Richard Hoggart and cultural studies

the long version

This collection of essays re-evaluates Richard Hoggart's contribution to the history of ideas and to Cultural Studies. Hoggart is one of the leading cultural commentators of the last sixty years. His The Uses of Literacy (1957) marked a watershed in public perception of culture and class and shifted academic parameters. He was a leading defence witness in the Lady Chatterley trial. He was one of the first literary critics to take the working class seriously, and founded the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. These essays, by both leading and emerging cultural scholars, examine Hoggart's legacy to Cultural Studies, identifying his widespread influence, tracing continuities and complexities, and affirming his enduring importance.