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Sociology vocabulary · Theories and Thinkers

Hegemony

Meaning in sociology, with examples

/hɪˈɡeməni/nounCommon term

In sociology, hegemony means: Leadership or domination by one group that rests mainly on consent, achieved when its values and ideas come to be accepted by others as common sense.

In Turkish: hegemonya

How it is used

Associated with the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, who developed it in his Prison Notebooks. Used in studies of media, education, culture and gender, as in Connell's idea of hegemonic masculinity. In international relations it can simply mean the dominance of one state.

Example sentences

  1. Gramsci argued that the ruling class maintains hegemony through schools, churches and the press as well as through force.

  2. The study analyses how television dramas reproduce cultural hegemony.

Common collocations

  • cultural hegemony
  • hegemonic masculinity
  • maintain hegemony
  • counter-hegemony
  • ideologyA set of ideas and beliefs that explains how society works and how it should work, and that often supports the interests of a particular group.
  • powerThe ability of a person or group to achieve their goals or influence the behaviour of others, even when others resist.
  • conflict theoryA group of theories that see society as shaped by struggles between groups with unequal power and resources, such as classes, genders or ethnic groups.
  • social classA large group of people who share a similar economic position, such as income, wealth, occupation and education, and often similar life chances.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Theories and Thinkers

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