RECONCEPTUALIZING CULTURE: THE ENGLISH CULTURALIST TRADITION AND ITS THEORETICAL LEGACY IN CONTEMPORARY HUMANITIES

Abstract

This article offers a critical reconceptualization of the English culturalist tradition as a foundational paradigm in the development of modern cultural theory. Moving beyond descriptive accounts, the study situates the works of Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart, and E. P. Thompson within broader epistemological and socio-historical transformations of post-war Britain. The paper argues that English Culturalism constitutes not merely an intellectual movement but a methodological rupture that redefined culture as a dynamic, lived, and contested domain embedded in structures of power and everyday practice. By synthesizing historical analysis with theoretical reconstruction, the article demonstrates how culturalist concepts—such as “structure of feeling,” lived experience, and cultural agency—continue to inform contemporary debates in cultural studies, identity theory, and critical social analysis. The findings suggest that the culturalist framework remains analytically productive in addressing current challenges posed by globalization, digital culture, and symbolic power.