Book•
Selections from the prison notebooks of Antonio Gramsci
01 Jan 2015-
TL;DR: The first selection published from Gramsci's Prison Notebooks to be made available in Britain, and was originally published in the early 1970s as discussed by the authors, was the first publication of the Notebooks in the UK.
Abstract: Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks, written between 1929 and 1935, are the work of one of the most original thinkers in twentieth century Europe. Gramsci has had a profound influence on debates about the relationship between politics and culture. His complex and fruitful approach to questions of ideology, power and change remains crucial for critical theory. This volume was the first selection published from the Notebooks to be made available in Britain, and was originally published in the early 1970s. It contains the most important of Gramsci's notebooks, including the texts of The Modern Prince, and Americanism and Fordism, and extensive notes on the state and civil society, Italian history and the role of intellectuals. 'Far the best informative apparatus available to any foreign language readership of Gramsci.' Perry Anderson, New Left Review 'A model of scholarship' New Statesman
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the misuse of statistics in arguments put forward by some Critical Race Theorists in Britain showing that ''Race'' ''trumps'' Class in terms of underachievement at 16+ exams in England and Wales.
Abstract: In this paper I critique what I analyse as the misuse of statistics in arguments put forward by some Critical Race Theorists in Britain showing that `Race‟ `trumps‟ Class in terms of underachievement at 16+ exams in England and Wales
I ask two questions, and make these two associated criticisms, concerning the representation of these statistics:
1 With respect to `race‟ and educational attainment, what is the validity of ignoring the presence of the (high achieving) Indian/ Indian heritage group of pupils- one of the two largest minority groups in England and Wales? This group has been ignored, indeed, left completely out of statistical representations- charts- showing educational achievement levels of different ethnic groups
2 With respect to social class and educational attainment, what is the validity of selecting two contiguous social class/ strata in order to show social class differences in educational attainment? (1)
At a theoretical level, using Marxist work (2) I argue for a notion of `raced‟ and gendered class, in which some (but not all) minority ethnic groups are racialised or xeno-racialised) and suffer a `race penalty‟ in, for example, teacher labelling and expectation, treatment by agencies of the state, such as the police, housing, judiciary, health services and in employment
I critique some CRT treatment of social class analysis and underachievement as unduly dismissive and extraordinarily subdued (eg a critique I make of Gillborn, 2008a, b, 2009a, b, c) I offer a Marxist critique of Critical Race Theory from statistical and theoretical perspectives, showing that it is not `whiteness‟, a key claim of CRT, that most privileges or underprivileges school students in England and Wales
This analysis has policy implications regarding school/ school district/ national education policies, and also wider social and economic policies such as social cohesion, exclusion/ inclusion, and addressing wider economic and power inequalities in European societies (Booth, 2008; Toynbee and Walker, 2008; Hill, 2009a, 2009b; Hill and Kumar, 2009)
Accepting the urgent need for anti-racist awareness, policy and activism- from the classroom to the street- (3) I welcome the anti-racism that CRT promulgates and analyses, while criticising its over-emphasis on `white supremacy‟- and its statistical misrepresentations
25 citations
Dissertation•
06 May 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the state formation and collapse of states in the Middle East, and state survival in the context of literature and state formation in the Arab world, as well as the history of political structures in the region.
Abstract: ...........................................................................................................................1 Thesis Declaration ...........................................................................................................2 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................3 List of Figures ..................................................................................................................9 Introduction ...................................................................................................................10 Research Problem and Purpose .................................................................................. 10 State Survival in the Middle East: The Literature ...................................................... 12 State Survival in the Middle East: The Argument Stated........................................... 15 Research Design and Case Selection.......................................................................... 16 Thesis Outline............................................................................................................. 18 Chapter One...................................................................................................................20 State Formation and the Arab State............................................................................20 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 20 1.1. States and State Formation .................................................................................. 20 1.1.1. What is a state? ............................................................................................. 20 1.1.2. What is State Formation and State Collapse?............................................... 23 1.2. The State in the Middle East: Literature Streams............................................... 26 1.2.1. Political Culture and State Formation .......................................................... 26 1.2.2. Political Economy and State Formation ....................................................... 35 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 45 Chapter Two ..................................................................................................................47 Why do States Survive? ................................................................................................47 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 47 2.1. International Conditions of State Survival .......................................................... 48 2. 2. Domestic Explanations of State Survival ........................................................... 56 2.2.1. Besides Coercion .......................................................................................... 56 2.2.3. Cultural Frames and the Political ................................................................. 60 6 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 63 Chapter Three................................................................................................................64 Historical Structuralism ...............................................................................................64 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 64 3.1. Structures and the study of Politics ..................................................................... 65 3.2. Structures as Social Fields and the Arenas of Politics ........................................ 68 3.2.1. Regional Social Field.................................................................................... 71 3.2.2. International Social Field.............................................................................. 72 3.3. The Constitution of a Social Field and the Origins of Political Behaviour......... 74 3.3.1. Cultural Structures........................................................................................ 74 3.3.2. Material Structures ....................................................................................... 76 3.3.3. Political Structure ......................................................................................... 78 3.4. Social Fields: History, Memory, and Distinctive Interactions ............................ 87 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 90 Chapter Four .................................................................................................................91 The Middle East State:..................................................................................................91 Ontology, Formation and Survival ..............................................................................9
25 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: The authors examines the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), a Black Power initiative to build a black boycott of the 1968 US Olympic team that ultimately culminated in the infamous Black Power fists protest at the 1968 Olympics.
Abstract: The dissertation examines the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), a Black Power initiative to build a black boycott of the 1968 US Olympic team that ultimately culminated in the infamous Black Power fists protest at the 1968 Olympics. The work challenges the historiography, which concludes that the OPHR was a failure because most black Olympic-caliber athletes participated in the 1968 games, by demonstrating that the foremost purpose of the OPHR was to raise public awareness of ―institutionalized racism,‖ the accumulation of poverty and structural and cultural racism that continued to denigrate black life following landmark 1960s civil rights legislation. Additionally, the dissertation demonstrates that activist black athletes of the era were also protesting the lack of agency and discrimination traditionally forced upon blacks in integrated, yet white-controlled sports institutions. The dissertation argues that such movements for ―dignity and humanity,‖ as progressive black activists of the 1960s termed it, were a significant component of the Black Power movement. The dissertation also examines the proliferation of the social belief that the accomplishments of blacks in white-controlled sports fostered black advancement and argues that the belief has origins in post-Reconstruction traditional black uplift ideology, which suggested that blacks who demonstrated ―character‖ and ―manliness‖ improved whites‘ images of blacks, thus advancing the race. OPHR activists argued that the belief, axiomatic by 1968, was the foremost obstacle to attracting support for a black Olympic boycott. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of the competing meaning and representations of Smith and Carlos‘s protest at the Olympics. INDEX WORDS: Olympic Project for Human Rights, Black Power, Black Students‘ movement, Institutionalized racism, Black athletes, 1968 STAND UP AND BE COUNTED: THE BLACK ATHLETE, BLACK POWER AND THE 1968 OLYMPIC PROJECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of an online subcultural website is used to highlight the ways in which resistance is displayed by members of the'straightedge' music subculture.
Abstract: This article discusses one way in which cultural studies theories can be applied to current research of subcultures on the internet. Starting from Clarice's and Hebdige's theories of subcultural style and Frith's theory of music and identity, a case study of an online subcultural website is used to highlight the ways in which resistance is displayed by members of the 'straightedge' music subculture. In particular, usemames and signature files are analysed to demonstrate how style is constructed to communicate subcultural values and beliefs. At the same time, a critique of semiotic analyses of subcultural style is raised. It is argued that ethnographic methods are better suited to interpreting social psychological and cultural meanings attributed to subcultural activities in cyberspace.
25 citations
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that American businesses, once skeptical of government, cautious about getting involved in politics, and reactive in their strategies, have now become increasingly confident, proactive, and aggressive in their lobbying efforts, and businesses are increasingly seeing government policy as not just a threat but also as a tool.
Abstract: Why does corporate lobbying in Washington, DC continue to expand, year after year? What are companies lobbying for, and why? And what, if anything, can the patterns of activity tell us about both the impact corporate lobbying is having and the ways in which the political economy of the United States is changing? I argue that the modern growth of corporate lobbying reflects a path-dependent learning process. Companies may come to Washington for many different reasons, but the act of establishing an office sets in motion several reinforcing processes that make companies value lobbying more and more over time and that lead companies to become more proactive in their political strategies. Lobbyists teach managers about the importance of being politically active and help to point out (and sometimes even create) new opportunities for lobbying. Managers gain more comfort and confidence in their ability to influence outcomes, and they start to see participation as both more appropriate and more valuable. Success breeds success.The overall effect is that American businesses, once skeptical of government, cautious about getting involved in politics, and reactive in their strategies, have now become increasingly confident, proactive, and aggressive in their lobbying efforts, and businesses are increasingly seeing government policy as not just a threat, but also as a tool. More and more companies are discovering that Washington matters to their business, and those who do are sticking around and increasing their political capacities. As a result, corporate lobbying activity is likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future, with large corporations playing an increasingly central role in the formulation of national policies. My findings are based on original interviews with 60 corporate and trade association lobbyists and complete lobbying histories of every company in the S&P 500 between1981 and 2005. This dissertation combines both rich qualitative descriptions and rigorous large-N data analysis.
25 citations