Articulation in Althusser means joining, not expression of one level by another

Evidence

In itself, the term has an ambiguous meaning, for, in English, it can mean both “joining up” (as in the limbs of the body, or an anatomical structure) and “giving expression to” (Foster-Carter 1978). … There are, in any case, theoretical objections to the notion that one structure “gives expression to” another: since this would be tantamount to seeing the second structure as an epiphenomenon of the first (i.e., a reductionist conception), and would involve treating a social formation as an “expressive totality,” precisely the object of Althusser’s initial critique of Hegelianism. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 620 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Articulation is a non-necessary linkage connecting ideology to social forces under specific conditions; Articulation as a concept emerges from Marx’s structural premise as developed by Althusser.; Articulation resists fixed definition though it marks a theoretical rupture (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Articulation is a non-necessary linkage connecting ideology to social forces under specific conditions #expands (0.75)
• Articulation’s double meaning creates a risk of reductionist epiphenomenalism. #complicates (0.75) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 620
• Articulated unity relates parts through differences and subordination, not identity #expands (0.70)
• Articulation as a concept emerges from Marx’s structural premise as developed by Althusser. #expands (0.65)
• Articulation resists fixed definition though it marks a theoretical rupture #corroborates (0.50)