Raymond Williams and His Contribution to the Study of Culture Essay

Raymond Williams and His Contribution to the Study of Culture - Essay Example The essay "Raymond Williams and His Contribution to the Study of Culture" discusses the 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 and the relevance of cultural materialism in current context. The explanation of cultural materialism is grounded on the theoretical fundamentals of leftist culturalism and Marxist analysis. Williams views culture as a productive process. 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. The idea of culture with boundaries is problematic and a complicated issue in the age of globalization. Williams theory of cultural materialism describes the relationshi ps between culture and society. Culture is denoted, according to Williams, as a whole way of life material, intellectual and spiritual. This definition is relevant even in today’s globalization period to understand the complicated patterns of diversified cultural relationships. The various perspectives of ‘common culture’ in Williams’ theory include social relations at work, organized politics, public entertainments. The new modes of communicative production in today’s cultures are the technological advancements.