Rate My Professor Andrew Smith

Professor Andrew Smith holds the position of Professor of Sociology (Sociological & Cultural Studies) in the School of Social & Political Sciences, College of Social Sciences, at the University of Glasgow. His primary research focuses on literature, sport, and creative cultures within colonial and postcolonial contexts, examining how individuals respond to, understand, and utilize various forms of culture in their daily lives. Key areas of investigation include C.L.R. James's contributions to cultural theory, representations of imperial defeats, interactions between service sector workers and customers, Nigerian email scams, racism in everyday life, and the role of poetry in working-class settings. Smith has supervised more than 20 PhD students to successful completion and co-organized a major conference in 2013 commemorating the 50th anniversary of C.L.R. James's seminal work Beyond a Boundary.

Andrew Smith's scholarly output is prolific and impactful, encompassing monographs, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed articles that advance cultural sociology, postcolonial critique, and studies of race and ethnicity. Notable books include C.L.R. James and the Study of Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), Racism and Everyday Life: Social Theory, History and 'Race' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), Marxism, Colonialism, and Cricket: C.L.R. James's Beyond a Boundary at Fifty (Duke University Press, 2018, lead editor), and Class and the Uses of Poetry: Symbolic Enclosures (Palgrave/Springer, 2024). Significant articles feature "Concrete freedom: C.L.R. James on culture and black politics" (Cultural Sociology, 2011), which received the British Sociological Association/Sage Prize for Innovation/Excellence in 2012; "The uses of poetry" (Sociological Review, 2024); "Everyday aesthetics, locality and racialisation" (Cultural Sociology, 2021); and "Rethinking the 'everyday' in 'ethnicity and everyday life'" (Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2015). His work bridges social theory with literary and cultural analysis, offering critical insights into empire, racism, and cultural production.