Correct option is A
The correct answer is - Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams.
Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams were pioneers in the field of cultural studies. They significantly contributed to the understanding of literature and culture as interconnected with the lives of ordinary people, or "the masses."
Hoggart's The Uses of Literacy (1957) analyzed working-class culture and its literary representations.
Raymond Williams, in works like Culture and Society (1958) and The Long Revolution (1961), argued that literature must consider the culture of the common people and their lived experiences.
Their focus was to reframe the role of the “masses” in literature as producers of cultural significance, rather than merely passive consumers.
Information Booster:
Richard Hoggart founded the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Raymond Williams coined the term “cultural materialism” to analyze literature in its socio-economic context.
Their work laid the groundwork for the democratization of literature and literary criticism.
They emphasized how media, advertising, and other cultural artifacts shape working-class values.
Additional Knowledge:
Penny Summerfield and Gillian Rose worked more on feminist and spatial studies, not directly linked to mass literature.
Rachel Alsop and Catherine Belsey are more associated with feminist and critical theory.
Jon Cook and Marilyn Deegan are scholars of digital humanities and modern technology in literary studies.