TERRY EAGLETON’S “THE IDEA OF CULTURE”: “VERSIONS OF CULTURE”

Authors

  • Jannat Aimane PhD Student, Faculty of Letters And human Sciences, Translation Studies Department, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
  • Jamaa Ouchouid Full Professor, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Translation Studies Department, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v6i2.645

Keywords:

culture, Terry Eagleton, cultural materialism, Raymond Williams, popular culture / الثقافة، تيري إيجلتون، المادية الثقافية، ريموند ويليامز، الثقافة الشعبية

Abstract

This article explores Terry Eagleton’s analysis of culture in the first chapter, “Versions of Culture,” from his book “The Idea of Culture”. It investigates how Eagleton rejects the fixed definitions of culture and embraces a more inclusive and historical understanding of culture. This article places Eagleton’s perspective within the tradition of cultural materialism. It also connects his ideas to theorists like Raymond Williams and Matthew Arnold. Eagleton criticizes elitist views of culture. Instead, he supports a flexible understanding. This view includes both social rules and natural elements. The article also looks at how Eagleton’s ideas relate to today’s cultural debates, especially the divide between high and popular culture. 


تتناول هذه المقالة تحليل تيري إيجلتون لمفهوم الثقافة في الفصل الأول من كتابه فكرة الثقافة تحت عنوان "أنماط الثقافة". يرفض إيجلتون التعريفات الجامدة للثقافة، ويقترح بدلاً منها فهماً أكثر شمولية وتاريخية. يربط هذا البحث أفكار إيجلتون بالمنظور الماركسي وبأعمال ريموند ويليامز وماثيو آرنولد، ويوضح كيف ينتقد الرؤية النخبوية للثقافة ويدعم فهماً مرناً يشمل القواعد الاجتماعية والعناصر الطبيعية. كما يناقش المقالة كيف ترتبط أفكار إيجلتون بالنقاشات الثقافية المعاصرة، خاصةً ما يتعلق بالفصل بين الثقافة الرفيعة والثقافة الشعبية.

 

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References

Eagleton, Terry. The Idea of Culture. London: Blackwell, 2000. Retrieved from https://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/dcrawford/eagleton_2000.pdf

Milner, Anders and Jeff Browitt. Contemporary Cultural Theory. Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2002. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Contemporary_Cultural_Theory.html?id=F1zF8HINN2sC&redir_esc=y

Young, Robert. Colonial Desire: Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race. London: Routledge, 2005. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/Colonial-Desire-Hybridity-in-Theory-Culture-and-Race/Young/p/book/9780415053747?srsltid=AfmBOorq1D_Sj8vxs0PKZeVubEP4-LSv3dcbgnPsN1BOlcNc8m130kI3

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Published

2025-09-26

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Articles

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