Raymond Williams’ seminal exploration of the meaning of some of the most important words in the English language.First published in 1976, and expanded in 1983, KEYWORDS reveals how the meanings of 131 words – including ‘art’, ‘class’, ‘family’, ‘media’, ‘sex’ and ‘tradition’ – were formed and subsequently altered and redefined as the historical contexts in which they were used changed.Neither a defining dictionary or glossary, KEYWORDS is rather a brilliant investigation into how the meanings of...
Collected essays and talks from one of Britain’s great thinkers, ranging across political and cultural theory. Raymond Williams possessed unique authority as Britain’s foremost cultural theorist and public intellectual. Informed by an unparalleled range of reference and the resources of deep personal experience, his life’s work represents a patient, exemplary commitment to the building of a socialist future. This book brings together important early writings including “Culture is Ordinary,”...
Raymond Williams is a towering presence in cultural studies, most importantly as the founder of the approach that has come to be known as «cultural materialism.» Yet Williams's method was always open-ended and fluid, and this volume collects his most significant work from over a twenty-year period in which he wrestled with the concepts of materialism and culture and their interrelationship.
