Paul Gilroy has been a controversial force at the forefront of debates around race, nation, and diaspora. Working across a broad range of disciplines, Gilroy has argued that racial identities are historically constructed, formed by colonization, slavery, nationalist philosophies, and consumer capitalism.

Paul Williams introduces Gilroy’s key themes and ideas, including:

the essential concepts, including ethnic absolutism, civilizationism, postcolonial melancholia, iconization, and the ‘black Atlantic’

analysis of Gilroy’s broad-ranging cultural references, from Edmund Burke to hip-hop

a comprehensive overview of Gilroy’s influences and the academic debates his work has inspired.

Emphasizing the timeliness and global relevance of Gilroy’s ideas, this guide will appeal to anyone approaching Gilroy’s work for the first time or seeking to further their understanding of race and contemporary culture.