Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts Revised ed. Edition

Description

"A splendid study, surely one of the most important that has appeared on the whole matter of power and resistance."—Natalie Zemon Davis Confrontations between the powerless and powerful are laden with deception—the powerless feign deference and the powerful subtly assert their mastery. Peasants, serfs, untouchables, slaves, laborers, and prisoners are not free to speak their minds in the presence of power. These subordinate groups instead create a secret discourse that represents a critique of power spoken behind the backs of the dominant. At the same time, the powerful also develop a private dialogue about practices and goals of their rule that cannot be openly avowed. In this book, renowned social scientist James C. Scott offers a penetrating discussion both of the public roles played by the powerful and powerless and the mocking, vengeful tone they display off stage—what he terms their public and hidden transcripts. Using examples from the literature, history, and politics of cultures around the world, Scott examines the many guises this interaction has taken throughout history and the tensions and contradictions it reflects. Front cover Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. Behind the Official Story 2. Domination, Acting, and Fantasy 3. The Public Transcript as a Respectable Performance 4. False Consciousness or Laying It on Thick? 5. Making Social Space for a Dissident Subculture 6. Voice under Domination: The Arts of Political Disguise 7. The Infrapolitics of Subordinate Groups 8. A Saturnalia of Power: The First Public Declaration of the Hidden Transcript Bibliography Index Back cover