Working Together examines the historical legacy and contemporary relevance of British film collectives in the 1970s. The book contains interviews with filmmakers, newly commissioned essays by theorists and a wide variety of historical archive material. Featuring the work of Cinema Action, The Berwick Street Film Collective and The London Women's Film Group among others
In this presentation of contemporary and critical assessments of Leon Trotsky, many of the writings have never previously been published in English, while others have not reappeared since their first publication. Much of the featured material argues, among other things, that Trotsky's views on events were skewed through the prism of the experience of the October Revolution and the factional debates within the Soviet Communist Party, and that this seriously impaired his strategic and tactical acumen, especially in respect of the Spanish Civil War. Included in this collection are: Boris Souvarine's lengthy letter to Trotsky, articles on Trotsky from the German Communist Party (Opposition), Jay Lovestone on Trotsky and Soviet foreign policy, a Christian socialist critique of "The Revolution Betrayed" and defense of the Moscow Trials, and an anarchist critique of Trotskyism and the Spanish Civil War. In publishing the "other side" of the arguments, this issue of Revolutionary History" "series is continuing in its role of developing an understanding of key historical events and encouraging discussion of the past within today's socialist movement.
Synthetics, Sensism and the Environment
Focusing on the history and decline of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), this book explores its impact on the Northeast of England, particularly Middlesbrough. Utilizing company archives, oral histories, and social media, it examines the social, environmental, and cultural consequences of ICI's presence and eventual absence. The narrative weaves in themes of industrial innovation, the production of Quorn, and the effects of industrial disease, encouraging creative reflections on the intertwined lives of people and synthetic chemicals, alongside speculative and science fiction elements.
While it is responsible for today’s abundance of flat screens—on televisions, computers, and mobile devices—most of us have only heard of it in the ubiquitous acronym, LCD, with little thought as to exactly what it is: liquid crystal. In this book, Esther Leslie enlightens us, offering an accessible and fascinating look at—not a substance, not a technology—but a wholly different phase of matter. As she explains, liquid crystal is a curious material phase that organizes a substance’s molecules in a crystalline form yet allows them to move fluidly like water. Observed since the nineteenth century, this phase has been a deep curiosity to science and, in more recent times, the key to a new era of media technology. In between that time, as Leslie shows, it has figured in cultural forms from Romantic landscape painting to snow globes, from mountaineering to eco-disasters, and from touchscreen devices to DNA. Expertly written but accessible, Liquid Crystals recounts the unheralded but hugely significant emergence of this unique form of matter.
This work offers valuable insights into the ideas and influence of a significant thinker of the past century. It delves into their original contributions, enhancing our comprehension of their impact on contemporary thought and culture. Through critical analysis, the book sheds light on the complexities of their philosophy and legacy, making it an essential read for those interested in intellectual history and theory.
Brings to light the links between animation, avant-garde art and modernist criticism. Focusing on the work of aesthetic and political revolutionaries of the inter-war period, reveals how the animation of commodities can be studied as a journey into modernity in cinema.
Walter Benjamin, critic, essayist, translator, philosopher one of the twentieth century's most influential intellectuals continues to intrigue. This book acknowledges Benjamin's thesis that personal histories can be traced only in the context of social milieus, economic forces, technological shifts, and historical events.