‘Culture Is One of the Two or Three Most Complicated Words in the English Language’

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Raymond Williams argues that ‘Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’ (1983: 87). With reference to at least one of the key readings that you’ve studied in weeks 1-3, discuss (1) why Williams argues this and (2) some of the different ways in which culture has been defined. Williams once presented his frustration of the complexity of the word ‘culture’ by saying: “I don’t know how many times I’ve wished that I’d never heard the damned word” (R. Williams, 1979: 154). But is the word ‘culture’ really one of the two or three most complicated words in the English Language as Williams argues? One of the reasons that makes him think that the word ‘culture’ is so difficult to be understood and analysed is partly because of the fact that the word itself has developed during different stages of human history as well as in several different languages. The word ‘culture’ derives from the Latin word ‘cultura’, which originates from the word ‘Colera’, which means: inhabit, cultivate, protect, honor with worship. Nowadays the word ‘culture’ has several different meanings. In one of them it refers either generally or specifically to a particular way of life, whether of a period, a group of people or humanity in general. It also may describes the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity like music, theatre, playing and sculpture, literature and film. Still another reason for the complexity of the word ‘culture’ is the fact that the range of contexts in which the vocabulary now figures has multiplied extraordinarily in recent years. Today there are all sorts of different cultures that represent different traditions and rituals, for example there are High culture, Folk culture, Mass culture, et cetera.
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