Description
Book SynopsisRaymond Williams'' major contributions to intellectual progress are usually categorised within cultural theory, media studies or neo-Marxist studies. Serious analysis of his contributions to education as a field of practice as well as a field of study have been relatively neglected. This is the first book to redress that omission, focusing on how his writing and thought have helped us to understand education in Britain and also provide analytical tools that have helped to shape educational studies in the USA and internationally. Ian Menter draws on Williams'' several novels, including
Border Country, as well as on his seminal contributions to cultural theory, including
Culture and Society, The Long Revolution, Keywords and Marxism and Literature. Menter also examines how Williams'' life shaped his understanding of education including his early involvement in adult education and his deeply ambivalent relationship with the academy. Public education is positioned as a key
Trade ReviewIan Menter provides a brilliant account of Raymond Williams’ life and theoretical and creative contributions to the social sciences and humanities. Drawing on Williams, he also elucidates the structure of feeling in contemporary education and resources of hope for rethinking education towards achieving more democratic and socially just societies. * Bob Lingard, Professorial Fellow, Australian Catholic University and Emeritus Professor of Education, The University of Queensland, Australia. *
We know almost nothing about Raymond Williams’ influence on and in education. This wonderful book remedies that omission. This is a rigorous, sympathetic and insightful account of Williams’ contribution to educational thinking. It draws not only on his well-known academic works but also his novels, essays and other writing. Menter has done a great service to the education community. * Stephen J Ball, Emeritus Professor of Sociology of Education, University College London, UK *
Part biography, part affectionate critique, Ian Menter’s masterful treatment of Williams’ work is a timely reminder of the responsibility of intellectuals to engage the wider world. This volume situates education — writ large — within the broader story of social change, and points to the work still to be done. * Christopher Lubienski, Professor of Education Policy, Indiana University, USA *
Menter does the legacy of Raymond Williams a great service … This is a book worth reading in its entirety … [and] provides a forceful reminder that this legacy offers alternative ways to thinking about education that have relevance today. * Journal of Education for Teaching *
Table of ContentsPreface Foreword,
Michael Apple (University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA) Introduction 1. Biography and Education: Williams' Own Educational Experiences 2. Education in Fiction and Fiction in Education: Williams' Novels and his Analyses of English Literature 3. The History of Schooling in England: Education in The Long Revolution 4. The Significance of Adult Education 5. Culture, the Academy and the Role of the Public Intellectual 6. Cultural Studies and the Educational Role of the Arts and Media 7. The Theoretical Legacy: Structures of Feeling; Cultural Materialism; Base and Superstructure 8. Conclusion: Language and Culture; Tradition and Revolution References Index
