Role of Media and Globalization in Shaping new Cultures and Identities: Cultural Study of White Noise, Mao II and Falling Man through William’s and Gramsci's Theories
الموضوعات : نشریه زبان و ترجمهBehnaz Abedi 1 , Hoajtollah Borzabadi Farahani 2 , Fatemeh Azizmohammadi 3
1 - Department of English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2 - Department of English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
3 - Department of English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
الکلمات المفتاحية: Role of Media and Globalization, Shaping new Cultures and Identities, Cultural Study, Don DeLillo', s Selected Novels, White Noise, Mao II and Falling Man,
ملخص المقالة :
Cultural Materialism is fundamentally influential as a progression of methods of dissecting the material presence of ideology, focused on the investigation of literary writings. What cultural materialists are astute to show is that culture is a field of much philosophical challenge and logical inconsistency, and that no cultural piece of work or practice is outside this political circle realism is relate. The majority of this study focuses on libraries. As a result, a primary reading of Gramsci's theories and the novels' text is crucial. The reader experiences the transfer of power from various groups throughout the stories, including patients, victims, police officers, and criminals. In the novels, the significance of hegemony and culture in the dominance of various characters is examined. Therefore, as a cultural theory, materialism is related to enterprises, not to abstract qualities such as honesty. Williams in Problems in Materialism and Culture suggests that “the media itself is a means of production...the media is always socially and materially produced and reproduced"" Regarding the delimitations of the study, the researcher has identified the aspects that must be studied. They include Williams’ theory of culture, Gramsci’s hegemony and two novels by DeLillo. Dominant, emergent, and residual are the terms in William’s cultural study which have been mentioned in Marxism and Literature more specifically. This is an umbrella term of his discussion on cultural studies. It is applied in literary works by DeLillo, such as Falling Man, Cosmopolis, White Noise and Mao II have.
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Review Paper
Journal of
Language and Translation
Volume 14, Number 3, 2024, (pp.243-259)
Role of Media and Globalization in Shaping new Cultures and Identities: Cultural Study of White Noise, Mao II and Falling Man through William’s
and Gramsci's Theories
Behnaz Abedi1, Hoajtollah Borzabadi Farahani2*, Fatemeh Azizmohammadi3
1Ph.D. Candidate, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran 2*Assistant Professor, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran 3Associate Professor, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
Abstract
Received: November 14, 2023 Accepted: February 23, 2024
Cultural Materialism is fundamentally influential as a progression of methods of dissecting the material presence of ideology, focused on the investigation of literary writings. What cultural materialists are astute to show is that culture is a field of much philosophical challenge and logical incon- sistency, and that no cultural piece of work or practice is outside this political circle realism is relate. The majority of this study focuses on libraries. As a result, a primary reading of Gramsci's theories and the novels' text is crucial. The reader experiences the transfer of power from various groups throughout the stories, including patients, victims, police officers, and criminals. In the novels, the significance of hegemony and culture in the dominance of various characters is examined. Therefore, as a cultural theory, materialism is related to enterprises, not to abstract qualities such as honesty. Williams in Prob- lems in Materialism and Culture suggests that “the media itself is a means of production...the media is always socially and materially produced and reproduced" Regarding the delimitations of the study, the researcher has identified the aspects that must be studied. They include Williams’ theory of culture, Gramsci’s hegemony and two novels by DeLillo. Williams is influential feature of Cultural studies and a Post Marxist critic. Dominant, emergent, and residual are the terms in William’s cultural study which have been mentioned in Marxism and Literature more specifically. This is an umbrella term of his discussion on cultural studies. It is applied in literary works by DeLillo, such as Falling Man, Cosmop- olis, White Noise and Mao II have.
Keywords: Globalization, Culture, Identities, Don DeLillo, White Noise-Mao, Falling Man, Gramsci's theories
INTRODUCTION
Cultural Materialism investigates the tools and perspectives by which a the current Social system sustains or endeavors to change itself, and presents a dreary perspective on the chance of powerful opposition against the predominant system of order. Cultural Materialism is funda- mentally influential as a progression of methods of dissecting the material presence of ideology,
*Corresponding Author’s Email:
focused on the investigation of literary writings. For the thinkers who work in the field of cultural materialism, ideology functions through language and the structure of language, yet more than this, ideology exists in a material structure through establishments like the congregation, the school, the theater, the college and the gallery. What cultural materialists are astute to show is that culture is a field of much philosophical challenge and logical inconsistency, and that no
cultural piece of work or practice is outside this political circle (Higgins5).
The term ‘materialism’ refers to a method that takes into account the social values of property (Higgins5). Materialism is a value system, a lifestyle. The values we have, and the values we strive for; it refers to the basis for the development of human social systems, legal concepts, artistic and religious concepts. The central principle of materialism is that social existence determines consciousness, and social practice determines thoughts. As a theory, cultural materialism reveals Williams' deep understanding of cultural materiality. He criticized Levi’s humanism in Culture is Ordinary, saying: “It is absolutely wrong to think that art can be fully studied without referring to the specific society expressing values or works of art” (16). He criticized communist Marxism equally, and then turned to his own theory of cultural materialism, in which he defines cultural theory, “as a study of the rela- tionship between the elements of the overall lifestyle, cultural analysis attempts to reveal the nature of the organization, that is, the complex of these relationships” (63).
Materialism was born out of countless in- fluences and “stubbornly resisted the tempta- tion of idealism” (Milner 5). It contains deep- rooted beliefs about the present, the here and now. History has nothing to do with the fu- ture. In Western democracies, materialism is closely related to capitalist society. (Milner5) In our society, media producers are commit- ted to building a business company based on the philosophy of capitalism. Materialism is related to the ability to define values, such as the monetary value of products, objects, and people. Williams in Culture is Ordinary firmly believes:
It is impossible to discuss communication or culture in our society without in the end coming to discussing power. There is the power of established institutions, and there is increas- ingly, the power of money which is imposing certain patterns of communication that are very powerful in the society as a whole. (19).
Therefore, as a cultural theory, materialism is related to enterprises, not to abstract qualities such as honesty. Williams in Problems in Ma- terialism and Culture suggests that “the media
itself is a means of production. the media is al- ways socially and materially produced and reproduced” (19) Regarding the delimitations of the study, the researcher has identified the aspects that must be studied. They include Wil- liams’ theory of culture, Gramsci’s hegemony and two novels by DeLillo. Williams is influen- tial feature of Cultural studies and a Post Marx- ist critic. Dominant, emergent, and residual are the terms in William’s cultural study which have been mentioned in Marxism and Litera- ture more specifically. This is an umbrella term of his discussion on cultural studies. It is ap- plied in literary works by DeLillo, such as Fall- ing Man, Cosmopolis, White Noise and Mao II have. In fact, Williams’s terms are visible in DeLillo’s literary works, since his novels are dealing with the characters who want to achieve their desires through escaping from their real, dominant situation and searching for new meaning- emergent. The memories of the past or the dilemma of belonging, effect on their at- titude. Therefore, it can be seen, they are mostly unfortunate.
Living in the past or with the hegemony of the past is mostly her characters’ personality. Most of characters do not confront with their current situation well and do not get along with their status in the society; where they really belong. The limitations of this study are shown in the lack of analytical works in which hegemony and Williams’ theories are applied to the liter- ary works.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Don DeLillo was born on November 20th, 1936, to an Italian couple in New York City, United States. After DeLillo graduated from Fordham University in New York City in 1958 with a degree in communication arts, he worked as a copywriter for a few years at an advertising agency. Despite the success of his postmodern novels, he was not interested in writing until he was hired as a parking attendant, where he began reading to pass the time while supervising cars. It must be noted that he refused to teach creative writing at a university and did not accept being interviewed or appearing on a tel- evision talk show. In his writings, Don DeLillo looks at topics like the mass media, government
conspiracies, hyperreality, and the human costs of consumerism. In 1971, he published his first book, Americana, about a network television executive who tries to find the real America. End Zone came out in 1972, and Great Jones Street came out in 1973. His novel Ratner's Star, which he published in 1976, helped him gradually gain the attention of critics.
In his 1977 novel Players, DeLillo altered his perspective and developed more opinionated characters who were destructive and unaware. The suspense: The Names, which was published in 1982 and was primarily set in Greece, followed in 1978 with Running Dog. White Noise, which was written in 1985 and helped Don win the National Book Award, follows in the footsteps of the previously mentioned novels. To put it another way, DeLillo was inspired to write his subsequent notable works by white noise, which paves the way. Libra, a novel about Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of President John F. Kennedy, was published in 1988. Another remarkable novel that won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1991 is Mao II, which tells the story of a writer who keeps to himself and accidentally becomes interested in political issues. Don DeLillo is one of the most well- known postmodernist fiction writers of the 20th century thanks to his other notable works, such as Underworld, Falling Man, Zero K, and Cosmopolis, which deal with American political issues. His success and fame extend beyond the United States. In 1999, DeLillo wins the Jeru- salem Award, which is given out twice a year to writers whose works have themes about people's freedom in society.
Prior to the publication of White Noise in 1985; Outside of the academy, Don DeLillo is not well-known or admired. His works are rarely read. They are still not well-known. The sales are not satisfactory or encouraging. Don DeLillo joins Thomas Pynchon, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, and John Updike as one of the most well-known postmodern novelists of the twen- tieth century with the publication of White Noise in 1985, which won the National Book Award. It is important to note that New York Times Book Review polled 125 well-known writers and critics in 2005 to determine which American novels from the previous 25 years
were the best. This revealed White Noise's place among American authors and critics and the respect it receives in American literature. White Noise was one of three Don DeLillo novels that made the top twenty. This story, like his other works, deals with themes of contemporary society in which technology has altered society to the point where reality will be reversed. White Noise tells the story of a dying couple and their children from previous relationships. The husband, who is a professor of Hitler studies at a university, is exposed to an "airborne toxic event"; He has made a commitment to acquire the experimental drug for himself at any cost after recently learning that his wife is taking it to combat death-doubt.
The story takes place in a modest community in Midwestern America and the College-on- the-Hill, which is located in the town. It depicts the family life of an educator named Jack Gladney, his life on the job at the College-on-the-Hill, as well as the day-to-day lives of the town residents and their various practices during a terrible event. The epic not only shows how the broad communications, customer culture, and social philosophy of American culture have affected the American public's beliefs, feelings, and brain research, but it also completely shows how human advancement and normal biology clash in a postmodern culture.
Don DeLillo paints a striking picture in White Noise of the perilous postmodern world that in- spires fear of death and deadly diseases rather than genuine conviction. It is where people's cerebrums and practices are constrained by the reasoning of industrialism. recurrent sound with postmodern ideas presented in a truly clear account. DeLillo's characters are completely postmodern in the lives they lead and the thoughts they engage in, despite the usual pro- gression of the plot. White Noise legitimately makes comments on how our real-world devel- opments are portrayed through these characters. DeLillo rejects the search for absolute truth and presents the postmodern premise that the real world is home to numerous similarly authentic developments. He focuses on the social relativity of truth and examines the commotion of voices that enrich each person's perspective.
DeLillo's tenth novel, Mao II, was published in 1991 and won the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1991. The story of a lonely author named Bill Gray, who struggles with his relative fame and a return to public life despite his desire to with- draw from society and dedicate himself to his work, is the subject of the thought-provoking novel. In a world that has been increasingly harmed by terrorism, the novel, whose title comes from a series of Andy Warhol silk- screens, questions the legacy and primacy of art as the chief authority of social and cultural change. Despite its serious subject matter, the novel manages to be funny and chaotic in style and structure. Terrorism is one of the book's se- rious subjects. DeLillo was thinking about ter- rorism and the role it plays in American society just a decade before the terrorist attacks on the twin towers that destroyed the American peo- ple's sense of security. DeLillo began writing about terrorism in 1911, and in Mao II, he con- tinues the theme. The four main characters' per- spectives are presented through the omniscient point of view and the third person narrative:
Karen, Scott, Bill, and Brita Karen begins his journey of self-discovery at a mass wedding at Yankee Stadium in Mao II. She uses religion in her quest. However, this results in a religious sect. She loses her identity as a result of the cult's widespread mentality. She gains identity in this way as soon as she joins this reli- gious group. However, this is harmful in some way because she loses her identity to the group's interests in the cult society.
She married a stranger from Korea by the name of Kim to bring her misfortune to an end. The reserved person in this society of spectacle can clearly be seen in the picturesque wedding scene. The use of intertextuality by DeLillo is evident here. The Moonie cult organizes a large-scale wedding under the cover of a secret desire to belong to a separate group. However, the actual identity is harmed by this autonomy. Because the identity is no longer autono- mous, the quest of the characters is completely affected by the absence of reality and the pres- ence of simulation. As a result, the characters cannot independently search for their true selves.A single day in the life of the protago- nist, Eric Packer, is portrayed by DeLillo in his
wonderful novel Cosmopolis. He is a billionaire asset manager who takes Torval, his body- guard, on a limousine ride through New York City to get a haircut. Walter Kirn, a critic, writes that Cosmopolis is "a novel about the alleged insanity of Nasdaq-era hyper capitalism, aren't so much people as walking topic headings"
(24). In fact, this classic novel gives a dramatic account of Erick Packer's life during the bour- geoisie era and how it is connected to technol- ogy.
In the book, Packer, the main character, loses a lot of money because the economy is unstable. He meets his wife, Elise Shifrin, during his trip to the city, after which they have breakfast together. In his limousine, he also meets his doctor and some of his friends. He disregards Torval's warnings that his life is in danger. Erick discovers at the book's conclusion that the real threat is Benno Levin, a former employee whose real name is Rich- ard Sheets. Sheets makes an effort to exact revenge, and it's not clear if Eric is still alive or dead.
Don DeLillo depicts a post-September 11 world in his 2007 novel Falling Man, in which the sur- viving community looks everywhere for an ex- planation but fails to examine the true underly- ing causes of its trauma. The story shows how the survivors and eyewitnesses to the attacks re- sponded, as well as how they dealt with the crushing burden of fear and trauma that forever changed their world. The novel opens with the final attack scene and shows the protagonist, 39-year-old Keith Neudecker, running down the stairs in the south tower of the World Trade Center as the building is about to collapse. The gloomy image of a changing world is depicted in the novel's first paragraph. The lawyer finds refuge in the apartment of his estranged wife, who lives there with their son Justin since the couple split up sometime in the past. The law- yer is attempting to avoid certain death. Keith and his wife, Leanna, are both perplexed by this sudden, irrational choice. While simulta- neously attempting to cope with the world's post-attack trauma, they ponder the signifi- cance of this apparent instinctive choice.
The couple appears to be at ease with their old married life routine until Keith discovers
another attack survivor. After some time has passed, the couple is content in it. It just so happened that Florence was on the same staircase; He got away from the crumbling tower and the dusty environment in a haze, and Keith had accidentally taken her briefcase outside. After the briefcase is returned, an unusual affair that both parties seem to find less sexual and more reassuring begins. In the interim, the author adds a few chapters of narrative to show what happened prior to the attacks from the perspec- tive of Hammad, a Jihadi character who later takes part in the plane crashes into the World Trade Center buildings. Hammad's personality is a wreck of disarray and obliviousness and as late as possible he is practically certain that they would pivot and return home once the danger of obliteration has frightened the Americans enough. And when he realizes that this is the end for him near the end, he feels rather betrayed.
Even though Leanna is dealing with the post-traumatic situation on her own, she clings to any way she can find meaning in it. One way she does this is by talking to Alzheimer's patients who attend a writing group she runs as a support group under the supervision of a psychologist. She looks to her mother Nina or even her reli- gion throughout the narrative to find answers to her questions. Throughout the process, she observes Keith's drifting away and increasing absence from family life, unaware of his affair. Keith ends his relationship with Florence as well and decides to pursue a career as a profes- sional poker player in Las Vegas tournaments. Before the trauma, Keith had a small group of friends with whom he played weekly friendly poker games. Now that Keith has seen Rumsey's horrific death and knows that others were also badly hurt, the poker games seem to be his only connection to his peaceful past.
The performative acts of an artist later identified as David Janiak, who imitates the falling figure in the infamous photograph of the falling man, who was photographed plummet- ing from the north tower to his certain death, are constantly confronted by the readers and Lianne throughout the story. Lianne and the people around her are harmed by the doomsday image and the performance act, which serve as constant reminders of the trauma. Eventually,
Lianne finds peace as well, as a result of repeating the trauma in this manner and sharing the horror of the trauma with her fellow citizens.
“One of the most prominent and influential Marxist thinkers” is a description that can be given to Antonia Gramsci, an Italian politician, political theorist, and writer; According to Kharbe (290), he was a pivotal thinker in the creation of "Western Marxism." It is interesting to note that, according to Fontana (3), he has developed "an original revolutionary thought of Marxism." In this context, "hegemony" refers to the process by which the current ruling class constructs a "common sense" belief and value system; at the end of the day, the interests of administering class epitomize the framework all through the entire of the general public (Milner 88). Therefore, hegemony is neither absolute nor uncontested; rather, it is the subject of open debate among unstable societal forces (88).
In democracy, a hegemonic system can exist between the leading and led groups as well. Gramsci is of the opinion that private organization is the means by which social groups exercise their hegemony; To put it another way, it won't be exercised by the en- tire social group over a portion of the group; rather, it will be exercised by the latter group over the former group (288), and social he- gemony will first "give rise to particular di- vision of labor" and then "to a whole hierar- chy of qualifications" (145). In addition, Gramsci maintains that "every relation of the concept is necessarily an educational rela- tionship and occurs not only within a nation, between the various forces of which the na- tion is composed, but also in the interna- tional and world-wide field, between com- plexes of national and continental civiliza- tions" (666).
He views political parties as places of hegem- ony exercised by progressive elements rather than privileged groups when discussing the function of hegemony exercised by parties in greater detail (417). According to Fontana 148, the party is also "the force that will create the conditions for a superior socialist hegemony." In his research for Marxism and Literature, Williams comes up with three terms that he
believes are necessary for analyzing the inner workings of a real social life. He begins by defining the terms "dominant," which refers to hegemonic forms, as well as "residual" and "emergent." Furthermore, by opposing or alternating the dominant culture, you can kind of incorporate it.
By residual, he does not mean archaic or any other aspect of the past that necessitates con- scious recall of the past and examination when studying it. By definition, the residual has been successfully formed in the past, but it is still active in the cultural process as an effective component of the present as well as an element of the past" (122). He goes on to say that the residual is the source of many aspects, experi- ences, meanings, and values that cannot be defined or found a place in the dominant culture. He describes "organized religion" as a lingering form in contemporary England. For instance, values like "absolute brotherhood" and "ser- vice to others without reward" are examples of values that persist in today's political or capitalist society (122). He contrasts the rural community concept with capitalist industrialism. The fundamental fact is that a society must accept some residual forces at will. To put it another way, a belief system like religion has deep roots in people's minds and hearts, making it difficult for a force like the government to suppress it. The place where the power is resisted is here.
Despite the fact that this point does not always result in opposition, as in many instances the same religious beliefs can support the dominant force's ideas. It is possible to be both opposing and incorporating to repeat the same essential point residual functions; "specific political and cultural" functions, for instance, in "a form of capitalist democracy" Williams makes a crucial point here: At certain points, the dominant culture is unable to tolerate excessive outside experience and practice. at the very least, without risk" Then, he says, "Emergent" "New relationships and kinds of relationships, new meanings and values, new practices" However, he believes that it is difficult to distinguish these new elements from those of the dominant culture. He believes that understanding emergent com- ponents necessitates having a comprehensive
understanding of the dominant culture, which is not at all simple. However, finding residual forces is easier because they have roots in the past. The central part of Marxist theory contains some examples of emergence: "The emergence of elements of a new cultural formation, the formation of a new class, the awakening of a new class" (124).
History of Cultural Materialism by Raymond Williams
Cultural materialism developed from Raymond Williams to a theory of determining cultural materiality. This new theory was initiated by his views on the theoretical continuity between literary humanists such as F. Leavis. He inher- ited the "radical socialist criticism" of British Communist Marxism; the materiality of the political, economic and cultural power of the ruling class” (Milner 36). Leavis's cultural vision was embodied in a booklet on Mass Civilization and Minority Culture. Here, he outlines a very influential and specific cultural vision. Based on this work , and especially the review, Leavis made his important argument. Milner’s Cultural Materialism (1993) illustrates this situation:
In any period, it is upon a very small minority that the discerning appreciation of art and literature depends. This minority constitute the consciousness of the race at a given time. For such capacity does not belong merely to an aes- thetic realm: it implies responsiveness to theory as well as to art, to science and philosophy in so far as these may affect the sense of the human situation and nature of life (21).
Cultural Materialism takes a decent arrange- ment of its standpoint (and its name) from the British left-wing pundit Raymond Williams. Rather than Foucault's idea of 'talk', Williams created the term 'constructions of feeling': these thinkers are worried about 'implications and qualities as they are lived and felt'. Structures of feeling are regularly opposing both the frameworks of qualities and convictions, and the predominant philosophies inside a general public. They are naturally found in writing, and they go against business as usual (as the qualities in Charles Dickens, the Brontes address human designs of feeling which are at change with Victorian business and realist esteems). The
outcome is that cultural materialism is substan- tially more hopeful about the chance of progress and is willing now and again to consider writing to be a wellspring of oppositional values (Al- calá 68).
First utilized by Williams in in The Long Revolution (1961), and expanded and explained all through his work, specifically Marxism and Literature (1977), this notion was originally used to portray the lived insight of the personal satisfaction at a specific time and spot .Later he portrays designs of feeling as 'social encounters in arrangement.' Thus a 'construction of feeling' is the way of life throughout specific events. In fostering the idea, however, Williams wished to stay away from optimist thoughts of a 'feeling of the age.' The mechanical novel of the 1840s would be one illustration of the construction of feeling which arose in working class awareness out of the advancement of modern private enterprise. Every age lives and creates its own 'design of feeling,' and keeping in mind that specific gatherings may communicate this most coercively as it expands unevenly through the overall way of life (Alcalá 69).
The Influence of Leavis on Williams’ Theory of Cultural Materialism
Cultural materialism explains how society or culture acquires property or value. Williams tried to explain how culture achieves its own social values. His thoughts on cultural materi- alism enabled him to come up with a theory that is concerned with the way one explains the social and cultural differences and similarities in a society. Most importantly, he foregrounds the way society begins to appreciate all aspects of the current life style. In Making Connections (1994), Williams’ method allows us to under- stand the process of social change. Eagleton (1988) described Williams’ contribution as fol- lows: “He almost single-handedly transformed the study of British socialist culture from the relatively crude Marxism of the 1930s to an impressively rich, subtle and powerful theory”
(3). This emerging method has produced a new general cultural theory through which Williams understands “the theory of relations between elements in complete life forms” (Making Connections 46). Williams notes the integrity
and inclusiveness of culture as a way of life. The theory can accept change to include an ex- panding culture. It adapts to the constant changes in culture and society, which is essential for media education. Materialism deals with “analysis of the meaning of all forms according to the actual means and conditions of its produc- tion” (Making Connections 12).
Mathew Arnold and Williams’ Theory of Cultural Materialism
William’s theory of culture has been recreated and reconstructed from Mathew Arnold’s notion of culture in nineteenth century. The concept of culture was used by Arnold to base his analysis and understanding of literature which refers to following some codes and being loyal to them. In Arnold’s theory of culture, culture and idealis- tic perfection are the same. Accordingly, being perfectionist is innately a part of mind; therefore, we move towards culture unintentionally. He writes that culture is “a study of perfection, and of harmonious perfection, general perfection, and perfection which consists in becoming something rather than in having something, in an inward condition of the mind and spirit, not in an outward set of circumstances” (Ar- nold 48).
Therefore, in such a society, the greatness and power of a nation are not determined by material condition. Rather, it is determined by the richness of culture and its applicability to solve issues and problems (Arnold, Culture and Anarchy). Williams uses Arnold’s notion of culture in order to theorize his own. However, he both accepts and rejects Arnold’s notion of culture to some extent. Williams concurs with Leavis’ idea which signifies the existence of an entity which is more than experience and al- leges that this entity should not be a minority culture. In fact, Williams rejects the notion of Marxist principle in which culture and other social matters are subordinated to economic condition and are regulated based on it (Wall, Culture is ordinary: the politics and letters of Raymond Williams).
What Eliot believes is that culture must be considered as a social process which covers all individuals in the society. Therefore, it is a group culture which determines an individual
culture. In each era and part of history, (Eliot, Notes Towards the definition of Culture”). Wil- liams reflects that culture can be determined ac- cording to different writers and literary figures. Williams believes that there is not just a single type of culture; rather, there is multiplicity of cultures which show how a particular attitude could be combined with the mainstream of different forms of cultures which make it com- plicated as Williams notes that “the complex- ity of a culture is to be found not only in its var- iable processes and their social definitions- tra- ditions, institutions, and formations-but also in the dynamic interrelations, at every point in the process, of historically varied and variable elements” (Marxism and Literature 121). Wil- liams gives a definition of the theory of culture in his book and defines it as ‘the study of rela- tionships between elements in a whole way of life”; therefore, analyzing culture means an ‘attempt to discover the nature of the organi- zation which is the complex of these relation- ships’ (The long Revolution 630).
Raymond Williams’ Culture
Raymond Williams focuses mostly on culture and attempts to define this concept which “is also essentially a whole way of life” (Culture and Society 311). According to him, culture is lifestyle; in other words, culture refers to the way that people live. Moreover, Williams considers culture as a dynamic process. It is an everlasting process. There are different factors that influence the course of culture throughout history. According to Williams, there is a direct relationship between ideology and the context. Ideology is produced, directed, and changed according to different social and political factors. This would lead into creation of culture which would be changing. Williams states “culture is not understood as a fixed category but a process; it is not a conclusion” (Williams, Marxism and Literature 295).
In his influential work, Culture and Society (1958), the author regards the concept of cul- ture as a dynamic reaction and response to different social alterations and changes arisen out of industrialization. There could exist a conflict between democracy and culture, as
culture is under threat by the notion of de- mocracy. Democracy refers to the major por- tion of others’ verdict regarding a matter in the society. However, in some communities it might be the case that democracy ignores the role of culture since that certain culture might not be accepted by the society and other groups. This causes the displacement of cul- ture in the society and values can be replaced by other matters which are acceptable by the majority of people. It can be just theorized that the connection among culture and construction impacts the connection among design and exe- cution. The decency of fit, the similarity of the social direction of a general public also its dis- playing of majority rules system, could be essen- tial to the fulfillment with popular government in that country. That democracy is a "general value", it can be reasoned that the overall thought of popular government is without a doubt uni- versally scattered, and in that sense non-partic- ularistic – rousing nations in west, east, north, and south–yet in addition that the functional demonstrating of majority rule government is socially ward to a critical degree. Williams points out:
Structure of Feelings
In his book, The Long Revolution, Williams coined the concept of the ‘structure of feeling’ which is the base of modeling culture. The structure of feeling refers to the culture of a his- torical period which is produced by a certain generation. In fact, each generation in a partic- ular period of history employs its past and its elements, and a new version of culture would be produced as a reaction and response to the new epoch. This concept signifies a dominant style of social value that Williams considers as “a valued system, of behavior and attitudes” (The Long Revolution 63). This system of values expresses the interaction between the dominant social features and other elements of the culture. Culture in different societies is a deep phenom- enon and all forms of communication rely on it. However, culture does not remain fixed; it goes through a changing process determined by the dominant group (Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures271).
In William’s theory, two concepts of ‘structure’ and ‘feeling’ are combined with each other in order to produce a new form of culture. In Wil- liams’ “structure of feeling”, every aspect of people’s social experience becomes significant and important. He believes that history and culture are interrelated and by the change of history, culture also changes. In other words, it would be the feeling of each generation that determines culture: “the new generation feels its whole life in certain ways differently, and shapes its creative response into a new structure of feeling” (The Long Revolution 63-65).
Structure of feeling is an important concept for categorizing different forms of culture since it functions in both conscious and unconscious activities. Williams suggests that the culture of an era is determined by the structure of feeling governing it. In fact, the structure of feeling is referred to as the product of different elements and their interaction. Consequently, whatever is produced as an artistic or a literary work follows the structure of feeling and embodies the related elements in their system. The structure of feeling can be found even in daily activities as it is usually being institutionalized in the social context.
Aspects of Culture and Structure of Feeling Williams believes that culture can be defined from three different perspectives. The first aspect is the ‘ideal’ one which is concerned with the perfection of humanity. As far as this aspect is concerned, man is required to reach salvation and act based on “universal values” (Williams, The Long Revolution 46). Therefore, this definition of culture is applicable and func- tional in every aspect of a subject’s life since the ultimate goal of human’s life is ‘perfection. Moreover, this definition shows the timeless- ness of the culture since in every era, perfection would be an ultimate goal for mankind.
The second definition of culture is ‘documen- tary’; this definition claims that every phenomenon is first experienced by the subject and it is recorded in a way as if “culture is the body” (Williams, The Long Revolution 46). This means that both mind and conduct work in a way that culture can be enforced and enacted by the subject. In this sense, different elements in the society like language, norms, and customs
are “described and valued” (Williams, The Long Revolution 46). In fact, through this definition of culture, the process of evaluation and selection is made possible since the most desirable acts are picked.
The third definition of culture signifies the social aspect; in other words, social definition of culture shows the lifestyle and dictates how agents are supposed to live. According to social definition of culture (Williams, The Long Revolution), every culture carries meaningful signs and norms. In fact, according to this definition, every social structure mirrors the existence of culture in that conduct and behavior.
Dominant Culture
The first aspect of culture can be considered as the dominant culture which is fixed and ruling; it is through dominant culture that “new meanings and values” (Sims 223) are generated and prac- ticed in the society. The dominant culture refers to the whole norms and touchstones in the society which are used to measure other social conducts throughout the society. The dominant culture includes religious and social dogmas that are set by different responsible organizations and insti- tutions. Since dominant culture is manipulated, directed, and enforced by daily practices with which people deal including “communicational systems, educational institutions, artistic expres- sions, laws, political processes, and businesses” (Marshall 250), it has acquired acceptance and legitimacy. Therefore, the majority of so- cial agents follow the dominant culture in their daily lives and social practices.
The dominant culture which Williams has posited is similar to the concept of ‘ideological apparatus’ by Althusser. Like Williams, Althusser has based his theory on Marxist disciplines but in a revised way (Marshall). The most significant factor which is the motive of driving society to the point that the state desires is ideology. Althusser assumes there are other ideologies that are hidden and act when the subject is unconscious. These institutions are more spe- cialized and the subject always interacts with them; The most vital ones that are influential include religious doctrines, the educational system and the cultural spheres engaged in direct or indirect processes of circulating the ideology
or the dominant system of beliefs and value scales.
In Williams’ theory of dominant culture, the role of the ruling class cannot be ignored. In fact, it would be the ruling class which determines the dominant culture. According to Williams, the dominant culture is a selection of several pieces of different cultures since the past as the ruling class choses the most profitable ones for themselves (Williams, Marxism and Literature). Consequently, the cultural elements from the past are incorporated into the present culture which is dominant. This version of the culture is the most powerful one which affects every practice in society. Reaching dominant culture depends on different factors in the society including economy and the practice of violence through such repressive organizations as the army and the police. Like Althusser’s concept of ‘repressive state apparatus’ that emphasizes on oppression and domination in the society, Williams believes those who hold more power determine the discourse of the dominant culture. As a result, the social agents become subordinate to the dominant culture. According to Williams, “The middle-class social character remains dominant, and both aristocrats and working people, in many respects, come to terms with it” (The Long Revolution 58). This means that the middle class that forms the majority of the popu- lation is able to act more powerfully and control the dominant culture at their will. (The Long Revolution58).
Residual Culture
Residual culture refers to the set of beliefs, ideas, notions, concepts, and customs that were generated in the earlier historical stages of the society. This type of culture has a long history and it could mirror “different social formation than the present time” (Mahtani 167). Accord- ing to Williams, the residual culture could have been dominant for a long time and its difference from the dominant culture is that, the latter might fade away after a while. However, since residual culture is from a distant past and it has been exposed to different changes and condi- tions, it would not disappear. Williams states that residual “has been effectively formed in the past, but it is still active in the cultural process,
not only as an element of the past, but as an effective element of the present” (Williams, Marxism and Literature 122).
Although residual and dominant cultures may function differently, sometimes they are mixed and they can be combined into a partic- ular practice in the society. It can be said that both dominant and residual are complemen- tary which means that dominant culture gives legitimacy and meaning to the residual culture (Williams, Marxism and Literature114). The residual culture acquires an active role in the modern time despite the fact that it originally belongs to the past tradition. Consequently, the dominant culture determines the inclusion or exclusion of residual culture as Payne & Rae Barbara believe:
Residual does not exist within or alongside the dominant culture. It operates in a process of continual tension, which can take the form of both incorporation and opposition within it. Residual forms are different from archaic ones in that they arstill alive; they have use and relevance within contemporary culture (201). Dominant culture dictates how and to what ex- tent a religious or traditional idea should persist and be incorporated to the present culture and be regarded as part of the culture. Residual cul- ture is similar to the dominant culture in terms of form and rules. However, sometimes resid- ual culture is in contradiction with the dominant culture and its codes.
Emergent Culture
As the name is suggestive, cultural emergence refers to the generation and creation of a new system. It means that throughout a system a new form of culture can be shaped which does not conform to any other forms of the already existing culture. In other words, cultural emer- gence attempts to exceed and go beyond all lim- itations set by different institutions. This means that the limitations of a dominant culture re- quire the subordinate groups in the class to de- mand a new form of culture suitable for their own condition. The existence of emergent culture depends on the position of dominant culture since the latter causes the former to exist. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the bor- der between residual and emergent cultures
since “both of them consist of private or mar- ginalized spheres of experience which the dom- inant culture initially fails to acknowledge or recognize” (Mahtabi 168)
The border between both dominant and residual cultures can be realized in terms of experience and meaning; although the values of residual culture are practiced in the society, the dominant culture does not justify them (Mahtabi168). Moreover, the dominant culture has been concerned with the values and traditions which might be raised in a new form of culture. This means that possibly one day dominant cul- ture would be replaced by the emergent culture since emergent culture has the innate potential to break with the norms and patterns. In other words, an emergent culture functions as a threat and ticking time bomb against the dominant culture; though it seems minor, it is capable of bringing about radical changes.
Ideal/ Documentary/ Social Cultures
As already mentioned, there are three general aspects of culture. There is, first, the 'ideal', in which culture is a state or procedure of human flawlessness, as far as certain supreme or all inclusive qualities are concerned. The investiga- tion of culture, if such a definition is acknowl- edged, is basically the revelation and portrayal, in lives and works, of those qualities which can be believed to create an ageless request, or to have perpetual reference to the whole human condition (O’ Connor 8).
The second is the ' documentary’ aspect in which culture is the assortment of scholarly and creative work, wherein, in an itemized way, human idea and experience are differently recorded. The examination of culture, from such a definition, is the movement of analysis, the subtleties of the language, structure and show in which these are dynamic, are portrayed and esteemed. Such analysis can extend from a procedure fundamentally the same as the ideal investigation, the revelation of “the best that has been thought and written in the world’, through a process which, while interested in tra- dition, takes as its primary emphasis the partic- ular work being studied to a kind of historical criticism which, after analysis of particular
works, seeks to relate them to the particular tra- ditions and societies in which they appeared” (Williams,The LongRevolution54)
The third aspect of culture, the social dimen- sion, is concerned with a specific lifestyle which communicates certain implications and qualities in craftsmanship and learning as well as in the Establishment and customary conduct. The analysis of culture means clarifying nature and beliefs which are both hidden and visible in lifestyle, a particular culture. Such examination will include criticizing based on historical con- dition in which both scientific and artistic works are probed based on customs and socie- ties, but will also embrace analysis of elements in the lifestyle that to audiences of the other meanings are not ‘culture’ at all: the structure of production, the system of the family, the system of institutes which show or control social ties, the characteristic forms through which members of the society have relationship. (Williams, The Long Revolution 54).
Raymond Williams’ Ideology
In Marxism and Literature, Raymond Williams divides the definition of Ideology into three meanings concerning Marxist roots and criticizes all of them: "1. A system of beliefs characteris- tics of a particular class or group; 2. A system of illusory beliefs- false ideas or consciousness- which can be contrasted with true or scientific knowledge; 3. The general process of the production of meaning and ideas” (55). For him, ideology as a general term, is used "not only to describe products but also process of all signification. Including the signification of values" (70). And he continues that ideology itself is the process or the area of study. Wil- liams no longer follows the ideas of Althusser regarding ideology. Among these definitions, he follows the one which is actually Gramsi's definition of hegemony. Hegemony is not the direct rule imposed by the ruling class using force or even a specific class interest which is forced upon the proletariat. In fact, hegemony has a form of stable and most natural, inevitable and possible system. The biggest difference of what Williams thought and that of other Marxists is that he rejects the ideology at the level of just
conscious ideas and rather he talks about the whole process of social life:
Williams’s view just ignores the resistant powers, the ideas and concepts which actu- ally do not confirm and break the dominant ideology. Though he believes that these op- posing forces are not simply against the grain; there is a complicated web-like form just pre- sent. In The Analysis of Culture, Williams writes:
The reality of any hegemony, in the extended political and cultural sense, is that, while by definition it is always dominant, it is never either total or exclusive. At any time, forms of alternative or directly oppositional politics and culture exist as significant elements in the society (113).
William’s Theory, Literature, and Marxism As it has been mentioned earlier, Williams’ theory is not completely Marxist; he rejects the Marxist idea which signifies the importance of economy in shaping every structure (McGuigan and Moran, “Raymond Williams and Sociology”). This claim would show that culture exists in a completely deterministic system; therefore, the existence of culture would be relied on just one factor; however, culture is regarded as a prac- tice within society that has internal and compli- cated relationship with economy, politics, and sociology. In other words, a mutual rela- tionship is shaped between culture and other elements: culture condition and shape them as they simultaneously shape and condition culture. Thus there is an emphasis on the autonomy of culture in Williams’s theory. However, Wil- liams’ ideas always fluctuate between Marxist ideas and distance from it. As Lesley Johnson observes:
For Williams, literature reflects how world can be manifested through words and language. Therefore, a person who writes a text, particularly a literary one, creates a process in which trans- formation from reality into culture takes place (Williams, Problems in Materialism and Culture). Consequently, literature becomes a tool for addressing different aspects of social matters in a productive way. Through the web of social relations and ideological structures, each writer proposes the way in which every
society functions. For Williams, language becomes a dynamic system of signifiers than can be com- bined with the writer’s fantasy, imagination, and attitude and produces the culture of a certain period of history. For Williams, it is not just economy which causes a literary work; rather, it is a mixture of different factors and elements governing it (Williams, Problems in Materialism and Culture 134).
Introducing Gramsci
(Schwarzmantel 1) Antonio Francesco Gramsci was an Italian politician and philosopher who lived from 1891 to 1937. The "First World War, the Russian Revolutions of 1917," "the growth and coming to power of Fascism in Italy and later in Germany," "the formation of Com- munist parties throughout Europe as part of the Communist International, seen as an agent of world revolution," and "the failure of revolu- tion, inspired by the Bolshevik model, to spread beyond the borders of what became the Soviet Union" (ibid.) were defining moments in his life (1). Gramsci was a member of Marxism in the Third International; he was establishing part and for a while head of the Socialist Faction of Italy (1921-1926); Additionally, Benito Mussolini's fascist regime kept him in prison (Morton 81; 88). The Italian Risor- gimento4 was one of his primary historical subjects of interest in his writings; the job of the Renaissance in molding the Italian state and European state development; as well as the issue of the 'southern inquiry' delivering lopsided advancement in Italy and then some (Morton 76).
Inspirations he conditions of uneven devel- opment in the creation of the Italian state in relation to the constitutive force of "the inter- national" for shaping the dynamics of state formation served as part of Gramsci's main inspiration (Morton 56). He was worried about the ascent of despotism in Italy. According to Morton (59), he saw a "causal sequencing of Italian state development within the wider history of the European states-system." Gramsci was concerned about "the importance of culture and of intellectuals in civil society," according to Schwarzmantel (2). the inventive function played by the working-class movement and the
potential for it to rise from a position of subor- dination or dominance to one of leadership across all of society; and a comparison of Western Europe's distinct characteristics to the society in which the Bolshevik revolution had occurred." The reasons for revolutions' failure are a major focus of his writing. However, Gramsci was not just motivated by the social and political conditions of inequality in Italy and the world when he conducted his analysis of a dominant set of ideas, the function of hegemony. Instead, he was motivated to come up with an alternative that might overthrow the current hegemonic system (Schwarzmantel 9). Some of Gramsci's inspirations can be traced back to his experiences with US-led hegemony; for example, Gramsci views Fordism as an example for an outward expansion of national hegemony beyond the United States, resulting in the creation of a world hegemony of "Americanism and Fordism" in the 1920s and 1930s (Morton 122).
Contributions
Gramsci made significant contributions to both IR research and Marxist theory. Abso- lute historicism was proposed by Gramsci, and it refers to "an approach to the history of ideas useful to the present by locating ideas both in and beyond their context" (Morton 17). This approach offers the likelihood to make approaches which can rise above their specific social and political verifiable cir- cumstances forming their unique situation. Schwarzmantel (2009) depicts one of Gram- sci's most significant contributions to con- temporary scholarship, which was the decon- struction of history and the discovery of the means by which revolution can occur. In or- der to grasp reality and not impose a static model on contemporary reality, these contri- butions are combined to make the claim that Marxism must be applied in relation to actual society and be open to transformations (Schwarzmantel 13). Gramsci came up with a number of ideas that are all connected to one another and form the basis for his idea of hegem- ony. Here, I present one methodology of figuring out his perspective, in any case, this is just a single translation out of quite a large number. The objective is to present a complete picture
of Gramsci's political and international relations strategy.
Gramsci's Ideas
The ideas that Gramsci had developed were scattered throughout the prison notebooks. One can distinguish pertinent topics, despite the fact that they were not written in direct design, like the necessary state, common society, power, memorable alliance, latent unrest, the capability of erudite people and the global.
Necessary State
Gramsci was worried about the particularities of state arrangement. His writing places an emphasis on class struggle during the process of forming the Italian state within the interna- tional system of states (Morton 40). Gramsci emphasizes the international sphere's influence on state formation throughout his analysis of uneven development (Morton 56). The particular rise of the Italian state was recognized from state arrangement all through Europe. "where ‘the protective shell of monarchy’ permitted the struggle within and between feudal classes, whereas in Italy the interests of mercantile capital were ‘incapable of going beyond a narrow- minded corporatism or of creating their own integral state civilisation'," Gramsci compared the development of Italy to that of France (Gramsci 1985 in Morton 58). In Italy the state development was portrayed by "transformism - as such by the arrangement of a perpetually broad decision class, inside the structure laid out by the Conservatives after 1848 and the breakdown of the neo-Guelph and federalist perfect world" (Gramsci 58).
Civil Society
It is necessary to clarify the concept of civil society in order to comprehend Gramsci's ex- tensive concept of the integral state. Accord- ing to Gramsci, Civil Society is defined as "the ethical content of the State" (8).Gramsci some- times uses the term, which includes economic relations, as Marx did: According to Gramsci, "The State is the instrument for conforming civil society to the economic structure" (208). Gramsci emphasizes the relationship between the state and civil society rather than defining
civil society as a single clear concept. The con- nection between the state and common society is depicted by an illustration of Russia and the West: " In Russia the State was everything, common society was early stage and coagu- lated; According to Gramsci, "in the West, there was a proper relationship between the State and civil society, and when the State trembled, a solid structure of civil society was immediately revealed." While civil society is a component of the state, neither it nor the state itself is essentially comprised of or dependent on civil society. Common society gives the "essential circle of presence and activity for in- ferior gatherings" (Gramsci 52).
Power
A frequently cited comprehension of force portrays Gramsci to have taken on Machia- velli's origination. Machiavelli portrays the idea of force as "a centaur part man, part monster, a mix of power and assent" (Cox 153). In addition to the centaur metaphor, Gramsci redefines the prince, a central theme in Machiavelli's work, as "the modern prince." The modern prince, depicted as a myth rather than a real person, represents one aspect of society. That's what it is "mind boggling component of society in which an aggregate will, which has previously been perceived and has somewhat grouped itself in real life, starts to take substantial struc- ture" (Gramsci 129).
Memorable Alliance
A memorable bloc is a partnership between friendly class powers. A partnership of social class powers, or a verifiable coalition at the public level comprises of a gathering which holds authority over subordinate gatherings (Morton 78). The arrangement of authority is an essential for the improvement of a verifiable coalition (Morton 78). However, according to Morton (97), the relationship between hegemony and historical bloc "is constantly constructed and contested and is never a static reflection of an alliance of social class forces." Gramsci characterizes the thought of authentic alliance as "rationalistic connection between financial 'structure' and philosophical 'superstructures'"
(Morton 95). In this sense, dialectic refers to the reciprocal and interdependent growth of structure and superstructure. The existence of a historical bloc makes it possible to resist this particular set of social forces and empowers counter-hegemony, which in turn necessitates hegemonic strategies. The foundation for "counter-hegemony" to challenge the existing world order is the creation of a new historical bloc; however, the historical bloc is restricted to the "national" context (Morton 132).
Latent Transformation
A limitation of Gramsci's ideas to the public setting is exceptionally challenged. The national and in- ternational are intertwined in the explanation of passive revolution (Budd). Gramsci's take on an influential counter-hegemony of resistance against the current world order is called passive revolution, and it describes a period of revolution (Gramsci 118). The term "passive revolution" refers to a specific type of change in which political and institutional structures are altered without the involvement of significant social processes. In a capitalist society, Gramsci de- picts passive revolution as the only means of enabling revolution. Transformation through the institutions of civil society through a variety of strategies is referred to as passive revolu- tion. According to Morton (71), the strate- gies work together to bring about organic change and establish a new cultural hegem- ony in society. The idea was created by Gramsci in relation to the rise of fascism in Italy. According to Gramsci 1971 in Morton, "the ruling class in Italy developed productive forces by allying with the urban and rural bourgeoisie on the basis of fascism" (71). According to Gramsci, "one may apply the interpretative criterion of molecular changes that in fact gradually modify the pre-existing composition of forces and thus become the matrix of new changes" (109) to the concept of passive revolution, which is documented in the Italian Risorgimento.
Intellectuals' Role in Society
Gramsci's concept of social change is illuminated by the passive revolution process. Intellectuals play a crucial role in the convergence of opposing
social-class forces. Erudite people play out an in- tervening capability between class powers in po- litical battle over authority, either as instruments of keeping up with authority or as allies of inferior classes advancing social change (Gramsci 60) Learned people satisfy their capability by sorting out the social authority of a gathering to apply control over the state (Gramsci 12-14). Gramsci recognized the significance of ideological groups for change developments, laid out as an 'aggregate scholarly' which he called the 'cutting edge sov- ereign' enlivened by the capability Machiavelli anticipated for 'the ruler' (Schwarzmantel 10). In- tellectuals have a social role to play. “direct the ideas and aspirations of the class to which they organically belong” is the definition of a social function (Gramsci 3).
Hegemony
The above investigated ideas are a significant essential for introducing the idea of authority. The original understanding of hegemony as presented in Gramsci's writings is expanded upon in this section. Gramsci applied the possi- bility of authority fixed with philosophy to dissect how social classes come to over- whelm society without intimidation. Gramsci asserts that we must incorporate social order and non-state actors into our analysis in order to look beyond the state and the economy (Gramsci). The understanding depends on a nearby assessment of verifiable minutes. Ac- cording to Barrett (238), Gramsci uses the concept of hegemony to organize politics and ideology. In order to illustrate the characteristics of shifting hegemony from the British system to the American system, Gramsci focuses on American hegemony (Gramsci 279). Gramsci emphasizes the significance of hegemony's existence as well as its particular type by an- alyzing various historical hegemony moments. Moreover, the idea of authority targets making sense of why upheavals bomb despite the fact that diligent presence of class battle and counter domineering drive in the public arena can be followed (Morton 2007).
CONCLUSION
A society is created by these common meanings and even made and remade in each individual
mind because every human society has its own functions, ideas, and motives that have a signif- icant impact on its art and learning. When a mind is made through these purposes, meanings of the society, and even new observation and meaning, communication and observation in a particular society are possible.
As it has been mentioned earlier, Williams’ theory is not completely Marxist; he rejects the Marxistidea which signifies the importance of economy in shaping every structure (McGui- gan and Moran, “Raymond Williams and Soci- ology”). In Marxism and Literature, Raymond Williams divides the definition of Ideology into three meanings concerning Marxist roots and criticizes all of them: "1. A system of be- liefs characteristics of a particular class or group; 1. A system of illusory beliefs- false ideas or consciousness- which can be con- trasted with true or scientific knowledge; 3. The general process of the production of meaning and ideas.Dominant: the goals, values, and meanings that the majority of people in the so- ciety accept and hold. Emerging elements sometimes pose a significant threat to dominant power. They include a residual element that has adapted to the current dominant and opposes the dominant ideology. However, when the dominant is adopted by residual elements, it may reappear in some instances Gramsci's con- cept of social change is illuminated by the pas- sive revolution process. Intellectuals play a cru- cial role in the convergence of opposing social- class forces. The above investigated ideas are a significant essential for introducing the idea of authority. Gramsci emphasizes the significance of hegemony's existence as well as its particular type by analyzing various historical hegemony moments. Moreover, the idea of authority targets making sense of why upheavals bomb despite the fact that diligent presence of class battle and counter domineering drive in the pub- lic arena can be followed .As a result, a series of Gramsci studies are conducted to comprehend his theory of cultural hegemony. Understanding Gramsci's conceptions regarding hegemony and culture is necessary. In order to demonstrate the hegemonic dominance in the society, it is neces- sary to investigate the characters' actions.
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Biodata
Behnaz Abed is a Ph.D. Candidate in English Language and Literature at Azad University of Arak, Iran.
Email: behnaz.abed1401@gmail.com
Hoajtollah Borzabadi Farahani is an assistant professor and Ph.D. in English language and lit- erature studies at the Islamic Azad Universities of Arak, Iran.
Email: n_bfarahani@yahoo.com
Fatemeh Azizmohammadi is an associated professor in English Language and Literature studies at the Azad University of Arak.
Email: fatemehazizimohammadi@gamil.com
