Keywords -- Vocabulary of Culture and Society

Author: (British) Williams
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Keywords is a brilliant examination and exploration of language in cultural transformation. It is not a dictionary, nor a compilation of terminology for a specific discipline; it should be a record of questioning and investigating words: such words include widely discussed vocabulary and meanings in English concerning customs and institutions—these customs and institutions, which we now generally categorize as culture and society. The author examines 131 interrelated "keywords," tracing the historical evolution of their meanings and clarifying the cultural politics behind these changes. As their historical context shifts, they are formed, altered, redefined, influenced, modified, confused, and emphasized. These words not only guide us in understanding British culture and society but also help us understand contemporary culture and society. The book took over twenty years to be written and published, and New Left Review called the intellectual impact it inspired "Marxist political economy critique." Williams's lifelong intellectual work is closely linked to cultural materialism, and Keywords undoubtedly provides a detailed and systematic commentary on this, as well as a practical tool for his method of "culture and society." It is an influential book and a significant work in historical semantics, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies.
Keywords is a brilliant examination and exploration of language in cultural transformation. It is not a dictionary, nor a compilation of terminology for a specific discipline; "it should be a record of questioning and investigating words: such words include widely discussed vocabulary and meanings in English concerning customs and institutions—these customs and institutions, which we now generally categorize as culture and society." The author examines 131 interrelated "keywords," tracing the historical evolution of their meanings and clarifying the cultural politics behind these changes. As their historical context shifts, they are formed, altered, redefined, influenced, modified, confused, and emphasized. These words not only guide us in understanding British culture and society but also help us understand contemporary culture and society. The book took over twenty years to be written and published, and New Left Review called the intellectual impact it inspired "Marxist political economy critique." Williams's lifelong intellectual work is closely linked to cultural materialism, and Keywords undoubtedly provides a detailed and systematic commentary on this, as well as a practical tool for his method of "culture and society." It is an influential book and a significant work in historical semantics, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies.