No Cover Image

E-Thesis 1458 views 1786 downloads

Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci / Daniel, R. Gerke

Swansea University Author: Daniel, R. Gerke

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/Suthesis.46244

Abstract

The Western Marxist tradition from Lukacs to Colletti is usually considered a continental European one, with no major British representative. This thesis presents the Welsh cultural critic and novelist Raymond Williams (1921-1988) as a critical Anglophone participant in that tradition. The developme...

Full description

Published: 2018
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa46244
first_indexed 2018-12-06T14:27:36Z
last_indexed 2025-04-04T04:20:52Z
id cronfa46244
recordtype RisThesis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2025-04-03T13:49:52.7859774</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>46244</id><entry>2018-12-06</entry><title>Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>1ad7f039a220a88a9863e87424d87fdb</sid><ORCID>NULL</ORCID><firstname>Daniel, R.</firstname><surname>Gerke</surname><name>Daniel, R. Gerke</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>true</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2018-12-06</date><abstract>The Western Marxist tradition from Lukacs to Colletti is usually considered a continental European one, with no major British representative. This thesis presents the Welsh cultural critic and novelist Raymond Williams (1921-1988) as a critical Anglophone participant in that tradition. The development of Williams&#x2019;s cultural materialism, far from being the product of a rigid &#x2018;British&#x2019; empiricism, was centrally influenced by the ideas of Western Marxist thinkers. At the core of this influence, and of the &#x2018;European&#x2019; rationalist element in Williams&#x2019;s work, is the concept of &#x2018;totality&#x2019;, an abiding concern with which Williams shares with the Western Marxists. The three European Marxists to whom Williams&#x2019;s intellectual development is most indebted are those whom he described, in 1972, as &#x2018;Marxism&#x2019;s alternative tradition&#x2019;: Georg Lukacs (1885-1971), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). The work of these thinkers, as it slowly appears in English, confirms Williams&#x2019;s insistence on &#x2018;total&#x2019; analysis and permits him to generate a Marxism capable of reconciling subjective experience with the complex materiality of social relations. I read the theoretical apparatus which results from these transnational interactions as a literary and a philosophical realism committed both to the aesthetic representation of the social totality and to the interaction of experience with objective reality. The form of political praxis engendered by these European influences is a &#x2018;revolutionary culturalism&#x2019; in which the working-class attains hegemony by realising its experience and interests in a concrete culture.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>English Literature, Philosophy, Critical and Cultural Theory, Politics, Marxism, British New Left, Western Marxism, European Theatre, Existentialism, Continental Philosophy, Realism, Modernism, Transnationalism, Raymond Williams, Georg Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Antonio Gramsci</keywords><publishedDay>31</publishedDay><publishedMonth>12</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2018</publishedYear><publishedDate>2018-12-31</publishedDate><doi>10.23889/Suthesis.46244</doi><url/><notes>A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis.</notes><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>English Literature and Creative Writing</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><degreelevel>Doctoral</degreelevel><degreename>Ph.D</degreename><degreesponsorsfunders>Swansea University Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH)</degreesponsorsfunders><apcterm>Not Required</apcterm><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-04-03T13:49:52.7859774</lastEdited><Created>2018-12-06T11:46:56.2105976</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Daniel, R.</firstname><surname>Gerke</surname><orcid>NULL</orcid><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>0046244-06122018123054.pdf</filename><originalFilename>Raymond__Williams__and__European__Marxism_Digital_Redacted.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2018-12-06T12:30:54.0400000</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>3366632</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Redacted version - open access</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><embargoDate>2019-12-01T00:00:00.0000000</embargoDate><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2025-04-03T13:49:52.7859774 v2 46244 2018-12-06 Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci 1ad7f039a220a88a9863e87424d87fdb NULL Daniel, R. Gerke Daniel, R. Gerke true true 2018-12-06 The Western Marxist tradition from Lukacs to Colletti is usually considered a continental European one, with no major British representative. This thesis presents the Welsh cultural critic and novelist Raymond Williams (1921-1988) as a critical Anglophone participant in that tradition. The development of Williams’s cultural materialism, far from being the product of a rigid ‘British’ empiricism, was centrally influenced by the ideas of Western Marxist thinkers. At the core of this influence, and of the ‘European’ rationalist element in Williams’s work, is the concept of ‘totality’, an abiding concern with which Williams shares with the Western Marxists. The three European Marxists to whom Williams’s intellectual development is most indebted are those whom he described, in 1972, as ‘Marxism’s alternative tradition’: Georg Lukacs (1885-1971), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). The work of these thinkers, as it slowly appears in English, confirms Williams’s insistence on ‘total’ analysis and permits him to generate a Marxism capable of reconciling subjective experience with the complex materiality of social relations. I read the theoretical apparatus which results from these transnational interactions as a literary and a philosophical realism committed both to the aesthetic representation of the social totality and to the interaction of experience with objective reality. The form of political praxis engendered by these European influences is a ‘revolutionary culturalism’ in which the working-class attains hegemony by realising its experience and interests in a concrete culture. E-Thesis English Literature, Philosophy, Critical and Cultural Theory, Politics, Marxism, British New Left, Western Marxism, European Theatre, Existentialism, Continental Philosophy, Realism, Modernism, Transnationalism, Raymond Williams, Georg Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Antonio Gramsci 31 12 2018 2018-12-31 10.23889/Suthesis.46244 A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis. COLLEGE NANME English Literature and Creative Writing COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Doctoral Ph.D Swansea University Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) Not Required 2025-04-03T13:49:52.7859774 2018-12-06T11:46:56.2105976 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing Daniel, R. Gerke NULL 1 0046244-06122018123054.pdf Raymond__Williams__and__European__Marxism_Digital_Redacted.pdf 2018-12-06T12:30:54.0400000 Output 3366632 application/pdf Redacted version - open access true 2019-12-01T00:00:00.0000000 true
title Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
spellingShingle Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
Daniel, R. Gerke
title_short Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
title_full Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
title_fullStr Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
title_full_unstemmed Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
title_sort Raymond Williams and European Marxism: Lukacs, Sartre, Gramsci
author_id_str_mv 1ad7f039a220a88a9863e87424d87fdb
author_id_fullname_str_mv 1ad7f039a220a88a9863e87424d87fdb_***_Daniel, R. Gerke
author Daniel, R. Gerke
author2 Daniel, R. Gerke
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2018
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/Suthesis.46244
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description The Western Marxist tradition from Lukacs to Colletti is usually considered a continental European one, with no major British representative. This thesis presents the Welsh cultural critic and novelist Raymond Williams (1921-1988) as a critical Anglophone participant in that tradition. The development of Williams’s cultural materialism, far from being the product of a rigid ‘British’ empiricism, was centrally influenced by the ideas of Western Marxist thinkers. At the core of this influence, and of the ‘European’ rationalist element in Williams’s work, is the concept of ‘totality’, an abiding concern with which Williams shares with the Western Marxists. The three European Marxists to whom Williams’s intellectual development is most indebted are those whom he described, in 1972, as ‘Marxism’s alternative tradition’: Georg Lukacs (1885-1971), Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937). The work of these thinkers, as it slowly appears in English, confirms Williams’s insistence on ‘total’ analysis and permits him to generate a Marxism capable of reconciling subjective experience with the complex materiality of social relations. I read the theoretical apparatus which results from these transnational interactions as a literary and a philosophical realism committed both to the aesthetic representation of the social totality and to the interaction of experience with objective reality. The form of political praxis engendered by these European influences is a ‘revolutionary culturalism’ in which the working-class attains hegemony by realising its experience and interests in a concrete culture.
published_date 2018-12-31T04:32:48Z
_version_ 1851094380839960576
score 11.444473

Similar Items