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Friday 14 April 2023
14.00 - 16.00
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CUL02
Anarchist and Anti-Authoritarian Cultural Politics in Europe and the Americas, Late 1800s-Late 1900s
Västra Hamngatan 25 AK2 136 (Z)
Network:
Culture
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Chair:
Kirwin Shaffer
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Organizer:
Kirwin Shaffer
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Discussant:
Rosalía Romero
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Allan Antliff :
Cosmopolitan Anarchy—Ananda Coomarswamy on Walt Whitman
In 1919, the April-May issue of the anarchist Modern School journal was given over to celebrating the life and legacy of American poet Walt Whitman (b. May 13, 1819). Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Whitman’s birth, the issue led off with “Whitman as Prophet,” by Indian anarchist, art historian, and ... (Show more)In 1919, the April-May issue of the anarchist Modern School journal was given over to celebrating the life and legacy of American poet Walt Whitman (b. May 13, 1819). Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Whitman’s birth, the issue led off with “Whitman as Prophet,” by Indian anarchist, art historian, and anti-colonial agitator Ananda Coomaraswamy. My talk explores how Coomarawamy framed Whitman as a “cosmopolitan” revolutionary fomenting “idealistic individualism,” an anarchist spirituality that bridged the cultural and political divisions of “East and West.” Challenging American nationalism and with an expansive vision of self-liberation, Whitman, according to Coomarswamy, was the “prophetic” embodiment of a way of being antithetical to puritanical sexuality, capitalist acquisitiveness, and the anthropocentrism undergirding the West’s industrial exploitation of the natural world. In sum, Whitman heralded the potential for global transformation across multiple divides. (Show less)
Constance Bantman :
Anarchist Cultural Politics in France before 1914 and its Global Dissemination
This paper will probe the extent and some of the limitations of artistic circulations in the global anarchist movement before 1914, by examining the cultural politics orchestrated by the French periodicals La Révolte (1887-1894) and Les Temps Nouveaux (1895- 1914) and their editor, Jean Grave. It will start by restating the ... (Show more)This paper will probe the extent and some of the limitations of artistic circulations in the global anarchist movement before 1914, by examining the cultural politics orchestrated by the French periodicals La Révolte (1887-1894) and Les Temps Nouveaux (1895- 1914) and their editor, Jean Grave. It will start by restating the fundamental importance of print circulations in the global anarchist diaspora, and the innovative cultural politics and pedagogical art practices initiated by anarchist periodicals, and in particular Grave and his publications. The importance of some key literary and visual circulations will be stressed – from the plays of the French playwright Octave Mirbeau to illustrated pamphlet covers by a host of neo-impressionist artists. These were instrumental in building anarchist ideas, practices, culture and communities across borders, while representing an important dimension of French anarchism. Nonetheless, some limitations must also be underlined: first, in the viral print culture of anarchism, textual circulations were far more significant than pictorial ones, which in turn was a defining feature of the French and global anarchist movement. Secondly, the notion of global circulations will be qualified, by highlighting some of the circuits within which they operated. The overall argument will contribute to a better-defined sense of the nature, contents and paths of anarchism’s global cultural politics, which remains a blind spot in the study of anarchist transnationalism. (Show less)
Montse Feu :
Antifascist Graphic Art in U.S. Hispanic Periodicals (1936-1975)
The Antifascist graphic art in U.S. Hispanic Periodicals reported on European Fascism with information provided by undercover and global networks of dissidence. Transcending textual language barriers, visual satirical commentary communicated with transnational popular cultures and maintained anarchist and socialist sensibilities through print culture. Graphic art was a cognitive and emotional ... (Show more)The Antifascist graphic art in U.S. Hispanic Periodicals reported on European Fascism with information provided by undercover and global networks of dissidence. Transcending textual language barriers, visual satirical commentary communicated with transnational popular cultures and maintained anarchist and socialist sensibilities through print culture. Graphic art was a cognitive and emotional tool that disrupted the violent uniformity of fascism and engaged readers in affectively learn about individual and collective experiences. Artwork mocked the many facets of Fascist Spain: the imperial rhetoric, the military life, the Spanish fascist party Falange, the cult of the unique leader, National Catholicism, censorship, the control of the population, and the socialization of youth. Furthermore, this rich visual language exposed Francisco Franco’s anti- intellectualism, elitism, corruption, and demagogic propaganda; therefore, political cartoons contested the US Cold War narrative about Francisco Franco’s Spain as an ally of world peace and Christianity. Satire and playfulness of art amused readers while challenging their established perception of the world. This rich artistic production also exposed the monarchic alliances and world diplomatic relations with Franco’s Spain, disseminated the work done by the antifascist resistance, and humanized victims of Fascism. This presentation recovers artists and works that facilitated the disclosure of complex and uncomfortable information published in U.S. antifascist periodicals. The visual culture discussed in this presentation is available in the digital humanities project Fighting Fascist Spain – The Exhibits to scholars and the public. The collection and interpretative exhibits have a post-custodial approach with the goal to recover, preserve, interpret, and make available US Hispanic antifascist culture. (Show less)
María Migueláñez Martínez :
Anarchist Publishing in the Americas. Strategies, Rhythms of Production, and Cross-border Circulation of Books and Knowledge in the Continental Libertarian Movement (1890-1910)
This presentation explores the work of printing anarchist books and pamphlets from the 1890s to the 1910s as cultural work that was central to the development of the anarchist movement in two fundamental ways: elevating the literacy of the workers for whom these readings were printed and the creation ... (Show more)This presentation explores the work of printing anarchist books and pamphlets from the 1890s to the 1910s as cultural work that was central to the development of the anarchist movement in two fundamental ways: elevating the literacy of the workers for whom these readings were printed and the creation of the first Latin American anarchist publishing companies. The presentation not only will highlight the nuances of publishing cultural work but also explore transatlantic and Circum-Latin American libertarian publishing practices, including the work of translators and their works of translation for a Spanish-reading audience. Such an analysis also reveals the continental and trans- Atlantic process of the circulation of anarchist knowledge, culture, and ideas. The cultural transfers of the anarchist publishing process are analyzed from a multifocal perspective, that is, the importance of the large printing nuclei of the American port cities is recognized, while other lesser-known geographies are explored, which were also active, in a heterogeneous and decentralized way, in the printing of books and anarchist pamphlets. (Show less)
Louie Dean Valencia :
Acting Up in Post-Franco Spain: Dismantling the Queerphobic State during the HIV/AIDS Crisis
In 1981, Spain’s young democracy (built of “autonomous communities”) was both under threat with an attempted coup d'état by military officers of the Franco dictatorship as well as an emerging AIDS crisis. Young activists, drawing from traditions abroad and locally, mobilised to take to the streets and bars to move ... (Show more)In 1981, Spain’s young democracy (built of “autonomous communities”) was both under threat with an attempted coup d'état by military officers of the Franco dictatorship as well as an emerging AIDS crisis. Young activists, drawing from traditions abroad and locally, mobilised to take to the streets and bars to move entrenched bureaucrats and health services to act. This paper especially explores the ways young activists in Spain used cultural productions to build networks, challenge authority, and actively work to dismantle queerphobic elements of the Francoist state to address a pandemic that primarily affected queer people, drug users, migrants, and those otherwise too often ignored by the state by looking at specific sites of resistance in urban spaces. (Show less)
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