Stuart Hall (1932–2014) was one of the most prominent and influential scholars and public intellectuals of his generation. Hall appeared widely on British media, taught at the University of Birmingham and the Open University, was the founding editor of New Left Review, and served as the director of Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. He is the author of Familiar Stranger, Cultural Studies 1983, and Selected Political Writings, all also published by Duke University Press.

Paddy Whannel (1922–1980) was founder and head of the Education Department at the British Film Institute, Associate Professor of Film at Northwestern University, an an influential figure in the development of film studies in Britain and the United States.