Raymond Williams on Culture and Society

"The most important Marxist cultural theorist after Gramsci, Williams' contributions go well beyond the critical tradition, supplying insights of great significance for cultural sociology today... I have never read Williams without finding something worthwhile, something subtle, some idea of great importance"

- Jeffrey C. Alexander, Professor of Sociology, Yale University



Celebrating the significant intellectual legacy and enduring influence of Raymond Williams, this exciting collection introduces a whole new generation to his work.


Jim McGuigan reasserts and rebalances Williams' reputation within the social sciences by collecting and introducing key pieces of his work. Providing context and clarity he powerfully evokes the major contribution Williams has made to sociology, media and communication and cultural studies.



Powerfully asserting the on-going relevance of Williams within our contemporary neoliberal and digital age, the book:

• Includes texts which have never been anthologised before


• Situates Williams' work both biographically and historically


• Provides a comprehensive introduction to Williams' social-scientific work


• Demonstrates the enduring relevance of cultural materialism.

Original and persuasive this book will be of interest to anyone involved in theoretical and methodological modules within sociology, media and communication studies and cultural studies.

Introduction: Raymond Williams on Culture and Society
Culture is Ordinary
Mass, Masses and Mass Communication
Structure of Feeling and Selective Tradition
Advertising - The Magic System
Communication Systems
The Idea of a Common Culture
Social Darwinism
Base and Superstructure in Marxist Cultural Theory
The Technology and the Society
Drama in a Dramatized Society
Communications as Cultural Science
Developments in the Sociology of Culture
Realism and Non-Naturalism
A Lecture on Realism
Means of Communication as Means of Production
Industrial and Post-Industrial Society
The Culture of Nations
Resources for a Journey of Hope
State Culture and Beyond
The Future of Cultural Studies