Dr. Meghann Meeusen University of Tennessee at Chattanooga INTRODUCTION TO IDEOLOGY AND BINARIES

Ideology Definition: an ideology is a belief system or way of seeing and understanding the world that a text presents as normal or true Books send messages and present ideas about how the word “is”, thus enculturating or indoctrinating young people into society– teaching them how to live and how to see the world. Louis Althusser uses the term “obviousness”-- so pervasive is ideology in its constitution of subjects that it forms our very reality and thus appears to us as “true” or “obvious.”

Implicit and Explicit Implicit ideology is when an author is passing on cultural beliefs without even being aware of doing so. It is a presentation of the “normal” or “expected” way of life (for the dominant culture). Explicit ideology is the “theme” or message of the text, more purposefully put forth by the author. Implicit ideologies are often even more powerful than explicit ideologies. Peter Hollindale’s: “…even if beliefs are passive and unexamined, and no part of any conscious proselytizing, the texture of language and story will reveal them and communicate them" (12).

Critical Backdrop 20th century European academic thinkers, Claude Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes, believed: the way we understand certain words depends on our understanding of the difference between the word and its ‘opposite, ’ not on the direct definition words merely act as symbols for society's ideas the meaning of words, therefore, was a relationship rather than a fixed thing: a relationship between opposing ideas

From Saussure to Derrida We understand a word’s meaning because of its relationship to other words: We built a fire when we were camping. I hope our boss does not fire him after than incident. Derrida suggests, however, that it is not simply relationships that govern meaning, but binary oppositions. For example: Male/Female, Adult/Child, Good/Evil, Rich/Poor We understand these concepts by positioning them as opposites, wherein one is the power position over the other.

Derrida & Deconstruction According to Jacques Derrida, meaning is defined in terms of binary oppositions, “a violent hierarchy” where “one of the two terms governs the other.” Argues that all structures have an implied center, and all systems have binary oppositions. Within these systems, one part more important than another (good/evil, male/female). This is problematic. Deconstruction is a theory of reading which aims to undermine the logic of opposition within texts.

Apply to a Text Discover binary oppositions that govern a text– these can be binaries that are presented/reinforced or seem to be broken. Comment on values, concepts, ideas beyond the binaries– how do the binaries of the text represent dominant ideologies? Reverse these binaries and/or dismantle previously held worldviews. What value is there when a text reverses the binary? How is reversing different than “complicating” a binary? How is this sometimes difficult to do? This can allow individuals to see the world differently, accepting possibilities of various perspectives or levels of meaning, or even allowing meaning to be undecidable or unknowable.