Marxism 2: Literature, Society & Ideology

Marxism: Focuses  Dialectic Materialism -- Marx and Vulgar Marxism  Literature,Society & Ideology: Althusser as a focus  Marxist Literary Critics: Jameson and Eagleton  Cultural Marxism (if time allows)

Literature & Society (1)  Literature of Commitment & Reflectionism -- Related questions : What are the functions of literature? Is good literature politically committed literature? Does literature have to “ reflect ” its society, or help promote a certain political cause? On the other hand, can literature be completely un-political?

Literature & Society (2)  Ways of reflecting society indirectly not through content but through forms (e.g. fragmentary form as a way to reflect social fragmentation); incorporating different ideologies

Ideology Defined  “ rigid set of ideas ” ; e.g. somebody refrains from eating meat “ for practical rather than ideological reasons. ” --negative  ruling ideology: legitimating the power of the dominant group--negative  sets of ideas to justify certain organized social actions --could be positive or negative  ＊ sets of ideas to justify certain actions while masking their real nature. --negative

Ideology Defined by Althusser  Ideology is a ‘ Representation ’ of the Imaginary Relationship of Individuals to their Real Conditions of Existence.  Ideology has the function of constituting individual as subjects. * Ideology is not any idea; it should be a system of ideas (representation) produced by some institutions (state apparatuses 國家機器 )

Ideologies: Examples  Which ideologies do the following statements support?  我以身為台灣人為榮。我以身為美國人 為榮。  阿扁是苦讀成功的例子，是台灣之子， 是全民的總統。  一日為師，終生為父。  Clips from Marx the Greatest Thinker

Literature - ideology - Economic Base  reflecting or relatively autonomous;  reflect, embody, perform, transform, critique Over-determination Social LevelsMultiple Ideologies

Social Structure: Base and Superstructure (3)  Ideology: the ruling ideas of the ruling class; imposed on the other classes.  Superstructure  e.g. Literature of the middle class,  of proletariat Base( as foundation, center ) relations of production, means of production Parallel, reflect

Althusser ’ s idea of social formation; de-centered  Relative autonomy  State Apparatuses (Repressive & Ideological) Base Superstructure 學校 法院 家庭 軍隊 警察 RSA 文學 ISA

Althusser ’ s idea of social formation; de-centered  Relative autonomy; mediation ( 媒介 ); over- determination Base 文學生產方式； 生產關係； 文學史；文類 作者／讀者 文學 作 品 書 局 行銷 學院學院 Superstructure 主要意識形態

Ideology: Literary Examples  T. S. Eliot “ The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. ”  W. B. Yeats  Jack London ’ s “ Chinago ”