Thursday 20 September 2012

61. M Sreenathan

Abstract 61
M. Sreenathan

Ethos of Dissent and Agony of Apathy
Abstract
We all agree that societies without dissent are lethal and disastrous. Also, we are so unconscious on its ramifications. The present exercise is proposed to look at the dissent culture within the backdrop of culture of indifference. The semantic sphere of dissent can be understood only by unraveling the gravity of apathy. With this premise, the said problem is expected to be reviewed in the context of Kerala in order to explore the underpinnings of dissent and apathy. How are attitudes about the dissent socially constructed in the cultural context of Kerala may be an intriguing enquiry.
The public space of Kerala has been attributed as the culture of dissent. Such a painted identity masks the reality of culture of indifference. There is not much discussion about missing of collective voice in recent decades as the symptom of social pathology. Utilitarian ethics linked doctrine of progress made the society more sedentary.  Most of the social issues that something people prefer not to talk about and thus the way the apathy has enveloped the social ecology of Kerala.
To better understand public perceptions of dissent, it is important to study how individual attitudes are structured and the negotiations of meanings are made.  The subject of dissent will be analyzed from the point of view of its language.  It is blamed that the public was constructed as unfeeling or uncaring when it comes to the issues of social concern. The absence of action is rated equivalent to absence of concern. In such context, how the dissent is expressed and communicated is the theme of the enquiry. The language of dissent can be adopted, adapted or modified through time. The diverse communication strategies in use can acknowledge the gravity of encounter between dissent and apathy. This study attempts to map the diverse culture of expression manifests dissent and analyze the psychic mechanisms underlying the appearance of apathy. It is expected that such an attempt can establish the apathy- dissent interface.

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