ABSTRACT
The units in Section B provide some context for the concepts and issues broached in the equivalent Section A unit. In this unit, we therefore outline the history of linguistic investigations into power, identify some of the main developments and pinpoint some of the key players. The unit also offers an opportunity to firm up some of the ideas touched upon in A1, notably the issue of how the beliefs and attitudes of the powerful can be represented as ‘natural’ or ‘common sense’.
