Event on CLR James this Sunday
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Michael Stauch
Jul 23, 2010, 7:06:46 PM7/23/10
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What up folks,
wanted to pass along this event on CLR James this weekend. James is especially close to my own heart as a key revolutionary mentor - a dude that held it down over the long haul - so I'm particularly excited about this event.
Some of us are planning on attending and reading James' "Every Cook Can Govern" in preparation for this event. Check it out here if you're interested and I hope to see everyone out on Sunday!
Mike
**Please Forward Widely**
EVERY COOK CAN GOVERN
A Talk on C.L.R. James by Noel Ignatiev
Sunday, July 25th
4:00 PM
3rd Floor Conference Room
Durham County Main Library
300 Roxboro St., Durham, NC
C.L.R. James (1901-1989) was a leading figure in the independence movement in the West Indies, and the black and working-class movements in both Britain and the United States. As a major contributor to Marxist and revolutionary theory, his project was to discover, document, and elaborate the aspects of working-class activity that constitute the revolution in today's world.
In the newly released book A New Notion: Two Works by C.L.R. James, Noel Ignatiev provides an extensive introduction to James' life and thought, then presents two critical works that illustrate the tremendous breadth and depth of James' worldview. "The Invading Socialist Society," for James the fundamental document of his political tendency, shows clearly the power of James’ visionary acumen and its relevance in today’s world. "Every Cook Can Govern" is a short and eminently readable piece counterpoising direct democracy with representative democracy, and getting to the heart of how we should relate to one another. Together these two works represent the principal themes that run through James’s life and works: implacable hostility toward all “condescending saviors” of the working class and undying faith in the power of ordinary people to build a new world.
Noel Ignatiev is the author of How the Irish Became White. He co-edited the journal Race Traitor and its anthology, and edited The Lesson of the Hour: Wendell Phillips on Abolition and Strategy. He teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and recently returned from a year in Lebanon, where he served as the Edward Said Chair of American Studies at American University of Beirut.
Praise for the book and C.L.R. James:
“It would take a person with great confidence, and good judgment, to select from the substantial writings of C.L.R. James just two items to represent the 'principal themes' in James' life and thought. Fortunately, Noel Ignatiev is such a person. With a concise but thorough introduction, Ignatiev sets the stage and C.L.R. James does the rest. In these often confusing times one way to keep one’s head on straight and to chart a clear path to the future is to engage the analytical methods and theoretical insights of C.L.R. James. What you hold in your hands is an excellent starting point.”
---John H. Bracey Jr., professor of African-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and co-editor of Strangers & Neighbors: Relations Between Blacks & Jews in the United States
“C.L.R. James has arguably had a greater influence on the underlying thinking of independence movements in the West Indies and Africa than any living man.” ---Sunday Times
For more information: everycook...@gmail.com
wanted to pass along this event on CLR James this weekend. James is especially close to my own heart as a key revolutionary mentor - a dude that held it down over the long haul - so I'm particularly excited about this event.
Some of us are planning on attending and reading James' "Every Cook Can Govern" in preparation for this event. Check it out here if you're interested and I hope to see everyone out on Sunday!
Mike
**Please Forward Widely**
EVERY COOK CAN GOVERN
A Talk on C.L.R. James by Noel Ignatiev
Sunday, July 25th
4:00 PM
3rd Floor Conference Room
Durham County Main Library
300 Roxboro St., Durham, NC
C.L.R. James (1901-1989) was a leading figure in the independence movement in the West Indies, and the black and working-class movements in both Britain and the United States. As a major contributor to Marxist and revolutionary theory, his project was to discover, document, and elaborate the aspects of working-class activity that constitute the revolution in today's world.
In the newly released book A New Notion: Two Works by C.L.R. James, Noel Ignatiev provides an extensive introduction to James' life and thought, then presents two critical works that illustrate the tremendous breadth and depth of James' worldview. "The Invading Socialist Society," for James the fundamental document of his political tendency, shows clearly the power of James’ visionary acumen and its relevance in today’s world. "Every Cook Can Govern" is a short and eminently readable piece counterpoising direct democracy with representative democracy, and getting to the heart of how we should relate to one another. Together these two works represent the principal themes that run through James’s life and works: implacable hostility toward all “condescending saviors” of the working class and undying faith in the power of ordinary people to build a new world.
Noel Ignatiev is the author of How the Irish Became White. He co-edited the journal Race Traitor and its anthology, and edited The Lesson of the Hour: Wendell Phillips on Abolition and Strategy. He teaches at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and recently returned from a year in Lebanon, where he served as the Edward Said Chair of American Studies at American University of Beirut.
Praise for the book and C.L.R. James:
“It would take a person with great confidence, and good judgment, to select from the substantial writings of C.L.R. James just two items to represent the 'principal themes' in James' life and thought. Fortunately, Noel Ignatiev is such a person. With a concise but thorough introduction, Ignatiev sets the stage and C.L.R. James does the rest. In these often confusing times one way to keep one’s head on straight and to chart a clear path to the future is to engage the analytical methods and theoretical insights of C.L.R. James. What you hold in your hands is an excellent starting point.”
---John H. Bracey Jr., professor of African-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and co-editor of Strangers & Neighbors: Relations Between Blacks & Jews in the United States
“C.L.R. James has arguably had a greater influence on the underlying thinking of independence movements in the West Indies and Africa than any living man.” ---Sunday Times
For more information: everycook...@gmail.com
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