Re: Raymond Williams's [Keywords]

On Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:02:48 +0000, Ross Clark wrote:

On 29/10/2024 11:54 a.m., HenHanna wrote:

Raymond Williams said that the word [nature]  was used differently in
the past?
>
            Yes, Raymond Williams, a prominent cultural theorist,
discussed the concept of "nature" and how its meaning has evolved over
time.
>
In his work, particularly in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and
Society, Williams noted that the word "nature" originally encompassed a
broader range of meanings, including one's inherent qualities and the
essence of a thing.
>
            Historically, "nature" was often associated with the idea of
the natural world and human beings' place within it, including moral and
social dimensions.
>
          Over time, the term became more narrowly focused on the
physical environment and the biological aspects of life, often
separating human culture from the natural world.
>
________________________________

>
It's a great book -- I recommended it to generations of students as a
model of how to tell the history of a word's meanings. Much of Williams'
raw material can be found in OED's entries, but he weaves it masterfully
into a narrative, with very sparing use of actual citations.
Unfortunately AI reduces it all to mulch.

Mulch,  or  Bilge?
More or more,   we can only absorb  sound-bites
        ... or written text
                in 140- or 280-char  units.
___________________
The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books
The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com
         Oct 1, 2024 — In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of
about 300 third-to-eighth-grade educators, only 17 percent said they
primarily teach whole texts.
        ...........
But the student told Dames that, at her public high school, she had
never been required to read an entire book. She had been assigned
excerpts, poetry, and news articles, but not a single book cover to
cover.
        ...........
 Twenty years ago, Dames’s classes had no problem engaging in
sophisticated discussions of Pride and Prejudice one week and Crime and
Punishment the next.
        ...........
Anthony Grafton, a Princeton historian, said his students arrive on
campus with a narrower vocabulary and less understanding of language
than they used to have.