Sedlmayr G (2018)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2018
Book Volume: 3
Pages Range: 7-26
URI: https://coilsoftheserpent.org/2018/12/stuart-hall-and-power/
Open Access Link: https://coilsoftheserpent.org/2018/12/stuart-hall-and-power/
When thinking about Stuart Hall’s theoretical legacy, ‘power’ is probably not the first term that comes to mind. Concepts like representation, racism, ethnicity, encoding/decoding, articulation, conjunctural analysis etc. more readily suggest themselves and structure the reception of his work. Yet nonetheless, when taking a closer look, his entire oeuvre may be said to be permeated, on different levels, by themes that touch upon the issue of power, not least in connection with the concepts listed above. The latent omnipresence of power in Hall’s thinking is perhaps most readily detectable on the meta-level on which he situates and positions himself as a cultural-studies scholar, and it is this level that hence is addressed first. In the second section, Hall’s view of power on the economic, social and state levels is considered, particularly by pointing out his indebtedness to Antonio Gramsci’s conception of hegemonic power. In an attempt to let Hall speak for himself as much as possible, the section provides quite a lot of quotes, many of which will be taken from the collaboratively written Policing the Crisis, in order to shed some light on his – and his co-authors’ – ideas about power. The third section attempts a systematisation of the issues raised, particularly by integrating a Foucauldian perspective on power, which was nearly as important for Hall as the Gramscian. The last section concludes by returning to the beginning, reconsidering Hall’s self-positioning within the power/knowledge nexus that structures the discourse of cultural studies.
APA:
Sedlmayr, G. (2018). Stuart Hall and Power. Coils of the Serpent, 3, 7-26.
MLA:
Sedlmayr, Gerold. "Stuart Hall and Power." Coils of the Serpent 3 (2018): 7-26.
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