An Introduction

Abstract

This is an introductory chapter of Teaching About Hegemony. The focus of this book is on teaching about matters of race, social class, and democracy; the intended readers are teacher educators of social studies and history, as well as high school teachers of social studies, civic studies, and history in both Canada and the United States. School district and school administrators will also find useful ideas from this book to guide a progressive educational philosophy. This chapter introduces the topic of hegemony and makes the citizens aware of hegemony, hegemonic devices, and hegemonic strategies if the current trend of the dismantling of civil society is to be reversed in this era of neoliberal economics. Teaching About Hegemony combines progressive perspectives with personal narratives from the classroom and insights gleaned from critical ethnographic scholarly research. Most of the chapters include suggestions for developing counterhegemonic discourses in the classrooms of high schools and teacher education programs. For over 25 years, these pedagogical suggestions have been used by the author in both settings for the past two decades. The basis of this approach is for the reader to develop an understanding of political ideology in the North American context in both the economic and the social spectra. In short, it is about raising the political consciousness of our citizenry in order to increase resistance to hegemonic discourses and policies. It makes a case that the status quo should not be maintained because of social and economic inequality. Rather, the status quo should be challenged, and educators are in the best position to raise this challenge.