Introduction

Abstract

Recent years have seen a much deserved, if somewhat belated, development of interest in the work of the West Indian historian, novelist, critic and activist, C. L. R. James. James’ reputation has long been secure as the author of a ground-breaking historical work—The Black Jacobins — and of Beyond a Boundary, an equally ground-breaking work of social and cultural criticism. Recent years, however, have seen a growing recognition of the extraordinary breadth of James’ interests and writings. In the period just before James’ death in 1989, and since, a three-volume collection of selected works have been published, along with a number of anthologies (following in the successful footsteps of a Radical America selection from 1970), as well as many previously unavailable texts of various lengths. At the same time, the number of critical introductions and studies devoted to aspects of James’ life and work has proliferated. Scholars in a wide range of disciplines are increasingly acknowledging the importance of James’ analyses for anyone interested in making sense of the development of modern society and culture, and his work has even begun to make an appearance in that inner sanctum represented by the edited volume of readings in social theory (for example, Lemert 2004: 413–22).