History at the Anarchist Bookfair Saturday 24 October

Radical History Network of North East London will have a stall at the bookfair. Please come and meet us if you are interested in what we do.

There are several meetings on history taking place at the book fair of which, perhaps,the most important will be various different local radical history groups coming together and discussing their activities. (pic above shows the cartoon used on Radical History Network's cover for the pamphlet on the NHS published in 2008)


TALKING HISTORY AND MAKING HISTORY - Room EB2 12.00 till 12.50
Celebrating and learning from radical history, linking in to our present and future experience. Is history irrelevant? IS studying the past just avoiding the present? Or can struggles, movements and personalities from 'history' inspire us and offer lessons, ideas and links that persist through time. A chance for people involved in anarchist or radical history projects, and anyone else interested, to swap and share their ideas, experiences and motives of using the past to reinvigorate and inform the present and transform the future.

Gustav Landauer, Erich Muhsam and the German Revolution of 1918-1919 - Room EB4 17.00 till 18.00
Gustav Landauer (1870-1919) and Erich Mühsam (1878-1934) arguably remain Germany's most influential anarchists. Both were key figures in the Bavarian Council Republic of 1919, the most ambitious attempt by left-wing radicals to create an egalitarian and socialist society on the ashes of the German Empire. English language material, in particular primary texts by Landauer, Mühsam, and fellow radicals of the era, are scarce. PM Press has now announced a series of publications providing sources that have long remained unavailable. An extensive Gustav Landauer reader will be published in March 2010. An Erich Mühsam reader and a reader on radical currents during the German Revolution will follow in subsequent years. Gabriel Kuhn will give an introduction to Gustav Landauer and Erich Mühsam, discuss German anarchism, and outline the PM Press projects.

Morris Beckman on the fight against fascism after the Second World War - Skeel Lecture Theatre 12.00 - 12.00
Talk about the 43 Group who physically force the fascists of the streets in the 1940s, with a film showing about the group. And also a discussion on the fight against the menace of fascism today.

Peter the Painter and the Siege of Sidney Street - Lecture Room 1 16.00 - 17.00
Who were Peter the Painter and the Latvian socilaists who were involved in the siege

Philosophy and Revolution - organised by Hobgoblin - Room EB2 14.00 till 15.00
Throughout modern history, philosophy has stimulated and influenced revolutionary movements, while revolutions – their achievements, limitations and failures – have posed new problems for philosophy. Our age has been shaped by revolutions that have remained limited or even transformed into opposite. Can dialectical philosophy help us advance towards real human liberation? Join us for a discussion of these issues.

For the full programme at the bookfair go to the Anarchist Bookfair Website