Les Back
Les Back is a professor of sociology at the University of Glasgow and former Director of the Centre for Urban and Community Research at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a researcher and author of books and academic studies on topics including racism, music and urban cultures.
Biography
Les Back was born in Croydon, South London. Back's first job was as a youth worker. He studied at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at Goldsmiths, University of London, receiving his PhD in social anthropology in 1991. He subsequently worked at the Institute of Education, Birkbeck College and the Department of Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham before returning to Goldsmiths in 1993.Key studies
Back is the author of the following books:The Art of Listening Out of Whiteness: Color, Politics and Culture The Changing Face of Football: Racism, Identity and Multiculture in the English Game with T Crabbe and J. SolomosNew Ethnicities and Urban Culture: Racisms and Multiculture in Young LivesRacism and Society Race, Politics and Social Change.Back has edited three books: The Auditory Cultures Reader, Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader and Invisible Europeans?: Black people in the 'New Europe'.
Back's work focuses on the issues of race, racism, popular culture and belonging, discussed with ethnographic research often based in South London. Back is also a regular contributor to The Guardian, Times Higher Education Supplement and the New Humanist as well as contributing to online magazines including openDemocracy.net, Eurozine and The Sociological Review.