WWI in Colour

Power Relations - Foucault

Power is a “network of relations, constantly in tension, in activity, rather than a privilege that one might possess; one should take as its model a perpetual battle… this power is exercised rather than possessed; it is not the ‘privilege’ of the dominant class, but the overall effect of its strategic positions – an effect that is manifested and sometimes extended by the position of those who are dominated.” (p. 26)

Foucault analysed how power shapes our behaviour.
efinition: the ability to make someone do something, very often without that someone noticing it.
Characteristics:

• Invisible 
• Omnipresent 
• Constant state of flax, always flowing. Nobody has power all the time. 
• Power is not hierarchical. It doesn’t come top down or bottom up, also can come from the sides. 
• It is not negative, it can help people grow. 

It can be made manifest through:

• Building, we can’t move in the way we want. 
• Discourse: the things I say 
• The Gaze: the way people look at teach other 

Power can only be effectively exerted if people accept the legitimate right of someone to exert power.

Foucault, M. (1995) [1977]. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon.

Literary Essay

Language and Culture II 

Choose ONE of the following tasks and develop it thoroughly in an essay.
It should include an introduction, the main body and a conclusion.
Develop the corresponding theory, and account for it quoting from the novel.

1. Define what power is according to the theory of Michel Foucault. Describe the struggle for power between Inspector Goole and Mr Birling throughout the play. 
2. How gender roles are represented in the play within Patriarchal Society. 
3. Analyse the character of Mrs Birling throughout the play taking into consideration Gender Roles & Patriarchal Society. 
4. Priestley includes a strong range of female characters in An Inspector Calls from an upper class snob, through a vain daughter to an oppressed factory worker, showing he wanted to convey women from all types of social backgrounds. The vulnerability of women evokes sympathy, which supports Priestley’s belief in gender equality and community as “one body”. Develop. 
5. How is patriarchal society represented through discourse in “An inspector calls”? Choose two characters from the play to illustrate your point. 
6. Is inspector Goole’s discourse patriarchal in the same way as the discourse of Gerard, Mr Birling or Eric. Or, is he a non-patriarchal character? 
7. How are Mr Birling and Inspector Goole coming from "opposite ideological points of view"? 
8. Explore two characters from the play bearing in mind whether they are developing and static characters. 
9. Explore the effect of class, age and sex on people's attitudes to responsibility in the play “An inspector calls” 
10. Explain how social class determines the decisions that people make in “An inspector calls” 
11. Explore Eva Smith's encounters with each of the members of the Birling family and Gerald showing how Priestley uses these encounters to expose society's attitudes to working class girls like Eva. 
12. 1What social classes do the characters represent? 
13. How does this portrayal criticize the leading political figures or movements of the day? 
14. What role does authority (in the laws, or embodied by the police or others with power) play in the play's projected morality? 
15. Consider what each one seems to believe about the role of an individual in society, and use the theme of responsibility as a major guide.

Kings and Queens of England - 20th Century

Patriarchal Society

What is a Patriarchal System?

A patriarchal social system can be defined as a system where men are in authority over women in all aspects of society. In the past, men were often the established gender of authority and exhibited control in all situations.

The etymology of the word patriarchy allows us to understand the meaning of the term. The term patriarchy comes from the Latin words pater, which means “father”, and archein, “to rule”. Also, patriarchy derives from the Greek terms patriarches (“chief or head of family”) and patria (“family, clan”) Therefore, it refers to male political power within society and the father’s authority within his family.

Malpas and Wake (2006) claim that:

Patriarchy is a term used – especially but not exclusively in feminist theory – to analyse male dominance as a conventional or institutionalized form. Literally the ‘rule of the father’, patriarchy historically describes systems in which the male has absolute legal and economic control over the family. The patriarch is the male head of a tribe, religion or church hierarchy. (...)

Patriarchy was stablished as a system, defeating the ‘mother right’ and controlling women’s sexuality in order to establish paternity and protect private property. (Malpas and Wake, 2006: 237)

Characteristics of a Patriarchal System 

(male dominance, male centeredness, obsession with control, male identification)

Firslty, a patriarchal society is male dominated, which does not mean that all women are powerless, but the most powerful roles in most sectors of society are held by men,whereas the least powerful roles are held by women. 

Secondly, it is organized with men at the center, while women occupy the margins. This is so because of the assumption that women need men's supervision, protection, or control because they are fragile or vulnerable. 

This takes us to the thrid characteristic, which is the obsession with control. Men living in a patriarchal system or society must be in control at all times. They have a desire to control all social and family situations and must make all decisions regarding finances and education.

Finally, it is important to mention those aspects of society and personal attributes that are highly valued and which are generally associated with men, while devalued attributes and social activities are associated with women. Men are concerned with identification that includes qualities of control, strength, forcefulness, rationality, strong work ethic, and competitiveness.

Reference:

Malpas, S. and Wake, P. (eds.) (2006) The Routledge Companion To Critical Theory. London: Routledge

An Inspector calls by J.B. Priestley

John Boynton Priestley was born in Yorkshire in 1894. He knew early on that he wanted to become a writer, but decided against going to university as he thought he would get a better feel for the world around him away from academia. Instead, he became a junior clerk with a local wool firm at the age of 16.

When the First World War broke out, Priestley joined the infantry and only just escaped death on a number of occasions. After the war, he gained a degree from Cambridge University, then moved to London to work as a freelance writer. He wrote successful articles and essays, then published the first of many novels, The Good Companions, in 1929. He wrote his first play in 1932 and went on to write 50 more. Much of his writing was ground-breaking and controversial. He included new ideas about possible parallel universes and strong political messages.

During the Second World War he broadcast a massively popular weekly radio programme which was attacked by the Conservatives as being too left-wing. The programme was eventually cancelled by the BBC for being too critical of the Government.

He continued to write into the 1970s, and died in 1984

Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramainspectorcalls/0drama_inspector_contrev1.shtml

Poem: The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy