Visualizing Vernacular Discourse: A Silent Majority Confronts the Citizenship Practices of a Vocal Minority

Author:

*  Jennifer Heusel (Indiana University)

Abstract:

I believe hegemony operates on conflict, but suggests stability. Therefore, 'citizenship' is an unstable element of hegemonic culture. Local community response to alternative citizenship practices is often shoved into the faceless box labeled hegemony. Although harboring resistance to dramatic changes, local communities under duress develop strategies that are not necessarily counter-hegemonic, but nevertheless allow hegemony to metamorphose. These strategies are creative, dynamic and situational, and call for perspectives underscoring variety, including attention to visuality.