English 456: C20 Criticism and Theory

Questions on Marx and Raymond Williams:
"Base and Superstructure in Marxist Cultural Theory"

Al Drake | Cyber Cafe | Thurs. 4-6

Home | Syllabus | Policies

1. On 490-91, Williams explains how the Marxist term "superstructure" has been qualified. Why did it need to be changed, and what have the changes been?

2. From 491-93, Williams examines the term "base." What does he say Marx intended this key term to encompass? How, instead, is it often interpreted?

3. Why, according to Williams, is Antonio Gramsci's concept of "hegemony" an improvement over the older set of terms base/superstructure, and even over Lukacs' term "totality"? What does Gramsci's concept try to explain? See 494-96.

4. What are "residual and emergent cultures" (496-97)? How does Williams explain the source of emergent cultural practices? What determines whether the dominant (i.e. hegemonic) class in a society incorporates these emergent practices or considers them a serious threat?

5. Why isn't it acceptable, according to Williams, to ask simply "what are the relations between art and society" or to treat art as an object? See 498-501. How should a Marxist critic write about art or literature?

*The reading selection is from Davis, Robert Con and Ronald Schleifer. Contemporary Literary Criticism: Literary and Cultural Studies. Fourth edition. New York: Longman, 1998. 490-501.