Representation
Those who speak for us β in government, in court, and in culture. Whether we ask, agree, or even know.
How We Say It
repΒ·riΒ·zenΒ·tayΒ·shΙn
Where It Comes From
Latin repraesentatio β making present, showing. From repraesentare β to present again. The doctrine that representatives stand in for absent citizens developed in medieval English parliaments. 'No taxation without representation' was the American revolutionary slogan.
How It's Been Used
Distinguished in political theory between delegate models (representative carries voters' instructions) and trustee models (representative exercises independent judgment). Cultural representation β who appears in media, art, and institutions β became a major theme of late-20th-century scholarship. Both senses involve the same question: who speaks for whom, and by what authority?