Abstract
This paper argues for the need to draw on political and social theory in the
field of media and communication studies.
Hegemony is the main focus in this paper. This theoretical term was introduced
into media and communication studies in Japan through cultural studies
in the 1980s. Stuart Hall, who is the theoretical figurehead of cultural studies,
applied the concept of hegemony in media and communication studies. His theoretical
model, “encoding/decoding,” became one of the “standard” theories in
this field. However, since the decline of cultural studies, media and communication
studies in Japan has not concerned itself with the theoretical development
of this concept. This paper examines how new theories of hegemony and discourse were
developed by political theorist Ernest Laclau. As pioneers of the theory of radi
