ARTS2871 Power and Powerlessness
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · T3 2026ARTS2871 Overview
- UNSW Sydney
- Term 3 2026
- Level 2 course
- Social theory and inequality
- Three weighted assessments
ARTS2871 Power and Powerlessness is a Level 2 UNSW Sydney course in Term 3 2026 that treats power as a problem to be compared across theoretical perspectives rather than reduced to a single definition. The sequence begins with critical theory and social critique, then examines material power through production and class relations.
- Locate power Name the relation, institution or practice that changes another actor's available choices.
- Trace the mechanism Show how material control, ideology, status or knowledge produces the outcome in this case.
- Compare relative utility Hold the case stable and decide what each theoretical lens explains or overlooks.
What you get in the full ARTS2871 Study & Assessment Guide
- 10 chapters, 34 pages — every assessed topic, week by week
- 13 original practice questions, each with a model answer
- 10 worked examples, solved the way ARTS2871 marks
- 10 computed figures, redrawn from the course’s own numbers
- Before-you-submit checklist for the Debate (45%) — what markers reward, what costs marks
Free on this page: assessment table, chapter map, one worked example, key terms, FAQ. The rest is in the full study & assessment guide.
How ARTS2871 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Tutorial participation | 15% | Individual weekly tutorial participation with brief discussion notes uploaded to Moodle |
| In-class exam | 40% | Week 7 tutorial, handwritten and closed book, with short answers and a longer reflective application |
| Debate | 45% | Individual contribution within a team debate in Week 12, with presentation slides submitted through Moodle |
The official 2026 UNSW Handbook and the current Moodle assessment table publish the same three weighted components, which total 100%. The course materials provide operational detail for the Week 7 in-class exam and the Week 12 debate; use Moodle for your assigned session and any current instructions.
What other students are asking about ARTS2871
- Where can I find lecture notes or study guides for ARTS2871 at UNSW?
- The ARTS2871 study guide in AskSia Library covers Power and Powerlessness in 10 chapters, with the assessment table, a chapter-by-chapter topic map, key terms and a worked example, free to read on this page.
- Is there a final exam in ARTS2871, and how much is it worth?
- Yes. In the offering this AskSia Library guide is built from, In-class exam carries 40% of the ARTS2871 mark; the full split is Tutorial participation 15%, In-class exam 40%, Debate 45%.
- What does ARTS2871 cover on material power and class relations?
- In AskSia Library's ARTS2871 guide, the Material Power and Class Relations chapter explains trace production, labour power, surplus and the conditions for collective capacity.
- What does ARTS2871 cover on ideology, hegemony and consent?
- In AskSia Library's ARTS2871 guide, the Ideology, Hegemony and Consent chapter explains connect state coercion, civil-society consent and the making of common sense.
- What does ARTS2871 cover on racial capitalism and colonial power?
- In AskSia Library's ARTS2871 guide, the Racial Capitalism and Colonial Power chapter explains place racial differentiation inside labour hierarchy, accumulation and resistance.
Current ARTS2871 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 29 November 2026 at 11:59 pm | Debate slides | Each team member submits a readable copy through Moodle. |
Dates are as published in the current Term 3 2026 Debate assessment brief. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What ARTS2871 covers
ARTS2871 moves from critical theory and material class relations through ideology, racial capitalism, status and standpoint, then examines power and knowledge, agency, recognition and redistribution before turning those comparisons into assessment practice.
Critical Theory and Social Critique
Move from everyday unfairness to a mechanism, evidence test and bounded judgementCritical theory begins where a complaint about unfairness becomes an explanation of patterned power. This chapter separates description, explanation and evaluation, then shows how a theoretical lens selects relations, mechanisms and evidence.
- Power and social inequality as the course's organising problem
- Critical inquiry compared with complaint or moral reaction
- Description, explanation and evaluation as distinct analytical jobs
- Theoretical lenses and the evidence each makes relevant
- Relative utility as a comparison between perspectives
- Limitations and counter-cases as part of a defensible judgement
Material Power and Class Relations
Trace production, labour power, surplus and the conditions for collective capacityMaterialist analysis starts from the organisation of production and the social relations through which people secure what they need.
- Production as an economic process and a social relation
- Means of production, labour power and control of work
- Bourgeoisie and proletariat as relational class positions
- Surplus value and competition as pressures on labour
- Class consciousness and the conditions for solidarity
- Technology as a means whose power depends on ownership and organisation
Ideology, Hegemony and Consent
Connect state coercion, civil-society consent and the making of common senseUnequal orders are sustained through ideas as well as direct force. This chapter links the ideological superstructure to politics, law, education and media, then distinguishes coercion through formal institutions from consent produced in civil society.
- The ideological superstructure and its relation to material power
- Coercion through state institutions and enforceable sanctions
- Consent through civil society, repetition and practical accommodation
- Hegemony as the organisation of common sense
- Naturalisation of entitlement and responsibility
- Contradiction as a space for challenge and alternative interpretation
Racial Capitalism and Colonial Power
Place racial differentiation inside labour hierarchy, accumulation and resistanceRacial capitalism treats racial differentiation as constitutive of capitalist development rather than an external prejudice added to a neutral economy.
- Marxism's European categories and the problem of universalisation
- Racial differentiation within capitalist development
- Racialism as naturalisation and legitimation of domination
- Labour hierarchy, accumulation, coercion and dehumanisation
- Historical erasure and the production of people without history
- Black radicalism as a distinct tradition of resistance and knowledge
Status, Culture and Social Closure
Compare market position with social honour and recognised exclusionWeber's account moves beyond a purely material view by defining power as the capacity to achieve goals despite resistance and by foregrounding meaning and agency.
- Power as capacity in a meaningful social setting
- Agency and the subjective interpretation of social action
- Class as market position and unequal life chances
- Status as the distribution of social honour
- Social closure as recognised exclusion from goods or opportunities
- Interaction and divergence between material position and prestige
Standpoint, Lived Experience and Power
Test impartial knowledge against situated experience and institutional categoriesStandpoint theory challenges the possibility of impartial knowledge by asking whose social position shapes accepted categories and whose experience those categories cannot express.
- Rationalised institutions and suspicion of perspectival knowledge
- Situated knowledge and the limits of impartiality
- Ruling relations that translate experience into official categories
- Standpoint as critically interpreted social position
- The limits of universal claims about women's experience
- Intersection of gender, race, culture, Country and relations to the state
Power, Knowledge and Subject Formation
Examine technologies that classify conduct and produce recognisable subjectsThis chapter shifts attention from who possesses power to how power is exercised through knowledge and changing technologies. Categories, records and norms make conduct visible and comparable.
- Power as a practice rather than only a possessed resource
- Knowledge categories that make conduct visible
- Technologies of power in records, tests, spaces and routines
- Normalisation through comparison with an institutional standard
- Subject formation and self-monitoring
- Compliance, reinterpretation and subversion within the same field of power
Agency, Resistance and Social Change
Distinguish opposition, reworking and reproduction inside situated actionAgency is action within a field of power, not a state of being completely outside constraint. Some actions directly oppose a demand, others rework a norm from within, and still others reproduce the order they appear to challenge.
- Agency as situated capacity rather than pure freedom
- Resistance through direct opposition or refusal
- Reworking norms through altered repetition
- Reproduction of power inside apparently resistant action
- Scale, audience and duration as tests of consequence
- Collective capacity as a bridge from symbolic act to social change
Recognition, Redistribution and Justice
Diagnose status injury and material inequality before combining remediesRecognition addresses status injury, misrepresentation and barriers to participating as a peer. Redistribution addresses the allocation of resources, security, work and ownership.
- Recognition as equal standing and institutional participation
- Misrecognition, stigma and degrading categories
- Redistribution of resources, security, work and ownership
- Displacement when symbolic reform replaces material response
- Material remedies that retain paternalistic or exclusionary status relations
- Integrated remedies that join authority, dignity and durable provision
Argument, Rebuttal and Debate Practice
Build a course-informed claim that can adapt to counterargument in real timeThe debate requires a course-informed position that can adapt to opposing arguments in real time. Teams present a short case, pause to consolidate notes, then move through unscripted rebuttals and open dialogue.
- A conclusion built from explicit premises
- Course concepts and empirical evidence assigned distinct roles
- Team division of labour around one coherent argument
- Counterarguments prepared as rival premises rather than scripts
- Concession, distinction and adaptation during rebuttal
- Comprehension, argument, critical thinking, presentation, collaboration and referencing
It extends that account through ideology, coercion, consent and hegemony, and through racial capitalism's connection between racial differentiation, labour hierarchy, exploitation and resistance. The middle of the course asks why market position cannot exhaust power by adding status, culture and social closure, then uses standpoint theory and lived experience to question claims of impartial knowledge.
Later topics shift from asking who possesses power to asking how power operates through knowledge, technologies and subject formation. Agency and resistance are analysed inside those relations rather than outside them, and the course closes by comparing recognition and redistribution as distinct but connected dimensions of social justice. Assessment reinforces the same method at different speeds.
Weekly tutorial participation develops reading recall, application and respectful deliberation. The Week 7 in-class exam asks for concise concept and primary-source answers plus one longer case application based on Weeks 2 to 5. The Week 12 debate requires a persuasive position, evidence, critical response to opposing perspectives, collaboration and clear delivery.
This guide therefore organises every chapter around four moves: define the perspective's location of power, trace its mechanism, apply it to a new case, and state the evidence or competing lens that limits the conclusion. The practice is independently authored and does not reproduce the course's assigned cases or debate questions.
Worked example · free
Worked application: Compare class and status explanations
- 1Marks shown here are not a University assessment scheme. Define the outcome and show how ownership changes market position and material interest.
- 1Explain how the language of long-term stake converts ownership into recognised social honour.
- 1Show how property and status interact without treating the concepts as identical.
- 1State which evidence would change the ranking of the two explanations.
Key terms
- Critical Theory
- Critical theory explains patterned domination, tests how it is maintained and evaluates possibilities for social change.
- Material Power
- Material power arises through control of productive resources, labour organisation and the distribution of social necessities.
- Class Relation
- A class relation connects positions in production and markets to unequal capacities, interests and life chances.
- Ideology
- Ideology is a framework of ideas that interprets and can legitimise a social order by making its categories appear natural.
- Hegemony
- Hegemony is ideological domination that becomes common sense through institutions, repetition and practical consent.
- Racial Capitalism
- Racial capitalism describes capitalist development as organised through racial differentiation, labour hierarchy and exploitation.
- Social Closure
- Social closure protects a group's access to honour, goods or opportunities by excluding people treated as outsiders.
- Standpoint
- A standpoint is a critically developed perspective grounded in a social position and its distinctive exposure to power relations.
- Ruling Relations
- Ruling relations are institutional processes that organise experience through administrative categories, texts and decisions.
- Subject Formation
- Subject formation is the process through which norms and practices shape recognisable identities and self-conduct.
- Recognition
- Recognition concerns equal social standing, representation and the institutional treatment of people as peers.
- Redistribution
- Redistribution changes the allocation of resources, security, work or ownership that structures material inequality.
ARTS2871 FAQ
How difficult is Power and Powerlessness?
The course requires close reading and comparison rather than mathematical calculation. Difficulty comes from keeping several theories distinct, stating each theorist's mechanism precisely and applying it to a new case without turning the answer into summary.
The assessed formats reward controlled definitions, evidence and limitations, so weekly practice with short theory-case paragraphs is more useful than memorising long notes.
What is covered in the in-class exam?
The current teaching material states that the Week 7 in-class exam covers mandatory readings from Weeks 2 to 5. It uses three short responses of about 50 to 100 words on key concepts and primary-source arguments, plus one reflective response of about 250 to 300 words applying a concept or theory to a relevant case. The task is handwritten and closed book.
How should I compare theories of power?
Hold the social outcome stable and change the lens. For each theory, state where power is located, how it produces the outcome, which evidence would support that mechanism and what the lens misses. Then rank the perspectives for this specific question. Avoid saying that both are useful without explaining the distinct work each concept performs.
What earns marks in the debate?
The published rubric prioritises comprehension, argument and critical thinking. A strong contribution uses course readings accurately, supports a clear position with evidence, engages the opposing team's actual claims and adapts when a counterargument reveals a weakness. Presentation, collaboration and referencing also matter, so link your point to the team case and keep every factual assertion accountable to a source.
Can generative AI be used for the debate?
The debate brief requires students to create the first iteration themselves and permits later assistance for improving structure, clarity and expression or for practising argument and counterargument. Students remain responsible for accuracy and must follow the brief's attribution and disclosure requirements for any output used. Check the current brief and Moodle instructions before submission.
How do recognition and redistribution differ?
Recognition addresses status injury, misrepresentation and barriers to participating as a peer. Redistribution addresses material resources, security, work and ownership. They can support one another, but one does not automatically deliver the other. Evaluate a policy by checking both who gains voice or standing and who gains durable control over resources and conditions.
Are there past papers in the course materials?
The available course materials specify the in-class exam's response types and coverage but do not include a past paper or solution set. This guide therefore uses original practice that mirrors the stated short-answer and reflective-application formats. Treat it as method rehearsal, and use Moodle for any official examples the teaching team later provides.
How should tutorial participation notes be written?
The participation brief asks for brief dot-point notes completed during or immediately after discussion, focused on responses to tutorial questions. They are a record of preparation and engagement, not a polished essay. Capture the course concept, how the group applied it, a counterpoint raised by another person and one unresolved question you could revisit.
Questions students ask in each ARTS2871 chapter
- What makes an answer critical rather than descriptive?
- A descriptive answer reports actors and events. A critical answer identifies a patterned relation, explains how it produces or maintains the outcome, and tests that explanation against evidence or an alternative. Evaluation follows the explanation rather than replacing it. The conclusion should state what the lens reveals and the first important feature it leaves unresolved. Chapter 01 · Critical Theory and Social Critique
- Why is class a relation rather than an income band?
- Class identifies positions in production and markets, including who controls productive resources and who must sell labour power. Income can indicate the effects of that relation but does not define it by itself. Two workers with similar pay may have different security, control or ownership, while an owner and employee can receive similar current income from different structural positions. Chapter 02 · Material Power and Class Relations
- Is consent the same as freely agreeing with an unequal order?
- No. Consent can include practical accommodation to categories and expectations that structure available choices. People may disagree privately yet act within an order because alternatives seem unrealistic or costly. Analyse the institutions, rewards and repeated narratives that stabilise conduct rather than assuming either enthusiastic belief or total coercion. Chapter 03 · Ideology, Hegemony and Consent
- How is racial capitalism different from adding racism to class analysis?
- It argues that racial differentiation helps organise labour, hierarchy and accumulation within capitalism itself. Race is not treated as a separate prejudice layered onto an otherwise complete class account. The analysis asks how economic relations produce or inherit racial categories and how those categories shape whose labour, property and knowledge receive value. Chapter 04 · Racial Capitalism and Colonial Power
- What is the difference between class and status?
- Class concerns market position and the life chances attached to resources, property or exchange. Status concerns social honour and recognised membership. The dimensions often interact, but they can diverge when a prestigious group loses wealth or a wealthy outsider lacks acceptance. Explain the distinct mechanism before combining them. Chapter 05 · Status, Culture and Social Closure
- Does standpoint theory say that lived experience is always correct?
- No. Experience provides access to relations that dominant routines may hide, but a standpoint requires critical interpretation and connection to patterned evidence. People in similar positions can disagree. The analytical value lies in identifying what a social location makes visible and testing how that knowledge changes an institutional account. Chapter 06 · Standpoint, Lived Experience and Power
- How is this view different from saying an institution has power?
- It examines the practices through which institutional power operates: categories, records, observation, comparison and intervention. The question is not only who controls the institution, but how ordinary procedures make conduct visible and guide people to act on themselves. This reveals productive effects that a simple command model misses. Chapter 07 · Power, Knowledge and Subject Formation
- Is every act of non-compliance resistance?
- No. Non-compliance may result from error, individual avoidance or a tactic that leaves the power relation untouched. Identify the target, meaning and consequence of the act. Resistance becomes more persuasive when it disrupts a mechanism, builds capacity or changes what actors can do, not merely when it violates a rule. Chapter 08 · Agency, Resistance and Social Change
- What is the difference between recognition and redistribution?
- Recognition addresses status injury and whether people can participate as peers. Redistribution addresses material resources, security and ownership. A policy can improve respectful treatment without changing housing or income, and it can provide resources through stigmatising procedures. Analyse both dimensions before deciding which remedy is primary. Chapter 09 · Recognition, Redistribution and Justice
- How should a team divide the opening presentation?
- Divide by premises rather than by general themes. Each speaker should own one link in the same overarching argument, know the evidence supporting it and make an explicit transition to the next link. Remove duplicated introductions. Every member should still understand the full case because questions and counterarguments may cross speaking boundaries. Chapter 10 · Argument, Rebuttal and Debate Practice
How to prepare for the assessments
Build a comparison table that grows across the term, but keep it analytical rather than encyclopedic. For each perspective, record its unit of power, central mechanism, best evidence, characteristic blind spot and one case in which it changes the conclusion.
Before each tutorial, read the primary source closely enough to state its argument in two sentences, then apply one concept to the assigned case and write a question about what the theory cannot explain. For the in-class exam, rehearse two lengths under closed-book conditions: a 50 to 100 word definition-plus-distinction paragraph and a 250 to 300 word theory-case-limit response.
Spend the first planning minute naming the mechanism and the evidence, because that prevents a long summary. For the debate, convert the team position into premises and give each speaker ownership of a different link. Anticipate the strongest rival premise rather than scripting generic rebuttals. During practice, require every concession to change the answer and every claim to survive a follow-up question about evidence.
Keep recognition and redistribution, class and status, and coercion and consent separate until you can show exactly how they interact. The final move in every answer is discipline-specific: state the perspective's relative utility for interpreting and responding to the social problem, including the condition under which another lens becomes more useful.