 |
Hegemony as Rhetoric: Knowledge and Power in Gramsci
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
polis. So too the Roman populus, as it assembles in its various
comitia (legislative and elective), embodies the res publica
libera. In both there is a public and open space, at once
political, social and cultural, in which the popular masses are
simultaneously the ground and the motive force for political
action. In both it is the organization and deployment of the
masses (by means of opinion formation) that defines politics.
Writing long after the Roman republic was transformed into the
military dictatorship of the principate, Tacitus comments:
in the disorder and license of the past [that is, the conflict and strife of the republican era] more seemed to be within the reach of the speaker [orator/politician],...hence, speeches of magistrates...who passed nights on the Rostra; hence, prosecutions of influential citizens brought to trial; hence, factions among the nobles, and incessant strife between senate and people. In each case the state was torn asunder, but the eloquence of the age was exercised and, as it seemed, was loaded with great rewards. For the more powerful a man was as a speaker, the more easily did he obtain office, the more influence did he acquire with the leaders of the state, the more weight in the senate, the more notoriety and fame with the people...it was though a disgrace to seem mute and speechless (mutum et elinguim videri deforme habebatur)....[and] even against their own wish they had to show themselves before the people.
55
Such a passage is telling regarding the nature of republican
politics, and it nicely captures the relation between the role
of the popular masses and the struggle for power in republican
|
| | Authors: Fontana, Benedetto. |
|
| |
|
|
polis. So too the Roman populus, as it assembles in its various
comitia (legislative and elective), embodies the res publica
libera. In both there is a public and open space, at once
political, social and cultural, in which the popular masses are
simultaneously the ground and the motive force for political
action. In both it is the organization and deployment of the
masses (by means of opinion formation) that defines politics.
Writing long after the Roman republic was transformed into the
military dictatorship of the principate, Tacitus comments:
in the disorder and license of the past [that is, the
conflict and strife of the republican era] more seemed
to be within the reach of the speaker
[orator/politician],...hence, speeches of
magistrates...who passed nights on the Rostra; hence,
prosecutions of influential citizens brought to trial;
hence, factions among the nobles, and incessant strife
between senate and people. In each case the state was
torn asunder, but the eloquence of the age was
exercised and, as it seemed, was loaded with great
rewards. For the more powerful a man was as a speaker,
the more easily did he obtain office, the more
influence did he acquire with the leaders of the
state, the more weight in the senate, the more
notoriety and fame with the people...it was though a
disgrace to seem mute and speechless (mutum et
elinguim videri deforme habebatur)....[and] even
against their own wish they had to show themselves
before the people.
Such a passage is telling regarding the nature of republican
politics, and it nicely captures the relation between the role
of the popular masses and the struggle for power in republican
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention makes running your annual conference simple and cost effective. It is your online solution for abstract management, peer review, and scheduling for your annual meeting or convention. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
