Preliminary Programme

Tue 13 April
    8.30
    10.45
    14.15
    16.30

Wed 14 April
    8.30
    10.45
    14.15
    16.30

Thu 15 April
    8.30
    10.45
    14.15
    16.30

Fri 16 April
    8.30
    10.45
    14.15
    16.30

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Tuesday 13 April 2010 16.30
D-4 LAB03 Politics and violence: 20th century Communism
Artiestenfoyer, muziekcentrum
Network: Labour Chair: Matthew Worley
Organizer: Matthew Worley Discussant: Kevin Morgan
Marco Albeltaro : Communism and violence in Italy 1921-1948
The persistance of violence in the Italian social conflicts since the end of 19th Century
Violence and social turmoil in the "red years" 1919-1920
Communism and violence vs. Fascism: spontaneous and organized forms of resistance (the "Arditi del Popolo")
Violence vs. mass action in the struggle against the Fascist dictatorship
The Second World War ... (Show more)
The persistance of violence in the Italian social conflicts since the end of 19th Century
Violence and social turmoil in the "red years" 1919-1920
Communism and violence vs. Fascism: spontaneous and organized forms of resistance (the "Arditi del Popolo")
Violence vs. mass action in the struggle against the Fascist dictatorship
The Second World War and Resistance: Nazi-fascist violence and the use of terrorist action
The post war-years: the aftermaths of the civil war
The last insurgence: mass reaction and violence after the attempt on Togliatti's life. (Show less)

Sylvain Boulouque : French communist party and political violence
is comming soon

Nigel Copsey : Transatlantic Perspectives on Anti-Fascism: Communists and the Anti-Fascist Struggle in Inter-War Britain and the United States
This paper compares the respective roles of the Communist parties in Britain (CPGB) and the USA (CPUSA) in the anti-fascist campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s. Although anti-fascist movements in both countries extended beyond the radical Left, Communists were most synonymous with the anti-fascist cause. By examining how Communist anti-fascism ... (Show more)
This paper compares the respective roles of the Communist parties in Britain (CPGB) and the USA (CPUSA) in the anti-fascist campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s. Although anti-fascist movements in both countries extended beyond the radical Left, Communists were most synonymous with the anti-fascist cause. By examining how Communist anti-fascism operated in different national contexts, this paper probes the similarities and peculiarities of experience. A transatlantic perspective puts the paradigm of Communist uniformity associated with the Comintern to the test, as well as notions of Anglo-American exceptionalism. Key points for comparison are 1) terms of engagement with anti-fascist campaigns 2) anti-fascist strategy, particularly the place of political violence 3) the extent to which both parties slavishly followed Moscow 4) the extent to which campaigns were defined by indigenous factors 5) relative impact. (Show less)

Andreas Wirsching : Violence as discourse: For a 'linguistic turn' in communist history
This paper proposes the widening of communist history through a perspective informed by discourse theory. From such a perspective, communist language formed an important frame of reference. Thus, the communist movement of the interwar period may be considered as a communication process involving equally the parties’ vanguard and rank and ... (Show more)
This paper proposes the widening of communist history through a perspective informed by discourse theory. From such a perspective, communist language formed an important frame of reference. Thus, the communist movement of the interwar period may be considered as a communication process involving equally the parties’ vanguard and rank and file. An appreciation of the mechanisms of this communication process would contribute to a better understanding of recent research questions, such as the problem of the exact nature of the relationship between party centres in Moscow or Berlin and the social practice of ‚ordinary‘ members. Regarding communist language as an object of research in its own right will avoid both the static separation of ideology and practice and an inadequate concentration on ideology and propaganda.

There are few fields of research where the methods of discourse analysis may be applied with better chances of success than the history of (communist) violence. For, between the wars, language was by far the most important medium for the construction and coding of concepts of 'the enemy', and more than two decades after the 'linguistic turn' the impact of language as a complex system of political, social and cultural meaning should be taken seriously. Starting from Foucauldian categories and taking the history of the KPD during the Weimar Republic as an example, this paper suggests an analysis of communist violence that does not separate propaganda from social practice but tries to link together language and action. (Show less)



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