Agile Materialisms: Antonio Gramsci, Stuart Hall, Racialization, and Modernity

Abstract

This article investigates why Gramsci's theories and concepts have a discrete relevance to the study of race and ethnicity in contemporary contexts. Two theoretical points emerge from the investigation. First, through Gramsci's work, Hall's approach to the structural/cultural theory problem provides an important mediation for theoretical approaches to race. Hall is then able to demonstrate that the racialization of labor and the coercion of workers in colonial and neocolonial contexts, with regard to the “global south” was the rule and not the exception. Second, through an historical and discursive approach, I demonstrate how Gramsci's analysis of politics and political strategies took race into account. I contend that Gramsci's perspective on race facilitated Hall's ability to deploy Gramsci's theoretical framework and concepts.

“Black Is Powerful”: A Gramscian Rhetorical Analysis of Post-Racialism at the University of Missouri

“…Hall is able to theorize that racism as a social phenomenon fundamentally occurs in a manner that coincides with Gramsci's notions of hegemony and the subaltern (Hall, 1986;Carley, 2013).…”

“…Furthermore, the process of translating these events in history, along with their analysis and reflection, and in order to make claims about the future and theories behind the ways in which social groups interact, is inherently embedded in modern discourse of political and social interest (Glasius, 2012). More specifically, Gramsci's use of hegemony, the subaltern, and historicity have been applied to a number of areas, including race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, and organizational social groups (Carley, 2013). More particularly, Gramsci has been utilized in the practice of communication scholarship, and highlighted for its translatability to the process of rhetorical criticism.…”

“…In the application of the Gramscian framework of hegemony to race, scholars are able to explain the history behind the racialization of cultural aspects, as well as the patterns in which power is exerted over non-white populations (Carley, 2013).…”

Hegemonic Resistance in Hip-hop Music: A Gramscian Rhetorical Criticism of Tupac Shakur

“…Specifically, race has been a focal point, as many scholars have investigated the degree to which race is a focus of hegemonic oppression. Carley (2013) proclaims:…”

“…and "the man" are commonly thrown about in discussions where individuals yearn to understand the nature of their oppression or the reason for their social-class immobility (Carley, 2013;Hibbard, 2013). As critics move to analyze the origins of these oppressive conditions, the Gramscian method of rhetorical criticism reveals the subtle discourses that maintain them.…”