Showing posts with label Black Flame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Flame. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2010


CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ONTARIO:
BLACK FLAME BOOK TOUR:
Molly has previously mentioned the book tour of Ontario and Quebec by author Michael Schmidt to promote his book 'Black Flame:The Revolutionary Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism'. The tour is sponsored by the Ontario platformist organization Common Cause. Here's an update on the stops during the tour.
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“Black Flame” Ontario Book Tour - March 15-21 kicks off tonight!‏
March 15, 2010 3:01:51 PM
South African writer and activist Michael Schmidt, co-author of “Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism” will be in several Ontario cities between March 15 and March 21 to promote and discuss this important new book on the global history of anarchist movements and ideas. The tour, organized by Common Cause with support from AK Press and several local sponsors, is scheduled to pass through the following cities listed below.

To promote the tour Common Cause has also produced a short video which can be seen here and set up a Facebook page. Copies of "Black Flame" will be available for purchase at each tour stop.
March 15
- Waterloo,
4PM to 6PM
School of Business and Economics,
Room 2260
Wilfrid Laurier University
75 University Avenue West
Sponsored the Communication Studies and Global Studies departments.
London - March 16,
2pm to 4pm
Sommerville House Rm. 2348
University of Western Ontario Campus
7pm
Tonda Room, Central Library
251 Dundas St.
March 17 - Hamilton
McMaster University,
12-2pm
MUSC Rooms 311 and 313
1280 Main St. West
Limited seating.
Please RSVP at commoncauseontario@gmail.com
Sponsored by the LIUNA-Mancinelli Professorship in Global Labour Issues and the School of Labour Studies.
Sky Dragon Centre,
7-9pm
27 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
Organized by Common Cause Hamilton
6:30pm
DIRA
2035 St-Laurent
Organized by Common Cause Ontario, the Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) with support from AK Press.
March 19 - Ottawa
two separate times/venues
3:00pm
Desmarais Building room 3120 (DMS),
University of Ottawa
(the newer building at 'Laurier Station' on the Transitway)
7:00pm
Exile Infoshop,
256 Bank St 2nd floor (at corner of Cooper)
Ottawa stops co-sponsored by Common Cause Ottawa, Exile Infoshop, OPIRG/GRIPO-Ottawa and PIDSSA (Univ of Ottawa)
March 20 - Toronto
3:00p.m. - 5:00p.m.
Bahen Centre,
Room 1220,
40 St. George Street(University of Toronto)
Co-sponsored by the Pan African Solidarity Network, CUPE 3902 & 3907, IWW Toronto GMB, and the Work and Labour Studies Program, York University.
For more information contact commoncauseontario@gmail.com and check www.linchpin.ca for updates.
About the book from AK Press:
“Black Flame (Counter-Power, Volume 1) is the first of a two-volume set examining the democratic class politics of the worldwide anarchist movement, its vision of a decentralized planned economy, and its impact on popular struggles on five continents over the course of the past 150 years. From anarchism's first glimmers as a nineteenth-century ideology to today's anticapitalist struggles, Black Flame traces anarchism's lineage and contemporary relevance, outlining the movement's insights into questions of race, gender, class, and imperialism. With Black Flame, Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, both writers and activists in South Africa, have begun what promises to be the definitive synthetic account of the international anarchist tradition. Nearly exhaustive in scope, and rigorous in its scholarly detail, this first volume significantly reframes the work of previous historians and, especially, examines coherent alternatives to Marxist and nationalist approaches to revolutionary theory and practice. An indispensable conceptual roadmap to the history and continuing relevance of anarchist praxis
Reviews:
“In recent years, there has been an upsurge in class struggle anarchism or social anarchism. In these circumstances, there is a need for a clear and more forceful theoretical statement of principles, and Black Flame serves as an excellent opening statement of the relevance of class struggles anarchism in a twenty-first century context...this book is an impressive introduction to the history of anarchist theory and anarchist movements.” Sean Benjamin, Upping the Anti no. 9, November 2009.

"This highly worthwhile book represents the fruit of considerable scholarship and deep reflection. The authors have done a remarkable job in drawing together a vast international body of literature. They show convincingly that anarchism and syndicalism were far more significant political forces in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century world than historians have generally given them credit for. They provide excellent accounts of the movement's global political reach, supported by an impressive knowledge of disparate literatures. Schmidt and van der Walt also make a powerful and lucidly written case for anarchism as a serious and coherent political philosophy." —Jonathan Hyslop, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
"This book fulfills a daunting task. Covering anarchism in all parts of the world and emphatically tying it to class struggle, the authors present a highly original and challenging account of the movement, its actions and ideas. This work is a must for everybody interested in non-authoritarian social movements." —Bert Altena, Rotterdam University

"A well-thought out and nuanced study of the intellectual, political, and social history of anarchism." —Steven Hirsch, University of Pittsburgh
About the authors:
Michael Schmidt is a Johannesburg-based investigative journalist and journalism trainer, with more than twenty years experience in the field as a reporter for South Africa's leading newspapers including the Sunday Times and This Day, and as a co-editor of the anarchist news and analysis website anarkismo.net. A seasoned activist, his work has taken him to Chiapas, to Guatemala during the civil war, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Darfur, Lebanon, and beyond.

Lucien van der Walt is based at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he teaches in development, economic sociology, and labor studies. His recently completed PhD on the history of anarchism and syndicalism in early twentieth-century South Africa was awarded the prestigious Labor History international prize for the best doctoral thesis of 2007. He has written and lectured widely on contemporary working-class struggles and the relationship between race and class, and, together with Steven Hirsch, he is the editor of the forthcoming volume, Anarchism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1880-1940 (Brill 2009).
-- Common Cause
P.O. Box 347,
Station E
772 Dovercourt Rd.
Toronto, ON,
Canada,
M6H 4E3
Email:
Web:
Online Forum:

Wednesday, March 10, 2010



MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MONTRÉAL:
MICHAEL SCHMIDT TOUR-CONFÉRENCE EN MONTRÉAL/MICHAEL SCHMIDT TOUR MEETING IN MONTRÉAL:
Molly a été mentionné précédemment la tournée livre pour promouvoir > en Ontario. Il y aura également une réunion à Montréal. Voici nouvelles du le blog Voix De Faits.
Molly has previously mentioned the book tour to promote 'Black Flame' in Ontario. There will also be a meeting in Montréal. Here's the news from the Voix De Faits blog.
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De la visite sud-africaine à Montréal
Pour les gens de Montréal, une activité qui risque fort d'être intéressante (tiré du blogue La Commune).
Black Flame tour-Conférence montréalaise avec l'auteur Michael Schmidt.
L'UCL-Montréal vous convie à une conférence de l'auteur sud-africain Michael Schmidt qui présentera son livre Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism. La tournée ontarienne organisée par nos camarades de Common Cause s'arrêtera pour une seule conférence au Québec. La conférence montréalaise organisée par l'UCL aura lieu vendredi le 19 mars. Nous aurons plus de détails à vous fournir dans les prochains jours. Inscrivez donc cette soirée dès maintenant à votre agenda...
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The South African Visit to Montréal
For the people in Montreal, an activity that is likely to be interesting (from the La Commune blog).
Black Flame Montreal conference tour with author Michael Schmidt.
The UCL-Montréal invites you to a conference with the South African writer Michael Schmidt, who will present his book Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism. The Ontario tour organized by our comrades of Common Cause will stop for a single conference in Québec. The Montreal conference organized by the UCL will be held Friday, March 19. We'll have more details for you in the coming days. Mark this evening now on your calendar ...

Tuesday, March 09, 2010


INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT - SOUTH AFRICA:
BLACK FLAME: CAPE TOWN LAUNCH:
This is one book that is sure to become immensely influential in the international anarchist movement in years to come. What it may be styled as is something of a manifesto of international class struggle anarchism in opposition to many of the the distortions of anarchism that have been promulgated by both its opponents and some who claim to be "anarchists", particularly in the USA. I can't say that I agree with everything the authors say, especially as I am a rather convinced gradualist who sees the benefit in the cooperative model of mutualism (one thing that the authors attempt to "read out" of the mainstream of anarchism, with at least some justification). Still, I find it interesting that the anti-social wing of those who like to call themselves anarchist have yet to launch one of their usual vituperative attacks. Maybe I am missing something as I am not a member of the cult and don't follow the cult writings very closely.
Still, what the authors have done is impressive, whether I agree with all of it or not. To put forward a rational basis for the international anarchist movement based on the actual struggles of real people and showing how this has manifested itself across the world is a great achievement. Personally I am still in the process of reading the book. One of the authors, Michael Schmidt, is presently engaged in a book promotion tour of Ontario and Quebec, as has been mentioned previously on this blog.The book has been launched before in numerous countries across the world, including in the authors' native country of South Africa.
Here's an announcement of yet another book launch in South Africa, this time in the city of Cape Town. From the Anarkismo website:
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Cape Town Launch of 'Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism'
The Book Lounge presents the Cape Town launch of 'BLACK FLAME: revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism' by 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 5 continents. An indispensable conceptual and historical road map, with close attention to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, looking at its:
* Opposition to hierarchy, capitalism and the state
* Strategy: building revolutionary counter-power
* History: labour, community, anti-imperialism
* Agenda: participatory, cooperative economics
* Revolutions: Mexico, Spain, Ukraine, Korea
* Revival: today's struggles

This groundbreaking volume has been praised by reviewers as "deeply impressive", "fascinating, revealing and often startling", "a grand work of synthesis", "remarkable" "outstanding", "inspired" and "a welcome antidote to Eurocentric accounts".
THURSDAY 11 MARCH 2010 @ 5.30 for 6.00
The Book Lounge, 71 Roeland Street (corner of Buitenkant), Cape Town
ALL WELCOME!
With thanks to Leopard's Leap Wines.Please RSVP to booklounge@gmail.com
021 462 2425.
MORE INFO:
The LAUNCH POSTER:

Wednesday, March 03, 2010


CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-ONTARIO:
'BLACK FLAME' AUTHOR ONTARIO TOUR:
The Ontario platformist organization Common Cause, along with other allies are sponsoring an Ontario book tour by the South African author of the new and acclaimed book 'Black Flame'. Here are the details from their website, supplemented with further information from the Ontario section of the Anarchist Black Cat discussion board. There is also a Facebook page for the tour which has a link to a short video and also an excerpt from the book.



Black Flame attempts to place the history and theory of anarchism squarely in the mass movements of class struggle and also gives a wealth of detail about non-European movements that have achieved perhaps as great success as the more commonly known European ones have. Well worth the read. If you live in Ontario try and see this fascinating author.
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Common Cause organizes "Black Flame" Ontario book tour:

South African writer and activist Michael Schmidt, co-author of “Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism” will be in several Ontario cities between March 15 and March 21 to promote and discuss this important new book on the global history of anarchist movements and ideas. The tour, organized by Common Cause with support from AK Press and several local sponsors, is scheduled to pass through the following cities listed below. To promote the tour Common Cause has also produced a short video which can be seen here

March 15 - Waterloo,
4PM to 6PM
School of Business and Economics, Room 2260
Wilfrid Laurier University
75 University Avenue West
Sponsored the Communication Studies and Global Studies departments.
March 16 - London
March 17 - Hamilton
1)McMaster University,
12-2pm
MUSC Rooms 311 and 313
1280 Main St. West
Limited seating.
2)Sky Dragon Centre,
7-9pm
27 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
Organized by Common Cause Hamilton
March 18 - Montreal
March 19 - Ottawa
March 20, 21 - Toronto
Full details to follow soon.
Organized by Common Cause Ontario with support from AK Press.
For more information contact
and check www.linchpin.ca.
About the book from AK Press:
“Black Flame (Counter-Power, Volume 1) is the first of a two-volume set examining the democratic class politics of the worldwide anarchist movement, its vision of a decentralized planned economy, and its impact on popular struggles on five continents over the course of the past 150 years. From anarchism's first glimmers as a nineteenth-century ideology to today's anticapitalist struggles, Black Flame traces anarchism's lineage and contemporary relevance, outlining the movement's insights into questions of race, gender, class, and imperialism. With Black Flame, Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, both writers and activists in South Africa, have begun what promises to be the definitive synthetic account of the international anarchist tradition. Nearly exhaustive in scope, and rigorous in its scholarly detail, this first volume significantly reframes the work of previous historians and, especially, examines coherent alternatives to Marxist and nationalist approaches to revolutionary theory and practice. An indispensable conceptual roadmap to the history and continuing relevance of anarchist praxis
Reviews:
“In recent years, there has been an upsurge in class struggle anarchism or social anarchism. In these circumstances, there is a need for a clear and more forceful theoretical statement of principles, and Black Flame serves as an excellent opening statement of the relevance of class struggles anarchism in a twenty-first century context...this book is an impressive introduction to the history of anarchist theory and anarchist movements.”
-Sean Benjamin,
Upping the Anti no. 9,
November 2009.
"This highly worthwhile book represents the fruit of considerable scholarship and deep reflection. The authors have done a remarkable job in drawing together a vast international body of literature. They show convincingly that anarchism and syndicalism were far more significant political forces in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century world than historians have generally given them credit for. They provide excellent accounts of the movement's global political reach, supported by an impressive knowledge of disparate literatures. Schmidt and van der Walt also make a powerful and lucidly written case for anarchism as a serious and coherent political philosophy."
—Jonathan Hyslop,
University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg
"This book fulfills a daunting task. Covering anarchism in all parts of the world and emphatically tying it to class struggle, the authors present a highly original and challenging account of the movement, its actions and ideas. This work is a must for everybody interested in non-authoritarian social movements."
—Bert Altena,
Rotterdam University
"A well-thought out and nuanced study of the intellectual, political, and social history of anarchism."
—Steven Hirsch,
University of Pittsburgh
About the authors:
Michael Schmidt is a Johannesburg-based investigative journalist and journalism trainer, with more than twenty years experience in the field as a reporter for South Africa's leading newspapers including the Sunday Times and ThisDay, and as a co-editor of the anarchist news and analysis website anarkismo.net. A seasoned activist, his work has taken him to Chiapas, to Guatemala during the civil war, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Darfur, Lebanon, and beyond.
Lucien van der Walt is based at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he teaches in development, economic sociology, and labor studies. His recently completed PhD on the history of anarchism and syndicalism in early twentieth-century South Africa was awarded the prestigious Labor History international prize for the best doctoral thesis of 2007. He has written and lectured widely on contemporary working-class struggles and the relationship between race and class, and, together with Steven Hirsch, he is the editor of the forthcoming volume, Anarchism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1880-1940 (Brill 2009).