People of African and Caribbean descent have inhabited Great Britain for centuries. Professor Paul Gilroy has assembled a living visual history of their social life in the modern British Isles. Published in association with Getty Images,this volume faeture 321 b&w; photographs, commentary by Paul Gilroy and a preface from Professor Stuart Hall.
Gilroy offers a new understanding of W. E. B. Du Bois' intellectual and political legacy and revitalizes the study of African American culture. He traces the shifting character of black intellectual and social movements, and shows how we can construct an account of moral progress that reflects today's complex realities.
The book challenges the impact of race-thinking on modern democracy, arguing that it has undermined its core values. Paul Gilroy advocates for a redefined humanism, proposing a fresh political language and moral vision to replace traditional anti-racism. Through a critical lens, he explores how these concepts can reshape societal understanding and foster a more inclusive future. The reissue includes a new introduction, further enriching the discussion on race and democracy.
This text is a powerful indictment of contemporary academic practices, in which Gilroy highlighted the inadequacies of the British approach to race. It provided a powerful new direction for race relations theory in Britain
Timely reissue of the classic radical history of race and modernity
In Postcolonial Melancholia, Paul Gilroy continues the conversation he began in his landmark study of race and nation, 'There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack, ' by once again departing from conventional wisdom to examine-and defend-multiculturalism within the context of a post-9/11 "politics of security." Gilroy adapts the concept of melancholia from its Freudian origins and applies it to the social pathology of neoimperialist politics. His unorthodox analysis pinpoints melancholic reactions not only in the hostility and violence directed at blacks, immigrants, and aliens but also in an inability to value the ordinary, unruly multiculture that has evolved organically and unnoticed in urban centers. Drawing on seminal discussions of race by Frantz Fanon, W. E. B. DuBois, and George Orwell, Gilroy goes beyond the idea of mere tolerance and proposes that it is possible to celebrate multiculture and live with otherness without becoming anxious, fearful, or violent.
Exploring Britain's struggle to reconcile with its imperial past, Paul Gilroy draws on diverse texts from Fanon and Orwell to contemporary references like Ali G. and The Office. The book examines the lingering effects of colonialism on national identity and cultural memory, highlighting the complexities of post-imperial existence and the challenges of understanding Britain's role in a changing global landscape. Through this analysis, Gilroy sheds light on the cultural and political implications of a nation grappling with its historical legacy.