3) thereliance of the media on information provided by government,business, and experts funded and approved by these primarysources and agents of power; (4) flak as a means ofdiscliplining the media; and (5) anticommunism as a nationalreligion and control mechanism (Herman & Chomsky 1988:2).

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Chomsky The Myth of the Liberal Media

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KYlyb1Bx9Ic

CBC Interview2006P1

http://youtube.com/watch?v=10rTPSSmOFw

CBC Interview2006P2

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bieFwutoqvA

Chomsky vs Andrew Marr - The Big Idea P1

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FSuaGIKTaEA Chomsky vs Andrew Marr - The Big Idea P2

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oG24vg8js4o

Chomsky vs Andrew Marr - The Big Idea P3

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NTAyhjL3YLE

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Manufacturing Consent The mass media tend to support and propagate the

messages that the dominant groups within society

wished to see spread partially because the samepeople are the ones who own the media or if they are

different then they rely on corporate money in the

form of advertising revenue for their existence or that

they rely on sources of information from those whoare in power.