
Discourse and Ideology
A Critique of the Study of Culture
Craig Martin(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Published on 16. December 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-1-350-24628-7 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the American Academy of Religion's Analytical-Descriptive Studies Book Award 2023
Drawing on poststructuralist approaches, Craig Martin outlines a theory of discourse, ideology, and domination that can be used by scholars and students to understand these central elements in the study of culture.
The book shows how discourses are used to construct social institutions-often classist, sexist, or racist-and that those social institutions always entail a distribution of resources and capital in ways that capacitate some subject positions over others. Such asymmetrical power relations are often obscured by ideologies that offer demonstrably false accounts of why those asymmetries exist or persist.
The author provides a method of reading in order to bring matters into relief, and the last chapter provides a case study that applies his theory and method to racist ideologies in the United States, which systematically function to discourage white Americans from sympathizing with poor African Americans, thereby contributing to reinforcing the latter's place at the bottom of a racial hierarchy that has always existed in the US.
Drawing on poststructuralist approaches, Craig Martin outlines a theory of discourse, ideology, and domination that can be used by scholars and students to understand these central elements in the study of culture.
The book shows how discourses are used to construct social institutions-often classist, sexist, or racist-and that those social institutions always entail a distribution of resources and capital in ways that capacitate some subject positions over others. Such asymmetrical power relations are often obscured by ideologies that offer demonstrably false accounts of why those asymmetries exist or persist.
The author provides a method of reading in order to bring matters into relief, and the last chapter provides a case study that applies his theory and method to racist ideologies in the United States, which systematically function to discourage white Americans from sympathizing with poor African Americans, thereby contributing to reinforcing the latter's place at the bottom of a racial hierarchy that has always existed in the US.
Reviews / Votes
This book is a gift to students and colleagues who have a passion for theory. Craig Martin has infused his work with rare wit, wisdom, emotion, unique insight, and commitment. * Naomi Goldenberg, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada * In this incredibly impressive work, Craig Martin shows the importance of doing your homework by methodically laying out the philosophical basis for a discursive theory of society. Martin provides a clear path through numerous debates that over-simplistically pit empirical realities against social construction, leading the reader to a far more nuanced and critically viable position. This is a must-read for anyone who considers themselves a scholar of culture. * Leslie Dorrough Smith, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program, Avila University, USA * "If to study religion is to study how people name and rank their worlds, then it actually studies how power and identity are claimed and contested-and Craig Martin numbers among the best representatives of such a field; Discourse and Ideology makes clear that a critical scholar of religion has much to say about how society works, and why it so often seems to work only for some of its members." * Russell T. McCutcheon, University Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Alabama, USA * This book succeeds in providing a secure base and guide for scholars to apply a poststructuralist critique of culture, whether focused on religion, politics, gender, race or another category of analysis. * Suzanne Owen, Reader in Religious Studies, Leeds Trinity University, UK *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
460 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-24628-7 (9781350246287)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2021
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€29.99
Available for download

E-Book
11/2021
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€29.99
Available for download
Person
Craig Martin is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Thomas Aquinas College, USA. He is the author of Capitalizing Religion: Ideology and the Opiate of the Bourgeoisie (Bloomsbury, 2014) and co-editor of Stereotyping Religion: Critiquing Cliches (Bloomsbury, 2017). He is the series editor for Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power.
Content
Preface
Introduction: Contingency
1. Critique
2. Things
3. Discourse
4. Domination
5. Ideology
6. Recrement
7. Case Study: Racist Ideology in the US
Coda
Bibliography
Index
Introduction: Contingency
1. Critique
2. Things
3. Discourse
4. Domination
5. Ideology
6. Recrement
7. Case Study: Racist Ideology in the US
Coda
Bibliography
Index