B.A. (Oxon), M.A. (Columbia), Ph.D. (Wales) Raymond Williams Research Chair in C
Professor Dai Smith B.A. (Oxon), M.A. (Columbia), PhD (Wales)
Raymond Williams Research Chair in Cultural History
D.B.Smith@swansea.ac.uk
Professor Dai Smith is the Raymond Williams Chair in Cultural History within CREW which he joined in March 2005. He is also Chair of the Arts Council of Wales.
Dai Smith was Professor in the History of Wales at Cardiff University 1985 to 1992 and Editor BBC Radio Wales and Head of Programmes (English language) at BBC Wales from 1992 to 2001 when he was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Glamorgan. He has also been a Simon Senior Fellow at the University of Manchester and a visiting lecturer at Universities in Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Denmark, Ireland and England. He is now Series Editor of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Library of Wales for classic works written in English from or about Wales. Amongst his numerous publications are path-breaking histories of the South Wales miners, The Fed (1980), with Dr Hywel Francis MP, and of the social significance of rugby in Wales, Fields of Praise (1986), with Professor Gareth Williams. He has written widely on literature and society – Aneurin Bevan and The World of South Wales (1993) and Wales: A Question for History (1988) – books in which artificial discipline boundaries are deliberately broken down. For television, he has presented and scripted a number of award-winning documentaries and, as a broadcaster, sought to deepen popular appreciation of Welsh culture and history.
Recent Publications:
Dai Smith's most recent publication is the major authorised biography of Raymond Williams, Raymond Williams: A Warrior's Tale (2008) which was selected as 'biography of the year' by Archbishop Rowan Williams. Raymond Williams is Wales’ most influential 20th Century intellectual figure whose papers will be deposited in University of Wales, Swansea and he has begun research into key aspects of the cultural and creative history of Wales since 1945.
In December 2010 he launched his latest book, In the Frame: Memory in Society 1910-2010, at an event attended by Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Education. To read Leighton Andrew's address click here.