Raymond 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 arena of social struggle where
decisions shaping the nature of our futures and crucial to creating a
democratic and just society. The book includes a foreword by Michael
Apple who is John Boscom Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and
Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, which makes
reference to the importance of Williams' work in relation to education
in the USA.
