Transgression as a Mode of Resistance Rethinking Social Movement in an Era of Corporate Globalization

Since industrialization, two major theoretical perspectives have accompanied the vibrant practice of social change. The first, hegemony, emerged as a less deterministic route to revolution from Marxist theory, and forms the common sense of social movement today. Within hegemonic resistance, rhetoric links issues, ideas, and identities to form a recognizable collective agent, whose aim is to transform the status quo into its vision of the world. The second major mode of resistance, transgression, grows from anarchist and autonomous resistance to capitalism. Transgression attempts to free individuals' uniqueness and creative power by deconstructing authority and explicating the body in resistance. Transgression as a Mode of Resistance: Rethinking Social Movement in an Era of Corporate Globalization provides the conceptual mapping for scholars, students, and practitioners to participate in the growing debate between these rich and powerful forces of social change. Through a broad perspective on philosophy and history, Christina R. Foust demonstrates that hegemony and transgression are sometimes conflicting, oftentimes inter-related practices. She responds to critics who believe that without a social change agent, resistance appears baseless and na_ve; without a representational economy to cohere and express common interests, social movement is impossible. Through alternative social relationships and political performances, transgressive resistors may reinvent daily life.

Christina R. Foust is assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Denver.