Raymond Williams and His Contribution to the Study of Culture - Essay Example

Raymond Williams and his contribution to the study of culture Introduction: The idea of cultural studies has been one with numerous debates and argumentations throughout ages. Cultural studies involve description of different elements including principles, motivations, preoccupations and theoretical categories. In the course of cultural studies, ‘cultural materialism’ is a significant coinage influenced by the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Various theories of cultural evolution and ecology are instrumental in formulating the concept of cultural materialism. In simple words, cultural materialism develops a scientific research strategy to explain cultures and related phenomena. Contemporary practice of empiricism for cultural studies includes a number of new cultural theories and theorists, among which the significant influence of Raymond Williams is of substantial reference, and the main emphasis of this paper. The name of Williams is worth mentioning as the writings of the Welsh critic laid the foundations for the field of cultural studies and in particular, the cultural materialist approach. This paper addresses the significant contribution of Raymond Williams to develop the theory of cultural materialist approach in the field of cultural studies and tries to look into the applicability of the elements involved in the process. The description of cultural materialism is explained by a number of theorists that will be discussed briefly in the course of the paper. The starting point of cultural studies is rooted in a hundred years of cultural history. Different theorists have developed different theoretical background for explaining cultures and dimensions of cultures. The importance of the conceptualisation of cultural materialism theorised by Williams is relevant in understanding the multi-dimensional perspectives of cultural studies in the sense that the notion of cultural materialism directed cultural theorists to expand their research by exploring new arenas. In short, the paper will discuss the following key issues: Brief introduction and historical background of the development of cultural studies Theories and theorists advocating the cultural materialist approach Raymond Williams on cultural studies and cultural materialism Relevance of cultural materialism in current context Cultural materialism: A theoretical review The conceptualisation of cultural materialism includes a wide range of theories right from the revolutionary works of Marx. The theorisation of cultural materialism is strongly grounded on the relative explanation of certain cultural phenomena and concepts including ideology, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, social class and gender. Exploring the historical background of cultural studies, the term was coined by Richard Hoggart. Research and importance of cultural studies started evolving in the 1960s when scholars of cultural studies began exploring the relationships cultural forms and of political economy under the intellectual influence of Marxism (O’Connor 2006). However, there were practices of critical theories of ‘mass culture’ even before this period, which can be traced from the critiques of F. R. Leavis, Denys Thompson and T. S. Eliot (Strinati 2004; Turner 2003; Lewis 2002; Grossberg et al 1992). The approach followed by these popular culture critics is known as the elitist approach. Viewed from their perspective, the essence of popular culture was criticised for its lack of ‘moral seriousness’ as stated by Turner. The next generation of cultural criticism in Britain is welcomed by a new group of critics like Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart, who emphasised the influence of British academic culture. This new group developed a new approach to study popular culture, that is, the cultural materialist approach. In this context, Williams’ contribution to the theoretical development of cultural studies is particularly substantial. Developing the key parameters of culture in this perspective includes the requirement of addressing a number of relevant concepts. Because, cultural studies indicate a complete definition of culture that comprises of various ideas (Williams 1976). “Culture is how we live nature; it is the shared meanings we make and encounter in our everyday lives…it is the practices and processes of making meanings with and from the ‘texts’ we encounter in our everyday lives.” (Storey 2003: 2-3) This further encompasses the notions of production, circulation and consumption of meanings as the basic elements in culture (Moores 2000). That is to say, communication is a significant factor influencing culture and cultural practicalities. With the development of emerging technologies, communication has gone through a transformational change - a sort of paradigm shift - new media has been emerged to mark the beginning of ‘communicative production’. So to say, means of communication is now means of production. Mass communication processes now include motion pictures, radio and television along with literature as means of communication (there are other technical developments too). Williams argues that these new means of ‘communicative production’ are best utilised for understanding the advanced and complex productive relationships between communication and community (Williams 2005). Discussing cultural studies does not have a definitive boundary as the practice involves numerous dimensions and scope. The problem in dealing with so many prospects of cultural studies is mainly due to its interdisciplinary nature. Different disciplines study culture with diversified perspectives. Therefore, our discussion of cultural studies will be confined to the parameters of contemporary cultural studies. What is significant here is the description of the key concepts in cultural studies. Barker (2008) discusses a number of concepts that have been practiced by contemporary cultural theorists in order to develop the study of culture. The basis of cultural studies as mentioned earlier is the notion of culture. In this process, language plays a significant role that constitutes meanings and knowledge. Studying culture means exploring the signifying practices representation. The concept of texts is also important as a means of communication, however, other modes of communicative production are equally important in cultural studies. Above all, Barker’s list of key concepts includes: active audiences, articulation, cultural materialism, culture, discourse, hegemony, identity, ideology, language-game, political economy, politics, popular culture, power, subjectivity, etc. (Barker 2008: 12) The structuralist approach to cultural studies is concerned with the systems of relations of an underlying structure (language) and the grammar that makes meaning possible. This underlying structure is stable through which meaning can be articulated in terms of fixed binary pairs such as black-white or good-bad, etc. But poststructuralist approach rejects this idea of a stable underlying structure as it argues that meaning cannot be stable confined to single words. The primary philosophical sources of poststructuralism are Derrida and Foucault. While Derrida’s focus is on language and the deconstruction of identity between words and meanings, Foucault’s emphasis is on the discursive practices of language, the description and analysis of discourse and their effects on communication. In other words, Foucaultian theory advocates the production of knowledge through language. Because, “discourse constructs, defines and produces the objects of knowledge in an intelligent way while at the same time excluding other ways of reasoning as unintelligible.” (Barker 2008: 20) The postmodernist approach to cultural studies argues that knowledge can have multiple perspectives. With the variations in cultures and cultural environments, knowledge is plural and diverse. As language is the mode of gaining knowledge, knowledge is specific to language-games. Another significant philosopher related to the notion of subjectivity is Freud. The Freudian theory of the Self consists of ego (conscious rational mind), superego (social conscience), and the unconscious (the id). The Self is by definition fractured according to this theory. The unification of the Self is attained over time by entering into the symbolic order of language and culture. Social discourses and relative interactive processes are important in creating identity of the Self. The postcolonial theory of cultural studies advocates two key concerns namely, domination-subordination and hybridity-creolisation. The issue of domination and subordination arises in colonial societies, where subordination of ‘native’ culture by colonial and imperial powers is evident. This can be explained further in terms of hybridity or creolisation that colonial or colonized cultures and languages cannot be represented in ‘pure’ form. However, this theory is criticised in the present context of the emerging hybrid cultures within metropolitan cultures. Williams and cultural materialism: Coming back to the relevance of cultural materialism, its analysis is based on critical theory in the tradition of the Frankfurt School, and can be traced from the work of the left-wing literary critic Raymond Williams. The explanation of cultural materialism is grounded on the theoretical fundamentals of leftist culturalism and Marxist analysis. Williams views culture as a productive process, part of the means of production. In accordance with the Marxist theoretical framework, cultural materialism is an elaboration of historical materialism - a way of understanding the diverse social and material production of the works of art. For Williams, culture is located within flexible but identifiable boundaries. However, the idea of culture with boundaries is problematic and a complicated issue in the age of globalisation. Williams theory of cultural materialism describes the relationships between culture and society (Prendergast 1995; Higgins 1999). Culture is denoted, according to Williams, as a whole way of life material, intellectual and spiritual. This definition is relevant even in today’s globalisation period in order to understand the complicated patterns of diversified cultural relationships. The various perspectives of ‘common culture’ in Williams’ theory include social relations at work, organised politics, public entertainments such as radio and television (Modleski 1986), and so on. The new modes of communicative production in today’s cultures are the technological advancements and particularly, the World Wide Web that encompasses differences and cultures. Conclusion: It is evident from the brief discussion above that the investigation of cultural studies involves a wide range of theories and analyses. While there are no prominent boundaries for studying cultures, diverse cultural opinions and outlooks are significant in their own rights. Cultural materialism is one of the most important theory of cultural studies that emphasises on the relevance of communication and social discourses as means of production. Studying cultures includes a number of key aspects to consider: culture, discourse, hegemony, identity, ideology, language-game, political economy, politics, popular culture, power, subjectivity, etc. The processes of globalisation direct us to the rethinking of our conceptualisation of culture. Social discourses considered within local boundaries need to be reconsidered within globalising boundaries. The concept of culture is now understood in terms of more hybrid and creolised cultural routes in global space. References: 1. Barker, C., 2008. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 3rd edition. London: Sage. 1. Grossberg, L., Nelson, C. and Treichler, P. (eds.), 1992. Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge. 1. Higgins, J., 1999. Raymond Williams: Literature, Marxism and Cultural Materialism. London: Routledge. 1. Lewis, J., 2002. Cultural Studies: The Basics. London: Sage. 1. Modleski, T., 1986. Studies in Entertainment: Critical Approaches to Mass Culture. Wisconsin: Indiana University Press. 1. Moores, S., 2000. Interpreting Audiences: The Ethnography of Media Consumption. London: Sage. 1. O’Connor, A., 2006. Raymond Williams. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 1. Prendergast, C. (ed.), 1995. Cultural Materialism on Raymond Williams. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1. Storey, J., 2003. Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture. Georgia: University of Georgia Press. 1. Strinati, D., 2004. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. New York: Routledge. 1. Turner, G., 2003. British Cultural Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge. 1. Williams, R., 1976. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York: Oxford University Press. 1. Williams, R., 2005. Culture and Materialism. London; Verso. Read More