About Raymond Williams

About Raymond Williams represents the overdue critical acclaim of Williams’ lasting influence and unbroken repercussions in critical thought. His writings have effectively shaped the ways in which people understand the complexity of the notion of 'culture' and many of the ways it has been taken up in scholarly practice.

About Raymond Williams represents the overdue critical acclaim of Williams’ lasting influence and unbroken repercussions in critical thought. His writings have effectively shaped the ways in which people understand the complexity of the notion of 'culture' and many of the ways it has been taken up in scholarly practice.

This international collection of contemporary revisitings and new applications of the work of Raymond Williams both historicizes and contextualizes his theories. Essays combine biographical information, from his roots in the 1960s Leftist movement to his democratic pedagogical commitment, with explorations of the development of some of his major concepts and theories, while others consider current phenomena and questions by means of Williams’ analytical tools. Exploring and making his concepts applicable in the most diverse areas and localities, the contributors testify to the impressive breadth of his influence even twenty years after his death.

Contributions from a variety of countries, disciplines, generations and traditions, including essays from:

Georgiana Banita, Ana Clara Birrento, Hywel Rowland Dix, Udo Göttlich, Lawrence Grossberg, John Higgins, Roman Horak, H. Gustav Klaus, Clara Masnatta, Gilbert B. Rodman, Monika Seidl, John Storey, Christopher Joseph Westgate, Rainer Winter, Stephen Woodhams.

In times of change and transformation the reassessment of his political vision provides a useful resource and presents a unique and valuable picture of both the state of cultural studies and of the important contributions of Raymond Williams.

Lawrence Grossberg is Morris Davis Professor of Communication Studies, Chair of the Executive Committee of the University Program in Cultural Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. Grossberg is co-editor (with Della Pollock) of the journal Cultural Studies.

Roman Horak is Head of Sociology of Art and Cultural Sociology at the Institute of Aesthetics and Cultural Studies/Art Pedagogy, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria.

Monika Seidl is Professor of Cultural Studies and Director of Studies at the English Department of Vienna University, Austria.