Colin MacCabe is a British writer and film producer. He is distinguished professor of English and film at the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

, professor of English and humanities at Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...

, and a visiting professor at the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

.

MacCabe was educated at St Benedict's School

St Benedict's School

St Benedict's School is a co-educational independent Roman Catholic school situated in Ealing, West London. The school is part of Ealing Abbey and is governed by the Abbot and monks of Ealing. As the only day school of the English Houses of the English Benedictine Congregation, the school does not...

 and 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...

 where he began his academic career. He came to public prominence in 1981 when he was denied tenure

Tenure

Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...

, apparently in consequence of his position at the centre of a much publicised dispute within the faculty of English concerning the teaching of structuralism

Structuralism

Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...

.

He has published widely on film and literature with particular emphasis on James Joyce

James Joyce

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

, Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....

, and topics in the history and theory of language. He has served as chairman of the London Consortium

London Consortium

The London Consortium is a graduate school in the UK offering multidisciplinary Masters and Doctoral programs in the humanities and cultural studies at the University of London. It is administered by Birkbeck, University of London, one of the constituent colleges of the University of London, and...

, which he co-founded with Mark Cousins

Mark Cousins (writer)

Mark Cousins is a British cultural critic and architectural theorist. He is the Director of General Studies and Head of the Graduate Program in Histories and Theories at the Architectural Association...

, Paul Hirst

Paul Hirst

Paul Hirst was a British sociologist and political theorist. He became Professor of Social Theory at Birkbeck, University of London....

, and Richard Humphreys

Richard Humphreys (writer)

Richard Humphreys is the Curator of Programme Research at Tate Britain and Deputy Chairman of the London Consortium, of which he was a founding member....

. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Critical Quarterly

Critical Quarterly

Critical Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the humanities published by Wiley-Blackwell. The editor-in-chief is Colin MacCabe.-Early Years:Critical Quarterly was established in 1958 by its first editors C.B. Cox and A.E. Dyson...

.

Selected writings

• James Joyce and the Revolution of the Word
• Godard: Images, Sounds, Politics
• Tracking the Signifier: Theoretical Essays on Film, Linguistics, Literature (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1985)
• Diary of a Young Soul Rebel (with Isaac Julien)
• The Eloquence of the Vulgar: Language, Cinema and the Politics of Culture

Filmography

• Caravaggio - (Executive Producer / 2002 / Released / Cinevista Video)
• Howard Hawks: American Artist - (Executive Producer / 1997 / Released /)
• 100 Years of Polish Cinema - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1996 / Released / Miramax Films)
• 40,000 Years of Dreaming: a Century of Australian Cinema - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1996 / Released /)
• Aristotle's Plot - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1996 / Released /)
• Irish Cinema - Ourselves Alone? - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1996 / Released / Miramax Films)
• The Russian Idea - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1996 / Released / Miramax Films)
• The Show Goes On - The Indian Chapter - (Executive Producer / 1996 / Released / BIM Distribuzione)
• The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera - (Producer / 1996 / Released /)
• 100 Years of Japanese Cinema - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• 2 X 50 Years of French Cinema - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• Cinema of Tears - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey By Sam Neill - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• Cinema on the Road - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• I am Curious, Film - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• The Night of the Film-Makers - (Executive Producer((BFI-TV)) / 1995 / Released / Miramax Films)
• The Long Day Closes - (Executive Producer / 1993 / Released / Mayfair Entertainment UK)
• On the Black Hill - (Executive Producer / 1991 / Released / Roxie Releasing)
• Young Soul Rebels - (Executive Producer / 1991 / Released / Prestige Films)
• Fellow Traveller - (Executive Producer((BFI)) / 1990 / Released / British Film Institute)
• Distant Voices, Still Lives - (Executive Producer / 1989 / Released / Avenue Entertainment)
• Friendship's Death - (Executive Producer / 1989 / Released / British Film Institute)
• Melancholia - (Producer / 1989 / Released / Mikado Films)
• Venus Peter - (Executive Producer / 1989 / Released / International Video Productions)

External links

• MacCabe's homepage from University of Pittsburgh