Language, Ideology and Social Consciousness

Book excerpt: Originally published in 1999, this book sets out to develop a distinctive, critical approach to the study of social consciousness through empirical studies of sociopolitical conflict in the west of Scotland. It accords an analytical priority to language-use and provides a critical review of a number of contemporary studies and approaches as part of an emerging presentation of an original and distinctive method. The book makes a significant contribution to the recovery for social science of the achievements of a set of Marxist psychologists and philosophers of language - most notably L.S. Vygotsky and V.N. Voloshinov - whose potential relevance for political sociology has barely been recognised. It tests and demonstrates the relevance of the approach it seeks to develop in relation to empirical studies - most notably the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders 'work-in' of 1971-72 and the Scottish Office-led urban policy 'Partnership' in Ferguslie Park, Paisley in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ultimately, the analytical focus on language becomes a key component of a larger mode of social investigation which begins from an analysis of changing patterns of language-use - one which 'turns' to language without embracing the 'linguistic turn'.