The issue of false consciousness was critiqued very well in the following
article, for which I'll include the abstract:
Critical Literacy and Institutional Language
Ellen Cushman
University of California at Berkeley
published in Research in the Teaching of English, 33(3)
Abstract
Based on three and a half years of activist ethnographic fieldwork in an
upstate New York inner city, this article explores institutional language
skills among area residents who faced eviction from their homes. Through
vignettes and literacy artifacts, this report reveals how two adult women
learned, transferred, and evaluated their own language practices in light
of their interactions with institutional gatekeepers. Analysis not only
reveals the cycle of development of institutional language strategies among
community members, but also shows residents' critical awareness and
political acumen when faced with the asymmetrical relations between
themselves and the institutions designed to assist them. Grounded in the
micro politics of day-to-day linguistic struggles, this research shows how
individuals' language use both complied with and resisted the structuring
ideology of institutional agents. In light of these findings, I raise
questions about the methods of key critical pedagogues and the
appropriateness of their assumption of false consciousness among all
disenfranchised people.
At 11:02 PM 10/21/99 -0800, you wrote:
>In marxist terms false consciousness means accepting one or another
>version of the bourgeois myths about the social contract (capitalist
>society is "just" or "rewards merit" or "is the best way" etc)
>
>>>especially since entering the middleclass domain
>> >of higher education. Is that subjectivity merely a false consciousness
>
>
>YES
>
>There have been many working class intellectuals throughout modern history
>(the age of capitalism), but not in academia. Working class consciousness
>is grounded in an understanding of the class struggle (the built in
>inequity of capitalism as a system), it's the essence of Marx & Engel's
>development of historical materialism. But it's easiest to see in
>political writings of real marxists, like Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, when they
>grapple with real issues. You won't find it very accessible in the more
>philosophical writings. Read some of their histories or polemics, but try
>to get annotated versions so you can follow the issues of the times.
>
>hope that helps
>
>Pete Farruggio
>
>
>
>
>>Nate, can you unpack for the illiterate/ignorant what makes consciousness
>>false (as if there were a 'true' state of consciousness)? I understand the
>>struggle over appropriating/not appropriating bourgeois tools; I can get
>>worried about losing a desire to work against the institutional grain. But I
>>can't get worried about losing consciousness, since I can't imagine either
>>not being conscious or not being blinded by rationality. I think that has
>>hindered my take-up of Marxism generally.
>>
>> >Class tend to be defined as something lacking content or in the negative
>> >rather than the positive. This is difficult for me because its a big
>> >aspect of my subjectivity especially since entering the middleclass domain
>> >of higher education. Is that subjectivity merely a false consciousness or
>> >is their content there. There seems to be important bourgeois tools
>> >involved that I don't want to or have my children denied of, yet I also
>> >don't want to lose my consciousness in the process. If its simply false the
>> >solution lies in appropriating a bourgeois conscious, but if there is
>> >content it becomes a little more difficult. I see Walkerdine pointing
>> >toward the latter.
>> >
>>
>>
>>Judith Diamondstone (732) 932-7496 Ext. 352
>>Graduate School of Education
>>Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
>>10 Seminary Place
>>New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183
--=====================_147555640==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
The issue of false consciousness was critiqued very well in the following
article, for which I'll include the abstract:
Ellen Cushman
University of California at Berkeley
published in Research in the Teaching of English, 33(3)
Abstract
At 11:02 PM 10/21/99 -0800, you wrote:
In marxist terms false consciousness means accepting one or another version of the bourgeois myths about the social contract (capitalist society is "just" or "rewards merit" or "is the best way" etc)--=====================_147555640==_.ALT--
especially since entering the middleclass domain>of higher education. Is that subjectivity merely a false consciousness
YES
There have been many working class intellectuals throughout modern history (the age of capitalism), but not in academia. Working class consciousness is grounded in an understanding of the class struggle (the built in inequity of capitalism as a system), it's the essence of Marx & Engel's development of historical materialism. But it's easiest to see in political writings of real marxists, like Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, when they grapple with real issues. You won't find it very accessible in the more philosophical writings. Read some of their histories or polemics, but try to get annotated versions so you can follow the issues of the times.
hope that helps
Pete Farruggio
Nate, can you unpack for the illiterate/ignorant what makes consciousness
false (as if there were a 'true' state of consciousness)? I understand the
struggle over appropriating/not appropriating bourgeois tools; I can get
worried about losing a desire to work against the institutional grain. But I
can't get worried about losing consciousness, since I can't imagine either
not being conscious or not being blinded by rationality. I think that has
hindered my take-up of Marxism generally.
>Class tend to be defined as something lacking content or in the negative
>rather than the positive. This is difficult for me because its a big
>aspect of my subjectivity especially since entering the middleclass domain
>of higher education. Is that subjectivity merely a false consciousness or
>is their content there. There seems to be important bourgeois tools
>involved that I don't want to or have my children denied of, yet I also
>don't want to lose my consciousness in the process. If its simply false the
>solution lies in appropriating a bourgeois conscious, but if there is
>content it becomes a little more difficult. I see Walkerdine pointing
>toward the latter.
>
Judith Diamondstone (732) 932-7496 Ext. 352
Graduate School of Education
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
10 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183