Thinking Allowed - 26/08/2009

Laurie Taylor discusses the life and work of leading cultural commentator Richard Hoggart, asking why his time is coming again. Hoggart's evidence in the Lady Chatterley trial changed censorship for ever, his influence on the Pilkington Committee established the norms of public service broadcasting still in operation today and his academic work led to the invention of cultural studies in the UK. He is considered a titan of contemporary culture and his famous book The Uses of Literacy combined sociology with literature and biography, going on to have a huge influence on the way popular culture was viewed. That influence has been on the wane in recent decades, but now a new edition of Hoggart's book is about to be published, a biography is being written and a recent conference was dedicated to his work.