Assignment Three: Representation, Ideology and Power

When it comes to studying culture and social formations, ideology, representation and power have traditionally been considered key concepts/central strands that need to be examined (Open Polytechnic, 2014). However, society has changed since the days in which the concepts of ideology and power were first put forward, leading some scholars to question their relevance in today's world (Barker, 2000b). This essay will seek to show that along with representation; the concepts of power and ideology can still be used in examining today's society. It will attempt to do so by using these three concepts to critically examine the strategy employed by Save the Basin in their website savethebasin.org.nz to convince people that the Basin Reserve is in danger at that the proposed flyover is a bad idea.

The concept of ideology dates back to the time of the early Marxists who were seeking answers for the lack of a working class revolt against the exploitative Capitalist social system (Open Polytechnic, 2014; Barker, 2009b). They believed that people were taught to hold beliefs that lead to a false understanding of the social world and so reinforced the world-views of the powerful and the status quo of society as being both natural and inviolate (Open Polytechnic, 2014; Barker, 2009b). This teaching is carried out in the home, through the church, education system and mass media (Barker, 2009b). The emphasis on ideology as a means for reinforcing a group/s position of dominance has led some scholars to reject the concept as outdated in today's society as there is no longer a coherent dominant culture (Barker, 2009b). Others have taken the power aspect out of it and focus on it as people’s "principled idealised beliefs about the world and associat...

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Barker, C. (2000b). The question of ideology. In Cultural studies: Theories and practice (pp. 54-65). London, England: Sage.

Power. (2006). Bruce, S. & Yearley, S. (2006). The Sage Dictionary of Sociology (p.241). London: Sage Publications.

Representation. (2009). In J. Scotts & G. Marshall (Eds.),Oxford dictionary of sociology (3rd rev. ed., p. 647). New York: Oxford University Press.

The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. (2014). Module 4: Studying culture. In 74111 Aotearoa New Zealand Society. Lower Hutt: Author.

Tjonescan. (2014, May 17). The Proposed Basin Reserve Flyover Pedestrian/Cycleway: Too narrow to be safe? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://savethebasin.org.nz/2014/05/17/the-proposed-basin-bridge-pedestriancycleway-too-narrow-to-be-safe/