Power Definitions

Power Definitions

1. Theorists

   • Grice's Maxims
     • Quantity
       • Speak neither more nor less than necessary
     • Quality
       • Be truthful
     • Relevance
       • Relevant to the topic
     • Manner
       • Avoid ambiguity, be clear and coherent
   • Lakoff, Brown and Levison
     • Looked at politeness
       • We disguise commands to appear more friendly, effective way of asserting power over others.
   • Howard Giles
     • Deliberately use convergence or divergence
   • Norman Fairclough
     • unequal encounters
       • Person with most power speaks more

2. Categories of power

   • Personal
     • Use emotions to influence people
   • Positional
     • Hierachy
   • Instrumental
     • Law
   • Practical
     • money/physical

3. Power Theories

   • Knowledge = Power
   • Technologies of the self
     • Thinking about yourself and taking responsibilities
   • Foucault
     • Discipline makes individuals more efficient
   • Bourdeau
     • language influenced by field and habitus
     • Field
       • a social space with its own hierachy
     • Habitus
       • individuals views, beliefs, opinions and values - how they influence everyone else
     • Capital
       • social, cultural or symbolic - anything to do with status within a group

4. Questions

   • Known answer
   • Open
   • Closed
   • Tag
   • Leading
     • Questions to make you agree