GENER AL INTEREST
The Popular Arts
NE W IN PAPERBACK
s tua rt h a ll & pa ddy w h a nnel
Familiar Stranger
With a new introduction by Richard Dyer
A Life Between Two Islands stuart hall with bill schwarz With great insight and wit, Stuart Hall tells the extraordi‑ nary story of his early life and career— from the streets of colonial Kingston, Jamaica, to the thorny politics of postwar Britain—and how his experi‑ ences shaped his theoretical work. Growing up in a middleclass family in 1930s Kingston, the young Hall found himself uncomfortable in his own home. That unease helped propel him across the Atlantic in 1951 to study at Oxford, where he met and befriended the leading intel‑ lectuals with whom he would found the intellectual and political movement known as the New Left. With the emotional aftershock of colonialism still pulsing through him, Hall chose to remain in England, where he struggled to build a home, a life, and an identity in a postwar environment rife with racism. Exuding passion and wisdom, Familiar Stranger is the intellectual memoir of one of our greatest minds. Stuart Hall (1932–2014) was one of the most prominent and influential scholars and public intellectuals of his generation. Hall appeared widely on British media, taught at the University of Birmingham and the Open University, was the founding editor of New Left Review and served as the director of Birmingham’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. He is the author of Cultural Studies 1983: A Theoretical History and other books also published by Duke University Press. Bill Schwarz is Professor of English at Queen Mary University of London.
When it first appeared in 1964, Stuart Hall and Paddy Whannel’s The Popular Arts opened up an almost unprecedented field of analy‑ sis and inquiry into contemporary popular culture. Counter to the prevailing views of the time, Hall and Whannel recognized popular culture’s social importance and considered it worthy of serious study. In their analysis of everything from Westerns and the novels of Mickey Spillane, Ian Fleming, and Raymond Chandler to jazz, advertising, and the television industry, they were guided by the belief that studying popular culture demanded an ethical evaluation of the text and full attention to its properties. In so doing, they raised questions about the relation of culture to society and the politics of taste and judgment in ways that continue to shape cultural studies. Long out of print, this landmark text highlights the development of Hall’s theoretical and methodological approach while adding a greater understanding of his work. This edition also includes a new introduction by Richard Dyer, who contextualizes The Popular Arts within the history of cultural studies and outlines its impact and enduring legacy. Stuart Hall (1932–2014) was one of the most prominent and influential scholars and public intellectuals of his generation. Hall appeared widely on British media, taught at the University of Birmingham and the Open University, was the founding editor of New Left Review, and served as the director of Birmingham’s Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. He is the author of Familiar Stranger, Cultural Studies 1983, and Selected Political Writings, all also published by Duke University Press. Paddy Whannel (1922–1980) was a film scholar, educator at the British Film Institute, and Associate Professor of Film at Northwestern University. Richard Dyer is Professor of Film Studies at King’s College London and the author of several books, including White: Essays on Race and Culture and Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society. STUART HALL: SELECTED WRITINGS A series edited by Catherine Hall and Bill Schwarz
STUART HALL: SELECTED WRITINGS A series edited by Catherine Hall and Bill Schwarz
“The Popular Arts is an incredibly important milestone in the postwar “The publication of Familiar Stranger is truly an event. Contemplative and
rise of film, media, and cultural studies and of great historical value.”
incisive, heart-wrenching and hilarious, profound and thought-provoking,
— LYNN SPIGEL , author of TV by Design: Modern Art and the Rise of
the book demonstrates why Stuart Hall was our most brilliant thinker on
Network Television
identity and struggle, and why in the age of Brexit and Trumpism he is sorely missed. . . . For those unfamiliar with Hall, this book ought to be the starting point.”— ROBIN D. G. KELLEY
C U LT U R A L S T U D I E S / P O S T C O L O N I A L S T U D I E S / M E M O I R
C U LT U R A L S T U D I E S
April 320 pages, 12 illustrations
June 432 pages, 46 illustrations
paper, 978‑0‑8223‑7140‑3, $24.95tr
paper, 978‑0‑8223‑4968‑6, $29.95/£24.99
Available as an e‑book
cloth, 978‑0‑8223‑4908‑2, $109.95/£91.00
Rights: North America only
Available as an e‑book
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