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theses

At War with Itself: Rutgers University’s Student Led Movements for Progressive Reform and the Boundaries of Hegemony, 1965-1972 is a thesis which questions the limitations put on progressive movements by the hegemony of the society and the various elements of institutional and systemic power which historically support and maintain the structures of societal power. Utilizing the theory of hegemony first posed by the Italian Marxist Communist Antonio Gramsci and his works on the topic, along with an extensive use of Rutgers own archives, and a range of secondary sources dealing with everything from the periods economy, educational practices, and social formations in an effort to produce an accurate analysis of these various elements of United States (US) hegemony for this thesis. A micro analysis focusing on key events which took place on Rutgers three campuses during the 1965-1972 period, and the final years of President Mason W. Gross’s tenure at the University. This thesis does not set out to prove anything, but instead to accurately illustrate the ways in which power and the system of capitalism remain entrenched as the dominant modes of societal and economic organization in spite of the contradictions produced by both capitalism and the current power structures of the US. This automatic and largely unconscious defense of entrenched power takes on an almost incalculable amount of forms some of which this thesis analyzes more closely, such as mass media, political leadership, and institutional authority. In total, this work remained dedicated to illustrating the effects of hegemony on US society through the lens of campus activity on Rutgers campuses during the 1965-1972 period.

ETD_10796

doi:10.7282/t3-3zgf-gc09

M.A.

Includes bibliographical references

ETD graduate

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