Bill Schwarz (born 1951) is an English historian, who is a Professor in the School of English and Drama at
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London.
Today, ...
, his research focusing on
postcolonial
Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...
history.
["Bill Schwarz, BA (York), Professor of English"]
Queen Mary, University of London. Schwarz is the author of ''Memories of Empire: The White Man's World'', which was Book of the Year at the
Longman/History Today Awards in 2013. He is literary executor, with
Catherine Hall
Catherine Hall (born 1946) is a British academic. She is Emerita Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at University College London and chair of its digital scholarship project, the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of B ...
, of cultural theorist
Stuart Hall, whose posthumously published memoir ''Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands'' was co-written with Schwarz. He is an editor of ''
History Workshop Journal
The ''History Workshop Journal'' is a British academic history journal published by Oxford University Press. ''History Workshop'' was founded in 1976 by Raphael Samuel and others involved in the History Workshop movement. Originally sub-titled " ...
'', and General Editor (with Catherine Hall) of the
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
series "The Writings of Stuart Hall".
Early life
Schwarz was born on 22 December 1951.
Career
Academia
Bill Schwarz studied English and history at the
University of York
The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
, before going on to do graduate work at the Centre for Contemporary Studies at
Birmingham University
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
,
where he was a student of
Stuart Hall. Schwarz taught sociology and politics at the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
, cultural studies at the
University of East London
University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...
, and media and communications at
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...
, before moving in 2004 to
Queen Mary College
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London.
Today, ...
, where he is Professor of English, focusing in his research on
postcolonial
Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...
history.
He has also lectured at numerous other educational institutions internationally, including
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
,
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
,
North Carolina University
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...
,
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...
, the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...
,
Michigan University, the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...
,
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...
,
Copenhagen University
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
The University of Copenhagen c ...
, the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
and the
American University in Paris
The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to be established in France. The university ...
.
Writing
Schwarz has written and edited books on postcolonialism, British cultural and political history, and 20th-century Caribbean and North American writers including
George Lamming
George William Lamming OCC (8 June 19274 June 2022) was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet. He first won critical acclaim for '' In the Castle of My Skin'', his 1953 debut novel. He also held academic posts, including as a distinguished ...
,
Earl Lovelace, and
James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...
.
Schwarz's 2011 work ''Memories of Empire: The White Man's World'', a study of colonial society towards the end of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, and the first of a three-volume history, was named Book of the Year at the
Longman/History Today Awards in 2013.
["Bill Schwarz"]
The Heyman Centre.
He co-authored Stuart Hall's posthumously published memoir ''Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands'' (2017), about which
Colin Grant wrote in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'': "The conversational tone of the book has emerged from the hours of interviews Schwarz conducted with Hall over a number of years. The project began as a collaboration, and clearly Schwarz is a faithful amanuensis. Answering the need to reduce this material to a manageable form, he arranges each chapter with a foreword, argument and afterword, which gives the flavour of an extended series of talks. ... ''Familiar Stranger'' reads as a subtle and subversive memoir of the end of empire." The reviewer for ''Black Perspectives'' concluded: "An undeniable boon to cultural and postcolonial studies, Stuart Hall and Bill Schwarz's ''Familiar Stranger'' turns the traditional memoir on its head, and produced an engaging exchange about race, identity, colonialism, and culture."
Selected bibliography
* ''West Indian Intellectuals in Britain'' (Studies in Imperialism series),
Manchester University Press
Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...
, 2003, ; paperback
[Schwarz, Bill (2008)]
''West Indian Intellectuals in Britain'' (Studies in Imperialism series)
Manchester University Press, 2003. SSOAR.
* ''Memories of Empire: The White Man's World'' (Volume I),
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2011, ; paperback 2013,
* With
Stuart Hall, ''Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands'', Durham, NC:
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
, 2017,
;As editor
* ''The Locations of George Lamming'', Warwick University Caribbean Studies series, Macmillan, Oxford, 2007,
* '' Caribbean Literature After Independence. The Case of Earl Lovelace'',
Institute for the Study of the Americas, 2008,
* With Susannah Radstone, ''Memory. Histories, Theories, Debates'',
Fordham University Press
The Fordham University Press is a publishing house, a division of Fordham University, that publishes primarily in the humanities and the social sciences. Fordham University Press was established in 1907 and is headquartered at the university's Li ...
, 2010, paperback
* With Cora Kaplan, ''James Baldwin. America and Beyond'',
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...
, 2011, ; paperback
* With Rachael Gilmour, ''End of Empire and the English Novel since 1945'', Manchester University Press, 2011, ; 2015 paperback
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Bill
1951 births
21st-century English historians
Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London
Academics of Queen Mary University of London
Academics of the University of East London
Academics of the University of Warwick
Alumni of the University of York
Living people