An examination and discussion of the public and the hidden discourses
(transcripts) of those who wield power and of those who feign deference to it.
Examples are drawn from literature, history and politics to illustrate the many
guises the interaction of such discourses can take.Confrontations between the powerless and the powerful are laden with
deception - the powerless feign deference and the powerful subtly assert their
mastery. Peasants, serfs, untouchables, slaves, labourers, and prisoners are
not free to speak their minds in the presence of power. These subordinate
groups instead create a secret discourse that represents a critique of power
spoken behind the backs of the dominant. At the same time, the powerful also
develop a private dialogue about practices and goals of their rule that cannot
be openly avowed. In this book, the author, a social scientist, offers a
discussion both of the public roles played by the powerful and powerless and
the mocking, vengeful tone they display off stage - what he terms their public
and hidden transcripts. Using examples from the literature, history, and
politics of cultures around the world, the author examines the many guises this
interaction has taken throughout history and the tensions and contradictions it
reflects.; The author describes the ideological resistance of subordinate groups -
their gossip, folktales, songs, jokes, and theater - their use of anonymity and
ambiguity. He also analyzes how ruling elites attempt to convey an impression
of hegemony through such devices as parades, state ceremony, and rituals of
subordination and apology. Finally he identifies - with quotations that range
from the recollections of American slaves to those of Russian citizens during
the beginnings of Gorbachev's glasnost campaign - the political electricity
generated among oppressed groups when, for the first time, the hidden
transcript is spoken directly and publicly in the face of power.
