Culture and Materialism

by Raymond Williams

A comprehensive introduction to the work of one of the outstanding intellectuals of the twentieth century.

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 together his most significant work from over a twenty-year period in which he wrestled with the concepts of materialism and culture and their interrelationship. Aside from his more directly theoretical texts, however, case-studies of theatrical naturalism, the Bloomsbury group, advertising, science fiction, and the Welsh novel are also included as illustrations of the method at work. Finally, Williams’s identity as an active socialist, rather than simply
an academic, is captured by two unambiguously political pieces on the past, present and future of Marxism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Theory, Politics, Cultural, Sociology, Cultural Studies

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2006

About the author

Raymond Henry Williams was a Welsh academic, novelist, and critic. He taught for many years and the Professor of Drama at the University of Cambridge. He was an influential figure within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the mass media and literature are a significant contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts. His work laid the foundations for the field of cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach. Among his many books are Culture and Society, Culture and Materialism, Politics and Letters, Problems in Materialism and Culture, and several novels.

Reviews

[Lukas Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could’ve used more materialism.

[Dionysius the Areopagite · Rating 2 out of 5]

At what point does objectification go the way of fossilized transmutation; further, what of a political bent which abhors reason and defends canonical classics that are neither dangerous nor enduring? Williams, Zizek, Derrida, Jacqueline Rose are 'Dangerous Thinkers'? In what sense? That a good deal of ideologically paralyzed professors get trapped on them, and in return regurgitate them to anyone whose parents shall pay $250,000 to make their little boys and girls listen? Once or twice every two or three years I feel nostalgia for the Left. The return-trip grows increasingly brief. Mental retardation requires professional care. To volunteer an hour or three every so often is all that my sanity shall alloweth.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of variation in my enjoyment of certain pieces in this collection over others—probably mostly to be blamed on my stupidity. Williams really sings, in my opinion, on the more applied matters he attends to here; particularly memorable is his treatment of magic and advertisements, changes in 17th century English theatre, The Bloomsbury ‘friends’ and social Darwinism.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct and useful introduction to Williams' take on concepts like base/superstructure and culture, as well as more detailed studies of various specific cultures and texts.

[Guillaume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon ouvrage d'entrée en matière pour comprendre les racines marxistes et britanniques des "cultural studies", qui ont depuis déshérité leur initiateur et leurs courants fondateurs. Malheureusement plutôt décousu puisqu'il s'agit d'un recueil de courts textes publiés initialement de manière autonome ou comme articles de revues scientifiques.

Le premier chapitre, qui est assez dissocié du reste des sujets traités, est le plus important et a trouvé une énorme pertinence par rapport à certains questionnements que j'ai depuis longtemps. Il s'agit d'une explication rapide, concise, claire comme de l'eau de la pertinence des concepts - et du lien entre les concepts - de "base et superstructure" (Marx, Engels) et d' "hégémonie" (Gramsci). C'est probablement le texte le plus important sur ces questions et il permet de concevoir la fameuse dichotomie base/superstructure d'un point de vue dénué de tout dogmatisme, fétichisme ou idéologie, sans tenter de complètement l'invalider comme l'ont fait certains marxiens/ post-marxistes/ marxistes politiques.

Par ailleurs, plusieurs chapitres sont pour les initié.es aux théories de la linguistique et, à plus grand égart, aux études théoriques de l'art du XXe siècle. Des belles explications de la manière par laquelle le capital vient saper les arts modernes et de supposée "avant-garde", et de l'opposition incongrue à celui-ci par ces mêmes arts, et les arts "postmodernes" qui les ont, malheureusement, suivis.

Chapitre bien intéressant en milieu de livre sur la publicité et comment elle caractérise tristement l'art le plus courant sous le capitalisme.

Finalement le dernier chapitre sur la Culture et les technologies, bien que légèrement désuet dù au temps qui s'est écoulé depuis sa rédaction, est bien pertinent pour repositionner le caractère du développement technologique hors d'un déterminisme (croyance de l'avènement des technologies comme processus linéaire désincarné de son contexte sociopolitique, économique, historique) ou d'un pessimisme culturel (tout développement technologique s'apparentant à une catastrophe culturelle et un nivellement par le bas de la culture populaire, à la Adorno). Ce qui important à y retenir pour comprendre le "matérialisme culturel" de Williams : les moyens de communication sont des moyens de production sociale, et la culture se trouve dans les fondements de la reproduction sociale du capital (au même titre que l'éducation par exemple).

Postface de l'édition francophone de Lux assez intéressante permettant de s'approprier une analyse intellectuelle/ académique du contenu du livre, bien que plutôt pédante inutilement. La préface n'offre pas grand-chose d'important.

[Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few essays are a bit slow overall (in part because they're extended reviews), but their inclusion makes sense in light of the collection as a whole and things definitely pick up. The final two essays are excellent, and the cultural criticism is largely strong--my favorite was the piece on naturalism. The core theme of the book is a longstanding one for Williams: that there is no clear base/superstructure divide and that culture is itself a material process of production.

[corey catracho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, Raymond Williams has a well-rounded and well-grounded perspective of culture and society. The essay about advertising as a "Magic System" is brilliant and made me think a lot about Mad Men. I had read "Ideas of Nature" before and was happy to revisit his thoughts about the social construction of nature/wilderness that we take completely for granted. Also, the essay about base and superstructure is a good comprehensive summary of the fundamentals of Marxism.

[Mariam Rawwas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting essays on Goldmann, Lukács, Timpanaro, McLuhan, the Bloomsbury Group (though I think his casting of them as simply promoting liberal bourgeois values proceeds a bit too quickly, especially given Carlston's analysis of Woolf's Three Guineas in Thinking Fascism), materialism, base and superstructure, nature, etc., this anthology cements Williams within the British Marxist literary tradition, if without the stature of an Eagleton.

[Stu Napier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough read - I'm definitely not clever enough to fully understand Williams, but what I could understand was brilliant. May be an author to return to in the future with developed understanding.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many good essays in here. People sleep on Raymond Williams I think. Will say that some of the later essays in the book drag significantly more, but overall full of great analysis

[Peter Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of these essays more than others, but on the whole a fascinating selection as an introduction to Raymond Williams.

[Pe · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow!

[Osman Tümay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yer yer yaşını belli ediyor olsa da, zihin jimnastiği için iyi bir başlangıç oluşturabilecek makalelerden meydana gelen bir kitap.

[Chloe Sproule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endlessly instructive

[Jacob Chak · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone forced to work in advertising, his essay on the matter was extremely cathartic.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this while I was in New York last summer. I really enjoyed it. The guy on the plane asked me what it was about, and I really couldn't tell him because it's pretty much a selection of his essays, and they're all pretty different. But I'd recommend it.

[Sarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got a good understanding of concepts like hegemony, totality, base/superstructure... its marxist lit that a little less alienating..

[FLéûr IsTa]

good site