Rediscutindo o anarquismo e o sindicalism, com palestra com Lucien van der Walt
Rio de Janiero
Quando: Sábado, dia 06/11 às 14h. Onde: Centro de Cultura Social: Rua Torres Homem 790, Vila Isabel, Telefone: 2520-7101.
Favor ajudar a repassar
***
Sunday, October 31, 2010
[Rio de Janiero] Rediscutindo o Anarquismo e o Sindicalismo, "BLACK FLAME", Sábado, dia 06/11 às 14h
[RJ] CELIP convida: Rediscutindo o Anarquismo e o Sindicalismo
Onde: Centro de Cultura Social: Rua Torres Homem 790, Vila Isabel, Telefone: 2520-7101.
Favor ajudar a repassar
***
Onde: Centro de Cultura Social: Rua Torres Homem 790, Vila Isabel, Telefone: 2520-7101.
Favor ajudar a repassar
***
Thursday, October 28, 2010
São Paulo, Brazil, 3ª feira (feriado), dia 2/11 às 16h30: Rediscutindo o anarquismo e o sindicalism, com palestra com Lucien van der Walt
Favor ajudar a repassar***
Rediscutindoo anarquismo e o sindicalismo
Palestra com Lucien van der Walt
São Paulo
Quando: 3ª feira (feriado), dia 2/11 às 16h30.
Onde: Ay Carmela: Rua das Carmelitas, 140, Metrô Sé (paralela à Rua do Carmo, travessa da Rua Tabatinguera)
Telefone: 3104-4330.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
BRAZIL: "Black Flame" events, October and November 2010
Black Flame comes to Brazil.
Black Flame co-author Lucien van der Walt will discuss the book at the forthcoming conference "Labour Histories from the Global South", 25-28 October 2010, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, UFSC (Florianópolis, SC, Brazil).
Lucien's book discussion will be part of a panel on new books, Lançamento de Livros, and will take place on Tuesday 26th October, 18:15-19:00, presumably in the Auditório da Reitoria at UFSC. For more on the conference, see here.
Lucien will also be presenting a paper at this conference, on “Indian revolutionary syndicalists in Durban, South Africa, 1915-1921: race, class and Indian Ocean networks”. This is provisionally scheduled for the 7pm session in the Auditório da Reitoria on Monday 25th October.
There will also be Black Flame events in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in the week of 1-6 November.
Copies of the book will be on sale at all events.
Black Flame co-author Lucien van der Walt will discuss the book at the forthcoming conference "Labour Histories from the Global South", 25-28 October 2010, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, UFSC (Florianópolis, SC, Brazil).
Lucien's book discussion will be part of a panel on new books, Lançamento de Livros, and will take place on Tuesday 26th October, 18:15-19:00, presumably in the Auditório da Reitoria at UFSC. For more on the conference, see here.
Lucien will also be presenting a paper at this conference, on “Indian revolutionary syndicalists in Durban, South Africa, 1915-1921: race, class and Indian Ocean networks”. This is provisionally scheduled for the 7pm session in the Auditório da Reitoria on Monday 25th October.
There will also be Black Flame events in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in the week of 1-6 November.
Copies of the book will be on sale at all events.
 |
| A march by Brazil's Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra - MST). |
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Modern anarchism: report on Michael's tour of Canada
Modern Anarchism
On Monday, South African journalist and author Michael Schmidt delivered a lecture at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he discussed the influence of social anarchism and syndicalism on labour structures and class movements.
Schmidt’s talk focused on the tradition of anarchism as presented in his book Black Flame (Counter-power, Volume 1), which he co-wrote with Lucien van der Walt, a professor at the University of Witwatersrand.
“We actually wound up with a much broader tradition than we expected,” said Schmidt. Black Flame analyzes the impact of anarchy around the world in the last 150 years, beginning with what Schmidt identified as its first wave from 1867 to 1894.
Schmidt exemplified later movements that had a greater impact on class and labour structures with the development of an international union called the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
The formation of the IWW – whose power peaked in the 1920s – is one of several “organized industrial trade unions [viewed] as a radical working class movement,” according to Schmidt.
Schmidt attributed the growth of what began as a maritime application to syndicalism with the growth of the IWW.
“Through seafaring members of the IWW and returning immigrants, the idea of industrial unionism spread to Australia, Latin America and Europe.” Finally, Schmidt explained that anarchism today is in the form of anti-capitalist movements.
He concluded by quoting an edition of the New York Times: “Anarchism remains an idea that will not die.”
On Monday, South African journalist and author Michael Schmidt delivered a lecture at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he discussed the influence of social anarchism and syndicalism on labour structures and class movements.
Schmidt’s talk focused on the tradition of anarchism as presented in his book Black Flame (Counter-power, Volume 1), which he co-wrote with Lucien van der Walt, a professor at the University of Witwatersrand.
“We actually wound up with a much broader tradition than we expected,” said Schmidt. Black Flame analyzes the impact of anarchy around the world in the last 150 years, beginning with what Schmidt identified as its first wave from 1867 to 1894.
Schmidt exemplified later movements that had a greater impact on class and labour structures with the development of an international union called the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
The formation of the IWW – whose power peaked in the 1920s – is one of several “organized industrial trade unions [viewed] as a radical working class movement,” according to Schmidt.
Schmidt attributed the growth of what began as a maritime application to syndicalism with the growth of the IWW.
“Through seafaring members of the IWW and returning immigrants, the idea of industrial unionism spread to Australia, Latin America and Europe.” Finally, Schmidt explained that anarchism today is in the form of anti-capitalist movements.
He concluded by quoting an edition of the New York Times: “Anarchism remains an idea that will not die.”
Friday, October 1, 2010
Grahamstown "Black Flame" seminar, Wed. 6 Oct., Rhodes Sociology, Eastern Cape
Grahamstown seminar, Wed. 6 Oct. -> 'Black Flame: the revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism', @ Rhodes Sociology, Eastern Cape
RHODES UNIVERSITY, GRAHAMSTOWN, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
The Faculty of Humanities together with the Department of Sociology invite you to attend the following seminar :
"Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics Of Anarchism And Syndicalism"
PRESENTED BY: Lucien van der Walt & Michael Schmidt
DISCUSSANT: Dr Kirk Helliker, Sociology Dpt.
VENUE: Faculty of Humanities Seminar Room, cnr Prince Alfred and Somerset Street, Grahamstown
TIME: 06 October 2010 @ 5pm
RHODES UNIVERSITY, GRAHAMSTOWN, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
The Faculty of Humanities together with the Department of Sociology invite you to attend the following seminar :
"Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics Of Anarchism And Syndicalism"
PRESENTED BY: Lucien van der Walt & Michael Schmidt
DISCUSSANT: Dr Kirk Helliker, Sociology Dpt.
VENUE: Faculty of Humanities Seminar Room, cnr Prince Alfred and Somerset Street, Grahamstown
TIME: 06 October 2010 @ 5pm
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Nice review in "Ideas and Action" by Nate Hawthorne (and a response or two)
Nate Hawthorn, writing in the most recent Ideas and Action, a North American anarcho-syndicalist paper, says the following in a a review with the wonderful title "Let’s Talk About Another Burning Color: Black Flame vs. Red Fire Extinguisher?"
"The book is so good that every anarchist should read it and set up discussion groups on it. The organization I belong to, the Workers Solidarity Alliance, and our sister organizations should hold speaking events for this book, where we present its main arguments and encourage people to read it. We should also discuss the book more in our movements’ publications, both carrying out further analysis using the book’s framework as well as debating the framework. I mean all this sincerely: go read the book".
Every rose has some thorns, of course, and here's some from Nate's paper: "At the same time, in this article I’m going to talk about one area where the book is not as good, which is Black Flame’s treatment of marxism". He argues we need to engage with libertarian Marxists, and treat Marxism too harshly and crudely.
A small reply:
We will do a formal response in Ideas and Action soon (ish), but its worth stressing that we do agree that libertarian Marxists have a lot in common with anarchists, and that there should be a discussion - although not a synthesis - between the two. However, there is no getting around the fact that the "classical Marxism" that Black Flame discusses is far and away the the main current in Marxism, comprising most of Marxist history, most Marxists and (of course) every single Marxist regime. And Marx's "public persona" (Black Flame, p. 93) stressed precisely the determinism (pp. 93-4) and statism upon which these regimes drew (pp. 23-24, 88). We're for a historical - which means properly balanced - view of Marxism, not the view that all Marxisms are equally worthy of discsussion.
"The book is so good that every anarchist should read it and set up discussion groups on it. The organization I belong to, the Workers Solidarity Alliance, and our sister organizations should hold speaking events for this book, where we present its main arguments and encourage people to read it. We should also discuss the book more in our movements’ publications, both carrying out further analysis using the book’s framework as well as debating the framework. I mean all this sincerely: go read the book".
Every rose has some thorns, of course, and here's some from Nate's paper: "At the same time, in this article I’m going to talk about one area where the book is not as good, which is Black Flame’s treatment of marxism". He argues we need to engage with libertarian Marxists, and treat Marxism too harshly and crudely.
A small reply:
We will do a formal response in Ideas and Action soon (ish), but its worth stressing that we do agree that libertarian Marxists have a lot in common with anarchists, and that there should be a discussion - although not a synthesis - between the two. However, there is no getting around the fact that the "classical Marxism" that Black Flame discusses is far and away the the main current in Marxism, comprising most of Marxist history, most Marxists and (of course) every single Marxist regime. And Marx's "public persona" (Black Flame, p. 93) stressed precisely the determinism (pp. 93-4) and statism upon which these regimes drew (pp. 23-24, 88). We're for a historical - which means properly balanced - view of Marxism, not the view that all Marxisms are equally worthy of discsussion.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
EXCHANGE on "Black Flame" between Spencer Sunshine and the authors, in recent "Anarchist Studies"
NEW: Italian translation here.
Anarchist Studies, which describes itself as "an inter-disciplinary journal of scholarly research into the history, culture and theory of anarchism", recently carried a critical review of Black Flame by Spencer Sunshine. The authors were permitted to write a reply, which addressed some of the issues raised by Sunshine.
In summary, Sunshine's review praised Black Flame for "the best assemblage of research I have encountered on classical anarchism’s complex relationship to questions of nationalism, imperialism and race", and its "stress on the rich anarchist and syndicalist traditions in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean," "a ‘crucial corrective to Eurocentric accounts’". However, he also claimed the book was "infuriating", since it had a "highly unusual" definition of anarchism (i.e. anarchism as a form of libertarian socialism), leading to the exclusion of the (so-called) "philosophical, individualist, spiritual and ‘lifestyle’ traditions" (supposedly the "majority" of today's anarchists).
In response, Lucien van der Walt noted that Sunshine provided no serious evidence to refute the book's core theses e.g. that the global anarchist movement emerged in the First International, that syndicalism is an integral part ... that this tradition centres on rationalism, socialism and anti-authoritarianism ... the writings of Mikhail Bakunin and Pyotr Kropotkin ... and that this ‘narrow’ definition is both empirically defensible and analytically useful". In presenting the book's view of anarchism as a "highly unusual", he ended up having to present the views of pretty much all major anarchists and syndicalist activists and movements as "highly unusual" forms of anarchism, and to do this through the use of loaded rhetoric.
Anarchist Studies, which describes itself as "an inter-disciplinary journal of scholarly research into the history, culture and theory of anarchism", recently carried a critical review of Black Flame by Spencer Sunshine. The authors were permitted to write a reply, which addressed some of the issues raised by Sunshine.
In summary, Sunshine's review praised Black Flame for "the best assemblage of research I have encountered on classical anarchism’s complex relationship to questions of nationalism, imperialism and race", and its "stress on the rich anarchist and syndicalist traditions in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean," "a ‘crucial corrective to Eurocentric accounts’". However, he also claimed the book was "infuriating", since it had a "highly unusual" definition of anarchism (i.e. anarchism as a form of libertarian socialism), leading to the exclusion of the (so-called) "philosophical, individualist, spiritual and ‘lifestyle’ traditions" (supposedly the "majority" of today's anarchists).
In response, Lucien van der Walt noted that Sunshine provided no serious evidence to refute the book's core theses e.g. that the global anarchist movement emerged in the First International, that syndicalism is an integral part ... that this tradition centres on rationalism, socialism and anti-authoritarianism ... the writings of Mikhail Bakunin and Pyotr Kropotkin ... and that this ‘narrow’ definition is both empirically defensible and analytically useful". In presenting the book's view of anarchism as a "highly unusual", he ended up having to present the views of pretty much all major anarchists and syndicalist activists and movements as "highly unusual" forms of anarchism, and to do this through the use of loaded rhetoric.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
VIDEO: Michael Schmidt, "Black Flame" co-author, speaks in Canada, 2010
Michael Schmidt, co-author of Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism, talks to an audience at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario in March 2010. The talk was presented by Common Cause and AK Press.
Go here.
Go here.
From a new review in the "South African Journal of Philisophy" (extracts)
Ian Liebenberg and Petrus de Kock, " Review Article: Transforming the state away from the State? Radical social action and ‘minority attractions’ under scrutiny", South African Journal of Philosophy, 2010, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 195-208
"Anyone interested in the theory and socio-philosophical background to anarchism and syndicalism will find the Black Flame an active reflective utterance and a valuable reference work for some years to come ... despite ‘multiple deaths’, anarchist philosophy and action still manifests itself [and] forms part of and influences social movements that continue to utter a radical “No!” to centralist power, global capitalism and economic exploitation, ecological destruction included".
"Anyone interested in the theory and socio-philosophical background to anarchism and syndicalism will find the Black Flame an active reflective utterance and a valuable reference work for some years to come ... despite ‘multiple deaths’, anarchist philosophy and action still manifests itself [and] forms part of and influences social movements that continue to utter a radical “No!” to centralist power, global capitalism and economic exploitation, ecological destruction included".
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Jozi Book Fair event: BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism, SUN 8 August @ 3 pm
Jozi Book Fair event:
BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism, SUN 8 August @ 3 pm
JOZI BOOK FAIR 2010
http://www.jozibookfair.org.za/
BOOK LAUNCH/ EVENT
BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism
Lucien van der Walt & Michael Schmidt
'Black Flame' examines the anti-authoritarian class politics of the anarchist/syndicalist movement, and its 150 years of popular struggle on five continents.
BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism, SUN 8 August @ 3 pm
JOZI BOOK FAIR 2010
http://www.jozibookfair.org.za/
BOOK LAUNCH/ EVENT
BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism
Lucien van der Walt & Michael Schmidt
'Black Flame' examines the anti-authoritarian class politics of the anarchist/syndicalist movement, and its 150 years of popular struggle on five continents.
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