BROADCASTING HOLIDAYS

For reasons unclear, sociology abandoned its proprietary rights in the study of mass communications and relegated it to the fringes of colle ctive behavior on the one hand and critical studies on the other. Rela tively recently, however, as interest in hegemonic processes becomes m ore popular and critical theory gains new prominence, there is a corre sponding rise in attention to the integrative, if hegemonic, role of t he media of mass communication. This paper explores that role, reflect ing on television and its influence in the construction of holidays.