Podcast TCCR #004 - Epistemologies of power: Foucault, Gramsci, and the dominant narrative

In this episode, we delve into one of the most decisive pillars of the "Cognosystemic Theory of Human Psychosocial Relational Construction" (TCCR): power. But not through a traditional lens—instead, we explore its most profound, everyday, and symbolic expressions. Here, you'll discover how power is not only imposed, but narrated, negotiated, and naturalized.

The TCCR draws on two major critical thinkers to shape its conception of narrative power:

Michel Foucault: His approach revolutionizes how we understand power. It is not a visible hierarchical structure, but a diffuse, capillary, and omnipresent network that unfolds through discourses, norms, institutions—and our very ways of being. In this episode, we explore key concepts such as:

- Power-knowledge: every form of knowledge implies a form of domination.

- Biopolitics: the regulation of life through norms and discourses.

- Governmentality: the shaping of conduct in everyday life.

- Subjectivation: discourses not only inform—they shape identities.

The TCCR incorporates these concepts to assert that dominant narratives do not merely describe the world—they define what is possible to think, feel, and experience in the psychosocial realm.

Antonio Gramsci: From a different angle, Gramsci shows that power is not sustained solely by repression but by consent. His concept of cultural hegemony reveals how certain narratives become “common sense,” concealing their constructed nature. His notion of organic intellectuals further helps us understand the role of those who—within schools, media, networks, or communities—reproduce, challenge, or reframe these narratives.

The TCCR weaves these contributions together to build a critical perspective on how hegemonic narratives are consolidated, how they circulate, how they are contested, and how they can be transformed through conscious intervention.

Convergences and Implications

Foucault and Gramsci’s perspectives converge within the TCCR to explain that power is exercised through the configuration of narrative systems. Dominant narratives are not merely discourses—they are power devices that shape the symbolic, the emotional, and the behavioral. The TCCR analyzes how this narrative power circulates through cognosystemic memes, which either reinforce or challenge narrative hierarchies in society.

What does this mean for Social Work?

Listening to this episode is essential for anyone aiming to intervene in psychosocial reality from a transformative practice. It highlights that:

- Every intervention is also a struggle over meaning.

- Identifying oppressive or silenced narratives is an ethical and political act.

- Creating space for alternative stories promotes dignity, social justice, and human agency.

This episode invites you to understand that Social Work engages not only with people but also with stories—and that transforming those stories is a powerful path toward transforming realities.

Tune in and discover how the epistemologies of power can become key tools for a critical, relational, and emancipatory psychosocial intervention.

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