Rethinking C L R James: A Critical Reader - Hardcover

Farred, Grant

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557865981 ISBN 13: 9781557865984

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1995

Synopsis

Born in Trinidad in 1901, C.L.R. James committed himself to the major radical political movements of our time - anti-colonialism, marxism, pan-Africanism, and post-colonialism. James also distinguished himself from intellectuals of his (and subsequent) generations, by engaging seriously the popular culture of his day. Moreover, he converted his fascination with radio soap operas, movies, and cricket ("Beyond A Boundary") into a theorization of popular practices that show him to be one of the progenitors of contemporary cultural studies. This broad-ranging collection of essays brings together contributions by scholars who have a longstanding investment in C.L.R. James: Anna Grimshaw, Robin Kelley and Ken Surrin, and intellectuals, such as Andrew Ross and Neil Larson, who are making their first contributions to Jamesian studies. The volume also includes essays by: Jim Murray, who served as James's secretary in the early 1980s (a responsibility later assumed by Grimshaw); Santiago Colas; and Grant Farred. The range of these contributions, on James and women, on cricket, on James's role in relation to the formation of cultural studies, on Pan-Africanism, on Latin America, and on American civilization, give critical expression to the case legacy of his work. Rethinking C.L.R. James is a reconceptualization of the Trinidadian intellectual's work, mapping the myriad ways in which he has impacted the postmodern world in which we live. At a time when James's writings enjoy unprecedented intellectual and political attention, these contributors do more than explain the current popularity of his work. James's contemporary pertinence is one of the primary issues at stake in this collection. It is appropriate, then, that the salient feature of several of these contributions is that they comment on James's writings not as an end in itself, but in order to extend his political, philosophical, and cultural legacy beyond him. James is not only "rethought", but made usable for the problematics of our day.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1557865981
• ISBN 13: 9781557865984
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200