Culture and Society 1780-1950

In this book, published in 1958 and considered a foundational work of cultural studies, Raymond Williams suggests that the concept of "culture" in its modern sense first came into use during the Industrial Revolution.

He traces the transformations the concept has undergone since then in England, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. He examines the works of over forty thinkers and literary figures, from Coleridge to John Stuart Mill, Matthew Arnold to William Morris, John Ruskin, and Oscar Wilde, and investigates the evolution of the "idea of culture."

Amid processes such as mechanization, division of labor, and alienation brought about by the Industrial Revolution, ideas about art's relationship with society also changed. Art and artists were assigned the role of leading social change. In response to the burgeoning "literary market" and attempts to subject artists to market criteria during this period, the principle of "art for art's sake" and aestheticism emerged. Efforts to integrate art and culture with broader segments of society revived. Culture and Society reveals the economic and social structure behind all these changes.