Week 2--Barker, Chapter 3 (Arnold and Leavis)

The cultural theories and attitudes of Arnold and Leavis can be easily brushed aside by contemporary students of culture as being elitist and passé. But as paranoid and overall skeptical as they may come across to us, it’s hard for us to really understand the uncertain times that they were dealing with. I think there are ways in which critics today are guilty of being overly reactionary to some of the more unsettling signs of our times. For instance, we often bemoan and resist the widespread effects of technologies like the internet and cell phones. Many of us fear the potential of these tools to further isolate and individualize us as a society. And as a result, some of us believe that these technologies are inherently bad.