I got stuck on the Althusser, so both of my questions are on that reading.
I was interested in Althusser's second thesis: "Ideology has a material existence." From what I understand the materiality of ideology is manifested in the actions that legitimate the beliefs for individuals. I was wondering if there was any connection between this materiality and the materiality described in "A Thief in the Night"? In that chapter Brunsdon says, "Stuart reminds us of the materiality of political and theoretical disagreements. Real people with passionate investments," when referring to Hall's memory of feminist thought coming into cultural studies. Brunsdon seems to suggest that the materiality in this case is linked to emotions and how people felt at that time.
I think I was starting to get the Ideology/Interpellate section, but by the end I was confused again. The "hailing" as making subject part I was really into, and I liked how he described his example as theoretical theatre because that is exactly how I was thinking about it. It's similar to the ways actors are "fed lines" in rehearsals when they can't remember what to say next. They are given a portion of what they are supposed to say and from there they should be able to jump right back into character and into the action of the play. Similar to the "hailing" the street, when I person hears "hey, you there" they take on or remember the knowledge that allows them to respond, or as Althusser puts it, become the subject (also I don't really know what that is supposed to mean). Towards the end of the section is where I get lost. What is Althusser talking about when he says that individuals are "always-already a subject" even before being born?
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