Stuart Hall and the antinomian tradition

Abstract

Stuart Hall has always insisted that the main theoretical influences on his thought flow from the continent, notably Marxism and Gramscianism. This paper argues that there are pitfalls in taking Hall at face value. Hall's education in Jamaica bore the stamp of the British public school system. This was reinforced by his early educational experience in the UK as a Rhodes scholar. Despite his much mooted internationalism, the focus of his work has always been British culture and British experience. This paper draws parallels between Hall's work and the antinomian tradition in British history. This tradition speaks for 'another Britain' - an imaginary country unrecognized or spurned by the establishment. Hall may not belong to this tradition, but ignoring its influence exaggerates the singularity of his socio-political approach. Hall's considerable achievements must not be allowed to obscure the continuities between his work and deep-rooted themes in British cultural criticism.

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