Introducing A 2 Concepts Hegemony What is it

Introducing A 2 Concepts Hegemony What is it? Who is it? How does it work? Why is it there?

What is the hegemony? The Hegemony = The groups in society with the most power

Who are the hegemony in the UK? The power group (hegemony) The non power group Type of Group Power group (hegemony) Non power group Gender Men Women Ethnicity White Non White Sexuality Heterosexual Homosexual Health Able Disabled Financial Rich Poor Age Would you agree with the above table? Do you think the power groups change?

% of women in full time work Who are the hegemony? Men? % of women on the boards of European companies How would a feminist explain what is going on here?

Who are the hegemony? The Rich? The economist Edward N Wolff, of New York University, has pointed out that, as of 2007, the top 1% of households owned 34. 6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% had 50. 5% of the wealth. This means that just 20% of the people owned 85% of the wealth, leaving only 15% for the bottom 80% of the people. The Guardian Friday 11 November How does having money give you power over other people?

How do hegemonies maintain power? = Hegemonic Language • Why do Eskimos have 54 words for snow? • Words allow us to define the world. Words also allow us to define who has power in the world. Type of Group Gender Power group Non power (hegemony) group Men Women Ethnicity White Sexuality Heterosexual Homosexual Health Able Disabled Financial Rich Poor Non White How many derogatory (put down) words can you think of relating to groups inside/outside the power group?

How do hegemonies maintain power? = Hegemonic Language How is our language shaped? How do some of the examples above shape the way we use language? What influences outside the media shape the way we use language?

Why is there a hegemony? The economist Edward N Wolff, of New York University, has pointed out that, as of 2007, the top 1% of households owned 34. 6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% had 50. 5% of the wealth. This means that just 20% of the people owned 85% of the wealth, leaving only 15% for the bottom 80% of the people. Why would those that belong to the most powerful groups in society want to give away power?

Practical Brief: A leaflet and poster that encourage college members to think about how they use language Brief • Take the basic leaflet and re-design for a target audience of your peers. • The idea of the leaflet is to get people of your age to consider the type of language they use and its implications. • You should present the leaflet as a six panel leaflet using the Microsoft Publisher brochure template • The leaflet chosen for printing will get £ 30 • Max group size 4 • Deadline Friday

What does hegemony mean? Who are traditionally thought of as the hegemony? How can we use language analysis to identify the hegemony? What percentage of the UK’s wealth do the top 20% own? What percentage of women sit on the boards of big European companies?