Levels of context and hegemony

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When categorism is done, it is done in a social context. This context can be interaction between two or a few individuals (micro level), a biger context such as an organization (meso level) or a very big context such as a country or global subculture (macro level). In the given context, a certain form of categorism may be more or less maginalized or more or less hegemonic. In a context where categorism against a certain category of people is widespread or even hegemonic, it can be reasonable to count the people in this category as being oppressed.

Note that the categorization into levels, just like any other act of categorization, is of more or less limited accuracy: The boundaries between the levels are often more or less arbitrary. While a distinction between levels is preferable in some situations, there are also situations where it is more fruitful to view it as uninterrupted sliding scales.

Levels of context

Levels of context is a sliding scale: ranging from on one hand what’s going on within a single individual mind, to on the other hand what’s going on within the entire culosphere. The term “culosphere” refers to the sum of all cultures and all social life, just like the term “biosphere”refers to the sum of all biotopes and all biological life. This scale can be divided into three parts, called micro level, meso level and macro level.


Levels of context
More specific levels Broader levels
Individual Micro level
Group
Crowd Meso level
Organization
Local subculture
City


Nation Macro level

Types of structures

Different kinds of social structure include for example discourses, socioeconomic structures (such as distribution of wealth), formal structures (such as laws) and social norms. When it comes to social norms, we should distinguish between prescriptive norms for how people ought to be, descriptive norms for how people are assumed to be, and mixed norms such as norms for what kinds of behavior (and from whom) we should view as “unfortunate but unavoidable”.

Note that a structure can be more or less hegemonic, and that this can differ between different contexts: A social norm which is hegemonic in one context can be alternative in another, or vice versa. Also note that when a structure is squarely on an individual level of context, then it can be calld a mental structure rather than a social structure.

Levels of hegemony

Levels of hegemony is a sliding scale: ranging from on one hand a certain norm or other structure having almost complete hegemony or dominance within the context, to on the other hand the norm or other structure being very alternative or repressed.