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
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
, his research focusing on
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
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, 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 "A ...
'', 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 Du ...
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
, mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £8.0 million
, budget = £403.6 million
, chancellor = Heather Melville
, vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery
, students ...
, before going on to do graduate work at the Centre for Contemporary Studies at
Birmingham University
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
,
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 (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
, cultural studies at the
University of East London
, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
, and media and communications at
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...
, before moving in 2004 to
Queen Mary College
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
, where he is Professor of English, focusing in his research on
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
history.
He has also lectured at numerous other educational institutions internationally, including
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
,
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
,
North Carolina University
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
,
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, 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 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
,
Michigan University
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
,
Sydney University, the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier (french: Université de 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 oldest univ ...
,
Copenhagen University
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...
, the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and the
American University in Paris
The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts 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 ...
.
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 v ...
,
Earl Lovelace
Earl Wilbert Lovelace (born 13 July 1935) is a Trinidadian novelist, journalist, playwright, and short story writer. He is particularly recognized for his descriptive, dramatic fiction on Trinidadian culture: "Using Trinidadian dialect patterns a ...
, and
James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...
.
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 was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, 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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'': "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."
[Marlene Gaynair]
"Stuart Hall: 'Familiar Stranger' of the Black Atlantic"
''Black Perspectives'', AAIHS, July 2018.
Selected bibliography
* ''West Indian Intellectuals in Britain'' (Studies in Imperialism series),
Manchester University Press, 2003, ; paperback
* ''Memories of Empire: The White Man's World'' (Volume I),
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been 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 Du ...
, 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
The Institute for the Study of the Americas (ISA) was established in 2004 following a merger of the Institute of Latin American Studies and the Institute of United States Studies. ISA formed part of the University of London’s School of Advanc ...
, 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 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 earned numerous awards, including L ...
, 2011, ; paperback
* With Rachael Gilmour, ''End of Empire and the English Novel since 1945'', Manchester University Press, 2011, ; 2015 paperback
References
{{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