situated social power

[georgia rigg]

I read Adam's message with a reminiscent smile.  There
is something useful about having lived through so many
eras, all the rules from each decade about how to be a
"good" person in a particular milieu.  You know what,
some of those rules are quite useful in a variety of
contexts, and at certain times!  Universities are
strange places, with a whole set of unvoiced rules
about power.  Interesting discussion, this.  Georgia
Rigg
--- HV Psychodrama <hvpi at hvc.rr.com> wrote:

> Dear Adam and Reg,
> Your comments bring to mind the issue of the power
> of group culture...for 
> example, the cultural conserves in the psychodrama
> community that strong 
> expression of feeling is good, or that people should
> disclose their inner 
> and intimate life in a 'public' setting...all these
> things that we sort of 
> take for granted. Not only do we need to be
> cognizant of power as an issue 
> of class and status, but also the power of the group
> itself to oppress. 
> Nothing new here, but something to also be
> considered.
> 
> Rebecca
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Adam Blatner" <adam at blatner.com>
> To: "REGINA SEWELL" <sewell.2 at osu.edu>
> Cc: <list at grouptalkweb.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 12:25 AM
> Subject: Re: situated social power
> 
> 
> Hi, all, Good for you Regina! Yes, differences in
> status and class are part 
> of a much
> broader definition of oppression. The situated power
> sometimes is built in 
> to whoever is
> the seeming majority---e.g., a man or a couple of
> them in a group of 
> assertive women; an
> older man in a group of younger people at a dance
> class, etc.
>          This is why sociometry, however important,
> is only one of many 
> components
> involved in group dynamics. Moreno's work offered
> valuable contributions, 
> but should not
> begin to be thought of as comprehensive or the final
> word. No matter how 
> much sociometry
> you may know---and I think it's still a young field,
> and learning more how 
> telic dynamics
> interact with these other status dynamics for
> example, is one of many 
> frontiers---you
> still need to continue to learn about other
> frontiers of social psychology.
>           Dan Wiener is doing work on status issues
> in relationships, and 
> Leticia Nieto
> has presented on aspects of oppression and ways
> action methods may be used 
> in dealing with
> them more openly.
> 
>      An illustration of Regina's (and Coontz')
> point. As a young 
> psychiatrist---oh, around
> 1973--I had taken up smoking a pipe. It was a common
> affectation and a most 
> delicious
> pastime. "Do you mind if I smoke?" was a naive
> question that I asked my 
> patients, and only
> rarely was told, "Yes, I do mind." Once I realized
> how stinky the activity 
> was I slap my
> forehead in embarrassment---this is several years
> later.
>       Another example---as a young man, having had a
> visit by my mother, who 
> protested
> that I should definitely, absolutely not walk her to
> the airplane---so, 
> okay, I
> didn't---and afterwards heard from my aunt that she
> was hurt. This was 
> before I learned
> about the idea of the cultural expectation that you
> are expected to really 
> argue with
> protests, that no meant yes. This was in the 1950s
> and 60s. If a host 
> offered more food
> and was told no, she was to offer it again more
> insistently, two more times. 
> Not one more,
> not four more, two more. This is how it is in some
> cultures---and guests are 
> supposed to
> decline at least once and better, twice, for
> appearances sake.
>        Now this also was a bit true in teenage
> sexual relations---she was 
> supposed to say
> no and he was supposed to say sure, yes,
> let's---stuff that would be 
> considered harassment
> today!
> 
>       Indeed, the duplicity of politeness confused
> me---without the kind of 
> parent or
> sibling who would be a coach about these unspoken
> rules, a kid could get
> bewildered!---that really pushed me into depth
> psychology and ultimately 
> psychiatry! What
> is going on out there that people aren't admitting?
> Is everyone phoney? 
> (That was a
> fashionable word in the just-before-encounter-group
> culture of the late 
> 1950s).
> 
>        I still think I get caught in the mixed
> messages people send: Level 
> 1: "I am
> mature, independent, forthright, and should be
> treated thus" and level 2: 
> "... yet you
> should know that I'm really vulnerable. You should
> be sensitive enough to 
> read my
> nonverbal cues." Indeed, these may be obvious to the
> trained observer, or 
> they may be very
> subtle, mainly in the fantasy of the person who
> thinks he's communicating.
> 
>      One of the good things about psychodrama is
> that at least it talks 
> about non-verbal
> communications, and enacts them.
> 
>      Finally, this situated power problem also gives
> a word to the critique 
> of the open
> session! Can our clients really give mature informed
> consent to a method 
> that is a lot
> more powerful than they might realize?
> 
>              Warmly, Adam
> responding to:
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "REGINA SEWELL" <sewell.2 at osu.edu>
> To: <list at grouptalkweb.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 7:19 PM
> Subject: situated social power
> 
> 
> 
> I’ve been prepping for the family section in my
> intro to sociology class and 
> in the
> process came across the concept of “situated social
> power” when reviewing 
> some of
> Stephanie Coontz's work.  It reminded me of a
> discussion on grouptalk a 
> number of months
> ago about personal responsibility and will  and the
> legacy of oppression.  I 
> thought this
> concept added some insight into the impact of social
> inequality on social 
> interaction and
> relationships in many settings.
> 
> According to Coontz, "Situated power means that
> various groups in society 
> have unequal
> access to economic resources, political power, and
> social status, and these 
> social
> differences limit how fair or equal a personal
> relationship between two 
> individuals from
> different groups can really be.  Such social
> imbalances affect personal 
> behavior
> regardless of sincere intentions of both parties to
> ‘not let it make a 
> difference.'" ...
> etc. see previous email...
> 
> 
> Grouptalk mailing list
> List at grouptalkweb.org
>
http://grouptalkweb.org/mailman/listinfo/list_grouptalkweb.org
> 
> 
> 
=== message truncated ===



      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal. 
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.  http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/