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Culture Is Ordinary Essay Plan Edited

This essay plan aims to show that culture is ordinary rather than just high art as described by Arnold. The three paragraph body will first analyze the two meanings of culture - elite and mass culture. The second paragraph will analyze how culture is remade through class, gender and race power relations. The third paragraph will explain ideology and hegemony in culture. Williams argued that culture is made up of everyday practices and customs, not just high art. It is dynamic and changing, influenced by a range of social factors. Both high and mass cultures form people's understanding of the world.

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simonpolovak
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63 views

Culture Is Ordinary Essay Plan Edited

This essay plan aims to show that culture is ordinary rather than just high art as described by Arnold. The three paragraph body will first analyze the two meanings of culture - elite and mass culture. The second paragraph will analyze how culture is remade through class, gender and race power relations. The third paragraph will explain ideology and hegemony in culture. Williams argued that culture is made up of everyday practices and customs, not just high art. It is dynamic and changing, influenced by a range of social factors. Both high and mass cultures form people's understanding of the world.

Uploaded by

simonpolovak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Essay Plan

Essay Title Culture is ordinary


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Background information Thesis statement / aims Structure of essay

I will have three body


The phrase "culture is paragraphs to state my
The purpose of this essay article is to show
ordinary" was coined by topic, with some books
prove culture is not just high art and literature
Raymond Williams, a to support it. In the
as described by Arnold, but rather it is the first paragraph, I will
Welsh cultural theorist ordinary practices and customs of everyday analyze the two
and sociologist, in his
life as demonstrated by Williams. He believed meanings of culture,
book "Culture and
that culture is created and sustained by the elite culture and mass
Society" (1958).
people who participate in it, and that it reflects culture. In the second
the values and beliefs of a particular society. paragraph, I will
Culture, civilization and
education, they form the analyze how culture is
link in the chain. Both remade and changed
high culture and ethnic through class power
culture are appreciated by relations (gender and
people. race). In the third
paragraph, I will
explain ideology and
hegemony in culture.

Topic Sentence – Main point Support and explanation / evidence / - Analysis / significance of point made /
of paragraph including references (surname,year) link to next paragraph

In much of western “ We use the word culture in these Culture is made up of experiences
society this big society, two senses: to mean a whole way of that people learn from fluctuating
two kinds of culture life - the common meanings; to mean societies. William believed that it
emerged the arts and learning - the special was the combination of the two
simultaneously, elite processes of discovery and cultures that made sense. Culture
culture and mass creative effort. Some writers reserve is not static it changes all the time
culture. It was hard to the word for one or other of these by gender, by sex, by race.
decide who was best senses; I insist on both, and on the
educated in the last significance of their conjunction.”
century's disputes, but
together they formed ‘Culture is ordinary’
the culture.For much of (Williams, 1997 [1958]: 9)
the 19th and 20th century
Elite culture was seen
as dominant and
superior to mass culture
which was seen as
lower class.
Essay Plan

Another of Williams Gender and race are complex and


‘It is stupid and arrogant to
arguments was that intersectional factors, which
Culture is dynamic, it suppose that any of these means that they are influenced by
changes all the time, it meanings can in any way be many other factors, including
is made and remade in prescribed, they are made by socioeconomic status, education,
ways we cannot know living, made and remade, in ways and cultural background.
first. we cannot know in advance.
This was another reason
why he saw mass culture as
‘Culture is ordinary’ more relevant and
(Williams, 1997 [1958]: 9) representative of the people.

Williams also believed For example, a dominant ideology Overall, the relationship between
that the promotion of such as capitalism may be supported ideology and hegemony in
Elite culture was to and reinforced by cultural institutions culture is complex and
control people. In such as advertising, popular media, multifaceted, and can have
culture, ideology and and educational institutions, which profound impacts on the way
hegemony often work promote the values of consumerism people understand and interact
together to shape the and individualism. with the world around them.
beliefs and values of
society.

Main body

Conclusion

Restate aims Highlight main points Concluding remarks

In conclusion, it can be
argued that “The making of a society is the finding of common Culture is not only
Culture is made by meanings and directions, and its growth is an active an abstract thing,
living. debate and amendment under the pressures of but also in practice,
experience, contact, and discovery, writing is a material thing.
Culture is not something
separate or distinct from themselves into the land.’
everyday life, but rather,
it is woven into the ‘Culture is ordinary’
fabric of our daily
(Williams, 1997 [1958]: 9)
experiences and
interactions. In other
words, culture is made
by living.
Essay Plan

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