Writing History: Thinking beyond the Past in the Present

In the preface to Familiar Stranger, Bill Schwarz acknowledges that while the book originated from a series of conversations between him and Stuart Hall and therefore represents the interplay of two voices, in its published form, Hall was not able to have a final adjudication of its content. Schwarz explains, “I can imagine his many reservations. He could never return to his writing without being tempted to take it apart and to drive the argument on, or to take it in new directions. This certainly would have been no exception. It pains me greatly that he wasn’t able to read what has finally been submitted in his name” (xvii). Not only do Schwarz’s reflections give us insight into the process of intellectual laboring that marked Stuart Hall’s larger body of work, but they also offer an important framing for approaching this text and the narratives held within it. They...