Cultural materialism is an anthropological school of thought that examines material conditions like climate, food supply, and geography to understand human culture. It views these material factors as the primary determinants of cultural differences and similarities between societies. Cultural materialism also describes a politicized form of historiography that studies historical materials within a politicized framework, including how literary texts have helped shape the present. The term was coined in 1985 by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield to describe a critical method with four key aspects: a theoretical method, political commitment, textual analysis, and the view that culture cannot transcend material forces and modes of production.

1. Define the word ‘Cultural Materialism
Name: Vaishali Hareshbhai Jasoliya
Class: M.A.Sem.- 2
Roll No.: 28
Paper No.: 08-C ( The Cultural Studies )
Enrolment No.: 14101028
Email ID: jasoliyavaishali@gmail.com
Year: 2015-16
Submitted to: Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University

2.  The word Materialism is a form of
philosophical monism which holds that
matter is the fundamental substance in
nature, and that all phenomena, including
mental phenomena and consciousness, are
the result of material interactions.
 Materialism is the position that matter is the
only thing that exists and that all things can be
reduced to matter.

3. What is Cultural Materialism
 Anthropology is the study of humans.
 Cultural materialism is an anthropological
school of thought that says that the best way
to understand human culture is to examine
material conditions – climate, food, supply,
geography, etc…

4. Cultural materialism is the
strategy I have found to be
most effective in my attempt to
understand the causes of
differences and similarities
among societies and cultures.
Marvin Harris

6. Cultural Materialism
 The British critic Graham Holderness describes
cultural materialism as ‘ a politicised form of
historiography’.
 We can explain this as meaning the study of
historical material within a politicised
framework, this framework including the
present which those literary texts have in
some way helped to shape.

7. The term ‘cultural materialism’ was
made current in 1985 when it was used
by Jonathan Dollimore and Alan
Sinfield.

8. Critical method which has four
Characteristic
Theoretical
method
Political
Commitment Textual analysis

9. The two words in the term ‘cultural
materialism’ are further defined:
 ‘culture’ will include all forms of culture.
That is, this approach does not limit itself to
‘high’ cultural forms like the Shakespeare play.
‘ Materialism’ signifies the opposite of
‘idealism’ : an ‘idealist’ belief would be that
high culture represents the free and
independent play of the talented individual
mind; the contrary ‘materialist’ belief is that
culture cannot ‘transcend the material forces
and relations of production.