Paul Smith is an academic and cultural critic

Cultural critic

A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...

. He holds a B.A. in Modern and Medieval Languages from the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 and a Ph.D in American Studies

American studies

American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...

 from the University of Kent. He is currently Professor of Cultural Studies

Cultural studies

Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...

 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, United States. His work covers many of the central themes of cultural studies, including feminism

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

 and gender studies

Gender studies

Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...

, film studies

Film studies

Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...

, globalization

Globalization

Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...

 and Marxist cultural criticism. He is on the Executive Committee of the Cultural Studies Association and was president of the Marxist Literary Group

Marxist Literary Group

The Marxist Literary Group is an affiliate of the Modern Language Association centered on scholarly discussion of the contributions of Marxism and the Marxist tradition in the humanities and related disciplines. It holds an annual summer institute, holds sessions at the MLA convention, and...

 from 1988-1997.

External links

• Personal website
• GMU Cultural Studies Department site
• Questioning Cultural Studies Interview with Jeffery Williams