Stuart Hall

Of all the cultural theorists that emerged during a time of exceptional sociological and political strife during the 50s and 60s Stuart Hall's voice has remained a distinctly charismatic and lucid one. He was a frontline major figure in the formation of the new British political left and was a major contributor to Robin Blackburn's New Left Review,now operating as Verso books. One of his key tenets was that the media appear to reflect reality, whilst in fact they construct it. Great stuff which seems to gain more relevance as time moves on. Born in Kingston Jamaica,Halls Family were Empire Windrush immigrants who settled in Bristol. He later went on to attend Oxford University. Accepting a post at the University of Birmingham in the early 70s, Hall consciously positioned himself at the eye of the storm for what was a tempestuous period in the social and racial history in the UK. At Birmingham he was a key contributor within the centre for contemporary cultural studies. On the night Hall marks his 75th year he can be heard in conversation with Bill Schwartz to talk about his life and work on culture,identity and politics at the South bank centre,Purcell रूम.