Page 33 - Introducing Cultural Studies
P. 33
emembering
History
To understand class,
Thompson argues, it is
essential to see it "as a social
and cultural formation arising
from processes which can
only be studied as they work
themselves out over a
considerable historical period".
Thompson demonstrates the
difference in meaning that
shared sources could have.
For example, John Bunyan's
classic allegory Pilgrim's
Progress (1678, 1684) and the
18th century religious
movement of Methodism
cross-cut English society. The
significance is in the different
ways in which they enable,
say, a mechanic to arrive at
consciousness of his position
vis-a-vis a Duchess and to
engage in activity designed to
change that relationship.
