Ruth Rikowski's 20th News Update

RUTH RIKOWSKI
News Update No.20

This Update (as promised) also includes a lot of items. It includes information about a new ejournal, Information, Society and Justice; Mike Cole’s latest book on ‘Marxism and Educational Theory’, more information about the books ‘Full of Volcanoes’ and ‘On Marx’ and the Critical Pedagogy Working Group at Kingston University. There are also a wide variety of other items, including information about book reviews and an exciting musical workshop, leading to the performance of an opera.


1. AN EXPLORATION OF PAULA ALLMAN’S APPROACH (THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL/REVOLUTIONARY PRAXIS) IN HER BOOK ‘ON MARX: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REVOLUTIONARY INTELLECT OF KARL MARX’ (pp. 58-67), SENSE PUBLISHERS: ROTTERDAM: THE NETHERLANDS, ISBN 978 90 8790 192 9 (pbk); 978 90 8790 193 6 (hdbk)
PART OF THE SERIES ‘KEY CRITICAL THINKERS IN EDUCATION’ EDITED BY PROFESSOR MICHAEL PETERS AND TINA (A.C.) BESLEY

I spoke about this very important, albeit slim, book in my last Update (19) – item 4. But here I would like to focus on Paula Allman’s particular contribution, the approach that she adopts in regard to challenging traditional education that I referred to, where Paula focuses on the development of critical/revolutionary praxis through a Marxist approach, and through an application of the whole of Marx’s work. The depth and insightfulness of her writing in this area is breath-taking. It is something that all those that are concerned with the development of humanity through education should take seriously and do whatever they can to try to help to bring to fruition, in however small a way that might be.

Paula explains that the ideas presented in her book ‘On Marx’ are explored more fully in her book Critical Education Against Global Capitalism: Karl Marx and Revolutionary Critical Education, 2001. She very much draws on the work of Marx, Paulo Freire and Antonio Gramsci (having read all the works of these great thinkers in real depth) in this regard and is of the opinion that Freire and Gramsci:

….have gone the furthest in applying Marx in their thinking about educational practice. (2007, p. 58)

Firstly, though, I thought it would be useful to consider the concept of ‘Praxis’. The ‘Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy’, (1994) has this to say:

But it is in Marx that that the concept [praxis] becomes central to the new philosophical ideal of transforming the world through revolutionary activity. The subordination of theory to practice is connected with the inability of reason to solve contradictions, which are instead removed by the dialectical progress of history. Praxis is connected with genuinely free, self-conscious, authentic activity as opposed to the alienated labour demanded under capitalism.

Basically, ‘Praxis’ involves getting theory and practice working together – one feeds off the other, and this way enables significant progress to be made. This is a far more holistic approach, than defining, inventing and applying theory, or largely abandoning theory, and just focusing on practice and action.

In regard to ‘Praxis’ Paula Allman says that it is Marx’s philosophy:

…of internal relations that enabled him to formulate the revolutionary theory of consciousness/praxis which provides the foundational framework for the philosophical approach to education, that is being/becoming and knowledge/knowing… (2007, p. 58-9)

She refers to ‘internal relations’, saying that entities are ‘internally related’ and that they ‘mutually and reciprocally shape and determine one another’ (p. 58). Our sensuous experience and consciousness as human beings is ‘internally related’, and this is also comprised of ‘internally related dialectical contradictions’ (p.59) in capitalism.

Marx’s theory of consciousness shows that unity of thought and sensuous human experience are inseparable. For this reason, it is a ‘theory of praxis’, Paula Allman argues and within this there are 2 very different forms of praxis. One form is uncritical/reproductive praxis, which simply reproduces the “existing socio-economic relations” (p.59), and can help to enhance capitalism. Whilst a critical/revolutionary praxis aims to transform social relations and:

…ultimately to negate the socio-economic relations of capitalism, in order to create the possibility for the harmonious development of all humanity. (p. 59)

This “…opens up possibilities for critical agency in education…[and is]…premised upon an alternative, internally related (unity of) epistemology and ontology.” (p.59)

But in order to understand the alternative theories a general understanding of epistemology and ontology in educational practice and policy is necessary, Paula argues, particularly given the fact that most educators and policy makers do not recognise that these theories are implicit in their thinking. Within this conformist framework, knowledge is often seen as being unchangeable; it is a thing that is acquired and accumulated. It is this knowledge that teachers have to impart to students. Yet, the epistemology and ontology that arises from Marxist thinking is quite different, and as Paula says:

Marx’s epistemology begins with recognising that knowledge is historically specific and also never complete or finished. (p. 60)

Also, within this framework there are dialectical contradictions. Furthermore:

… these internally related contradictions produce mediations, such as the value form, which not only moves between the internally related opposites from which it has originated and the other contradictions that constitute the capitalist system but does so by metaphorising into other forms, such as the commodity, money and capital. (pp. 60-61)

Paula Allman says that with all this constant movement “…knowledge/knowing must move and develop accordingly.” (p. 61) Knowledge must be tested rather than acquired, it is the beginning rather than the end of learning and in this way it should be seen as a tool.

Paula says that Marx’s ontological vision:

…was for human beings to become the critically conscious creators, the ‘makers’, of human history. (p. 61)

She also talks about humans becoming themselves, in the essence of their ‘being’ – becoming humanised, and that this is achieved through a collective social process.

In future communist/socialist societies, infinite humanisation would be a major objective, fully supported such that individuals would be able to develop all the potentials of which they were capable. (p. 62)

Furthermore, that:

Any attempt to develop critical/revolutionary praxis within the context of capitalism is motivated by the understanding that the future possibility of a socially and economically just society depends on the unity, and thus reciprocity, of self and social/economic transformation. (p. 63)

Paula argues that critical/revolutionary praxis in education today is concerned with humanising the relation between ‘knowing’ and ‘being’. In this way it can be seen to be ‘on the road’ to the development of the whole person. Leading on from this, there is a need to end the division between teaching and learning, she says. Furthermore, in this regard, teachers need to change their understanding of and relation to, authority.

Through critical/revolutionary praxis the oppressed (that is those whose humanisation is thwarted) can see alternative ways of both ‘being’ and ‘becoming’. As Paula Allman says:

What it means to be a human being and for all people to be able not only to live as human beings but also to be able to develop their potentials more fully is also at stake, but then it always has been. (p. 66)

In conclusion, this section of Paula Allman’s book is very short (just 9 pages), but it is very important. It sends out a very clear message to all those educators that want to really contribute something towards the good of humanity and want to help to enable people through knowledge, learning, education and critical pedagogy to find lasting self-fulfilment. To achieve this, the adoption of an alternative epistemological and ontological frame of reference is necessary, Paula argues, and dialectical relationships need to be recognised and explored, and the traditional view of knowledge and understanding needs to be challenged. In sum, then, Paula provides a key, original and essentially optimistic contribution to the field of critical pedagogy, through her Marxist analysis of education.




2. ‘FULL OF VOLCANOES: LIBRARIES AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT’ (DE VOLCANES ILENA: BIBLIOTECA Y COMPROMISO SOCIAL)
CO-ORDINATED BY JAVIER GIMENO PERELLÓ, PEDRO LÓPEZ LÓPEZ AND MARIA JESŰS MORILLO CALERO, PUBLISHED BY EDICIONES TREA, SPAIN, 2007, ISBN 978-84-9704-317-5
http://www.trea.es/

PRESENTATION, CONTRIBUTORS AND ABSTRACTS

Leading on from item 16 in my last Update (19), here is some more information about this book. ‘Full of Volcanoes’ was successfully presented on Wednesday 17th October, at the Historic Library "Marqués de Valdecilla", Complutense University, Spain.

The following people participated in the presentation:

Jose Antonio Magan, Complutense University Library Director, introduced all the participants

Pedro López López and María Jesús Morillo - coordinators of the book
María Jesús del Olmo, - Alternative Library Movement Member
Blanca Calvo - Guadalajara Public Library Director
Carlo Frabetti - Spanish writer and a great friend and defender of public libraries.



Listed here are the names of all the contributors to the book.

Prologue: José Saramago
Presentation: Rosa Regás

Maria Jesús Morillo Calero, Rita Candame, Tatiana Carsen, Oscar Maya, Martin Vera, Ann Sparanese, Maria Jesús del Olmo Garcia, Javier Gimeno Perelló, Ruth Rikowski, Fernando Báez, Ramón Salaberria Lizarazu, Blanca Calvo Alonso-Cortés, Rosa San Segundo Manuel, Genaro Luis Garcia López, José Antonia Gómez Hernández, Javier Pérez Iglesias, Felipe Meneses Tello, Zapopan Martin Muela Meza, Pedro López López and Blanca Calvo


María Jesús Morillo also kindly provided me with abstracts in English for the different chapters in the book for these Updates, so that readers know a little more about the book – as unfortunately I cannot speak or read Spanish at all! These abstracts are below.

I: ETHICS AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT

1. The Commitment of Libraries and Librarians by Mª Jesús Morillo Calero (Spain)
This starts with an analysis about neutrality in librarianship as a position that lets some librarians obviate social commitment. However, far removed from this there is a progressive librarianship, almost unknown in Spain, that fights back against it.

2. Responsibility and Social Commitment of Information Professionals (Librarians, Information Managers, Archivists): a Latin American Perspective by Rita Candame (Argentina), Tatiana Carsen (Argentina), Oscar Maya (Mexico) y Martín Vera (Mexico).
The professional experiences of two autonomous and independent library communities from Mexico and Argentina are presented, with the creation of joint initiatives for the development of progressive librarianship in Latin America.
3. Some Reflections on Librarian Activism in the USA by Ann Sparanese (USA).
This chapter analyzes some of the lines and trends of the progressive activism among the American librarians, including the fight against racism, the war and censorship and in favour of democratic values.
4. Panorama of Web Resources on Progressive Librarianship by Mª Jesús del Olmo García (Spain).
This is a compilation of progressive librarianship internationally networked resources.

II: PRIVATIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE
5. Knowledge is Not a Commodity by Javier Gimeno Perelló (Spain)
This chapter considers how the birth of the WIPO (World Organization of the Intellectual Property) in 1996 supported the review of the Berne Convention, and consolidated the privatization and marketing of knowledge as a product.
6. Globalization, Libraries, Information and Social Commitment by Ruth Rikowski (Great Britain)
This chapter draws on some of the key aspects in her book Globalisation, Information and Libraries: the Implications of the World Trade Organisation’s GATS and TRIPS Agreements (2005), looking at issues such as the privatisation of public services and the commodification of services and intellectual property rights.


III: WAR DISASTERS

7. Libraries in War by Fernando Báez (Venezuela)
A historical tour is undertaken, revising the destruction of books, libraries, files and documentary patrimony in the warlike conflicts, from the most remote antiquity to the last plunders and destructions of libraries in Iraq and The Lebanon.

8. Libraries of a Republic in War or When the Gun of Today is a Guarantee for the Library of Tomorrow by Ramón Salaberría Lizarazu y Blanca Calvo Alonso-Cortés (Spain)
This chapter analyzes the librarian activity that began with the II Spanish Republic and continued during the Spanish Civil War, across the labor of institutions as Popular Culture and the Patronage of Pedagogic Missions, and of librarians as Juan Vicens, Tomás Navarro Tomás, Teresa Andrés, etc. All this immense labor was truncated with Franco's victory, which supposed the exile of hundreds of persons linked to these activities, as well as the destruction of an enormous diffusion of the culture and the libraries.
9. The 1939 Spanish Republican Exile of Librarians to Mexico by Rosa San Segundo Manuel (Spain).
When the Spanish Civil War finished, the Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas said that Mexico would take in exiled Spanish republicans. Approximately 50,000 Spanish exiles came to Mexico. A great number of Spanish librarians, bibliographers and bibliophiles went into exile to this country and developed an enormous labor practically unknown in Spain, with the foundation of publishing houses, presses and bookshops. In addition, Information Science's Schools were created, in which teachers of Spanish origin developed their work. Republican exiled librarians published great works in the area of Librarianship and Information Studies in Mexico.

10. The Right of Access to the Information of the Victims of Franco’s Regime: Does the Spanish Government Respect the Human Rights? by Genaro Luis García López (Spain)
This chapter studies the existing limitations in Spain to exercise in an effective way the right of free access to the public information on the part of the victims of the Franco's regime and the civil war, their relatives and representative associations.


IV: LIBRARIES FOR DIFFERENCE

11. Library and Integration: From Library Extension Work to the Processes of Social and Digital Inclusion by José Antonio Gómez Hernández (Spain)

This chapter provides a tour of the evolution of the extension work to coming to the current concept of the library as an element of social integration.

12. Libraries and immigrants: or how to look at our users without blinders by Javier Pérez Iglesias (Spain)

From the directives and definitions of institutions like IFLA and UNESCO, this chapter talks about the role of the library as public space open to all and working for the peace and the understanding of the people, as well as for the promotion of democratic values.

V: LIBRARIANSHIP FOR DEMOCRACY

13. Librarian-Political Analysis: Libraries, Democracy and Citizenship by Felipe Meneses Tello (Mexico)
This chapter articulates the library institution with the political phenomena of democracy and citizenship. It analyzes libraries and democracy across three complex interrelationships: 1] democracy, education and libraries, 2] democracy, educated citizenship and libraries and 3] democracy, active citizenship, common good and libraries.



14. Ehical Contradictions of the Social Responsibilities in Librarianship by Zapopan Martín Muela Meza (Mexico)

This work aims to be a critical analysis of some ethics and ethical contradictions and social responsibilities in the bosom of Librarianship. Information Professionals should assume social responsibilities towards the transformation of society, looking towards social equality, justice, and democracy, and away from the favours bestowed on the dominant, upper class.

15. Citizenship Education in Librarianship and Information Science: Spain and the European Space for Higher Education by Pedro López López (Spain)

This chapter defends the need to attend to the dimension of citizenship in the education of the students of Library Science.

APPENDIX:

The New Role of Librarians (Fernando Báez Speech)



3. ‘INFORMATION, SOCIETY AND JUSTICE’: A NEW PEER-REVIEWED OPEN-ACCESS E-JOURNAL, EDITED BY SHIRAZ DURRANI

A new e-journal has just been started up, which is entitled ‘Information, Society and Justice’. It is edited by Shiraz Durrani. See:http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/dass/research/studentjournal/
(currently still under construction)Shiraz circulated the following information about the journal:
“Information, Society and Justice is a peer-review, open-access electronic journal based in the Department of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at the London Metropolitan University. The journal is governed by an Editorial Board drawn from UK and overseas. It seeks to provide a proactive space for critical discussion of the linkages between social information, justice and democracy. It will focus on issues of equality, human rights, social inclusion, economic justice, and struggles for liberation and democratic expansion.The central role of information in these areas will be explored in depth. It will focus on the role that librarians and information workers together with libraries and information services can play in safeguarding, highlighting and communicating on issues such as equality, human rights, social/economic justice, social policy, and liberation. Creative work on these themes will also be considered.The journal will publish original research, communiqués, interviews, reports and other material on these and other fields. It is not limited to any one disciplinary perspective and will accept contributions from academics, professionals and information workers working in any disciplines.The journal invites relevant articles from academicians, policy practitioners, and civil society activists. It also encourages submission from students and their participation in the administration of the journal.ISJ is expected to be published twice a year. The first issue is expected to be published in November 2007.Manuscript requirements:Articles submitted to the journal should be your original work. Authors sending any work to us at the same time guarantee that the work does not break any copyrights laws or rules. You retain the copyright. We welcome the articles to be based on your personal experience and real-life stories. Work submitted should normally be between 1000-5000 words, but shorter summaries and reports will also be accepted. Please sign it with your full name and give contact address and e-mail. Every article should have a short title which indicates the scope of the article. Work can be submitted by e-mail as MS Word documents. Photographs and chartsillustrating the content are also welcome. The editorial board reserves the right to make changes to your work before publishing it. All submissions should meet requirements of London Metropolitan University’s policies on Equality and Diversity and plagiarism.

Articles should be submitted to Shiraz Durrani at s.durani@londonmet.ac.uk.”

The Editorial Board consists of Shiraz Durrani, Catherine Closet-Crane, Pawel Dziedzic, Nick Jones, Professor Ali Memon, Dave Percival, Mark Perkins and Usman Tar
This journal, then, should provide a very useful and welcome addition to the field, raising and promoting further issues related to information and social justice.



4. PAUL CATHERALL HAS STARTED UP A BLOG
http://journals.aol.co.uk/catherallp/praxis/

Paul Catherall has just started up a new AOL blog. He has called it “ ‘Praxis’: translating an idea into action”.

He introduces his blog in the following way:

“Firstly, welcome to my new Blog, where I hope to comment on issues of social justice as they arise. In the current UK climate, we must maintain a vigil on developments of domestic and foreign government policy which are shaped by the Neo-Conservative politic - characterised by the aggressive spread of global capitalism (as 'democracy') and the invasive transformation of society into a myriad of profit-based experiences. I am not a traditional socialist, but I hope that others reading this blog will wake up to the sheer injustices caused by the commodification agenda - transforming traditional tax-funded services like schools and hospitals into complex profit-based systems - leading to less accessible, less accountable, less affordable systems and ultimately the degeneration of society back to the dark ages of inequality, ignorance and servility.”

5. MARXISM AND EDUCATIONAL THEORY: ORIGINS AND ISSUES BY PROFESSOR MIKE COLE, ROUTLEDGE, 978 0 415 33171 5 9 (pbk) (£22.99); 978 0 415 33170 8 (hdbk) (£75.00)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marxism-Educational-Theory-Origins-Issues/dp/0415331706/ref=sr_1_3/202-4988115-3920669?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192365909&sr=1-3

Professor Mike Cole, a writing colleague and friend of Glenn Rikowski’s has a new book out on ‘Marxism and Educational Theory’. As it says in the publicity flyer:
“We live in a world where thousands make massive profits out of the labours of others, while those others exist as wage slaves, millions of whom die of starvation and poverty-related illness every year. The fundamental aim of Marxism is the overthrow of the anarchic, exploitative and eco-destructive system of world capitalism and its replacement by world socialism and equality.”
The following key areas are addressed: utopian socialism, poststructuralism and postmodernism, transmodernism, globalisation, neo-liberalism and environmental destruction, the new imperialism and critical race theory.

There is also a Foreword by Professor Peter McLaren.


6. UNIVERSITY OF THE AGEAN, RHODES, GREECE: WORKSHOPS FOR THE MA ‘GENDER, NEW FORMS OF EDUCATION, NEW FORMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE INFORMATION AGE’
http://www.rhodes.aegean.gr/genderstudies/postgrad/general-en.html

Dr Dionyssios Gouvias, Lecturer in Education Policy, Department of Pre-School Education and Educational Planning, University of the Agean, Rhodes, Greece, informed me about an interesting new innovative MA that has been set up at the university, which is entitled: “Gender, New Forms of Education, New Forms of Employment and New Technologies in the Information Age.”

The programme has as least three innovative features, thereby bringing the Greek academic and professional world on a par with other European institutions. These innovations cover: the Content (interdisciplinary approach to knowledge), the Organisation and the Teaching Methodology (combination of e-learning and conventional meetings).

The university is running a series of thematically organised workshops on special topics relating to the programme’s main areas of study. This is being organised and run by recognised scholars specialising in each topic.

The workshops focus on the following topics:
1. Gender and New Forms of Employment in the Age of Globalisation
2. Gender and New forms of Education in the Age of Globalisation
3. Gender and New Technologies in the Information Age

The workshops consist of presentations, discussions, group work and various other activities (decided by the presenters themselves) and covers both theoretical and empirical research.

N.B. Dr Dionyssios Gouvias gave a paper at a ‘Marxism and Education: Renewing Dialogues’ seminar, held on 3rd May 2006 on the theme ‘Universities plc?’, that Glenn Rikowski ran with Tony Green at the Institute of Education, University of London.


7. CRITICAL PEDAGOGY WORKING GROUP BASED AT THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE, KINGSTON UNIVERSITY
http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/schools/social_science/ISS/critical_pedagogies/index.shtml

An important working group on Critical Pedagogy has been set up at the University of Kingston. As it says on the website:

“ ‘Critical Pedagogies’ is a working group based in the Institute for Social Science [University of Kingston] that aims to explore the meaning, practice and possibilities of critical pedagogies in the classroom and beyond. It grew out of a movement within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to revitalise traditions of critical social science within the university. It is also part of a wider, international project to re-imagine what undergraduate education is and is for, and to reconnect pedagogical debates to political and ethical concerns.”
We were very pleased to discover that the section of this website entitled ‘External Resources’ includes a link to our website, ‘The Flow of Ideas’. It also includes links to the individual contributions of Henry Giroux, Ilan Gur-Ze’ev, Douglas Kellner and Peter McLaren. See:
http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/schools/social_science/ISS/critical_pedagogies/resources/index.shtml
Meetings, reading circles, symposia and discussion papers are held regularly. The meetings are open and all are welcome to join the ‘Critical Pedagogies’ group.
For more information, contact Dr. Sarah Amsler at s.amsler@kingston.ac.uk

8. CHANDOS CATALOGUE
Chandos Publishing has a new catalogue out on books for ‘Library and Information Management’ – Autumn 2007. If anyone would like an electronic copy of this, do contact me, and I will email you one.

9. PAUL CATHERALL’S REVIEW OF RUTH RIKOWSKI’S BOOK ‘GLOBALISATION, INFORMATION AND LIBRARIES’, OXFORD: CHANDOS PUBLISHING, 2005, ISBN 1 854334 084 4 (pbk); 1 84334 092 5 (hdbk)
Paul Catherall has written a very positive, detailed and, in my view, insightful review of my globalisation book, which was published in New Library World: charting new developments, International Library Education, Vol. 108, No. 1/2, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContainer.do;jsessionid=D219B5C267221FBD471074471CB10E86?containerType=Issue&containerId=24514)
Paul says that: “This book provides an in-depth and yet accessible treatise on the implications of globalisation as represented by the impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on public services.” (p. 92).
Paul also considers my work on the knowledge economy and intellectual labour saying that I illustrate “…how in the modern world, intellectual labour is central to our economic system … [and] … links the ‘knowledge revolution’ of intellectual production and modern information industries to the success of the global economy, illustrating how the WTO is attempting to transform intellectual property and public services into international tradable commodities.” (p. 93).
He concludes by saying that “The book is very ambitious and attempts to provide us with ‘the big picture’ on the forces at work on the international scene that are driving the corporate takeover of public services.” (p. 96)

Different versions of Paul’s review of my book are also available on the web at Amazon.co.uk (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Globalisation-Information-Libraries-Organisations-Professionals/dp/1843340844/ref=sr_1_5/202-9016388-9242256?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192021694&sr=8-5) and Information for Social Change (see http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/Rikowski.html)

Another hard copy version was also published in Impact, the journal for the Career Development Group of CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) in 2006 and Paul wrote a short piece for Ymlaen, the Career Development Wales Group of CILIP’s newsletter (Issue 8, Summer 2006) .

10. ‘NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS ON ACADEME’ – A REVIEW OF ‘TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: AN ACADEMIC LIBRARIAN’S GUIDE’ BY J.M. WILLIAMS AND S. GOODWIN, OXFORD: CHANDOS PUBLISHING, ISBN 978 1 84334 172 7 (PPBK); 978 1 84334 173 4 (HDBK), £39.95 – REVIEWED BY RALPH ADAM

Ralph Adam (on CILIP London Committee) has written a positive review of a book that I commissioned for Chandos publishing, which has been published in this months issue of CILIP Update – November 2007, Vol 6 (11), p. 44. Ralph Adam says: “This book has appeared at just the right moment – and is very welcome. It describes technologies for enhancing library education (in both formal teaching and enquiry-desk work), filling the gap between teaching manuals and technology guides.”


11. POLICY FUTURES IN EDUCATION – GROWING SUCCESS: TO BE PUBLISHED 6 TIMES A YEAR!
Policy Futures in Education grows from strength to strength, with more and more high quality articles being submitted. So much so that it will now be published six times a year, starting from next year (2008). This is in contrast to the four issues a year that have been published since it started, in 2003. Three issues for 2008 are already in production (which obviously includes the issue that I am co-editing with Isaac Hunter Dunlap on ‘Digital Libraries’).


12. HISTORICAL MATERIALISM FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Historical Materialism Conference 2007: School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, WC1, 9-11 November 2007

This is the Fourth Annual Historical Materialism Conference held in conjunction with the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Prize Committee and the Socialist Register. It will take place between 9-11 November, 2007 at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. The conference continues its interdisciplinary thread and allows the participants to choose among a wide range of parallel workshops from different disciplines and topics which include, among others:

Labour (Comparative Case Studies of Working Class and Trade Unions, Theoretical Debates on Mobilisation and Labour Process Theories, Rural Labour Relations, Social Movements)History (Russian Revolution, Spanish Revolution, Absolutism and Bourgeois State, Pre-capitalist Modes of Production)Political Economy (Finance and Capital, Value Theory and Capital, Grundrisse Anniversary, Contemporary Capitalism, Borders and Political Economy of Development, Africa and Dispossession, World Economy, Neoliberalism and Resistance, Commodity Chains)Philosophy (Materialism and Philosophy, Modalities of Political Power, Althusser, Re-reading Gramsci)Culture (Marxism, Art and Institutions, Critical Film Studies, Debord and Society of Spectacle, Ideology and Utopia, Art and Politics)International Relations (Defining the International, Geopolitics, IR and Gramsci, Israel-Palestine)Marxism and.... (Marxism and Postcolonialism, Marxism and Law, Marxism and Psychoanalysis, Marxism, Class and Education) A special room will be devoted to selected film screenings which will take place during three days of the conference. Confirmed speakers include:Bashir Abu-Manneh, Gilbert Achcar, Christine Achinger, Edward Acton, Aijaz Ahmad, Brian Alleyne, Sabah Alnasseri, Christopher J. Arthur, Sam Ashman, Maurizio Atzeni, Sedat Aybar, Sarah Badcock, Giorgio Barratta, Luca Basso, Asef Bayat, Jonathan Beller, Riccardo Bellofiore, Ana Cecilia Bergene, Henry Bernstein, Rakesh Bhandari, Andreas Bieler, Sophie Béroud, Jacques Bidet, Robin Blackburn, Chris Bolsmann, Paola Bonifazio, Derek Boothman, Atilio Boron, Mark Bould, Stephen Bouquin, Robert Brenner, Andrew Brown, Tom Bunyard, Ray Bush, Alex Callinicos, Paul Cammack, Liam Campling, Gavin Capps, Giuseppe Caruso, John Chalcraft, Lorenzo Chiesa, Andrew Chitty, Simon Clarke, Alex Colas, Gareth Dale, Neil Davidson, Gail Day, Tim Dayton, Massimo de Angelis, Radhika Desai, Ana Dinerstein, Paolo dos Santos, Antoni Domenech, Albert Domingo, Fernando Duran, Andy Durgan, Steve Edwards, Tony Elger, Gregory Elliott, Ferdan Ergut, Mauro Farnesi, Ben Fine, Donald Filtzer, Roberto Fineschi, Carl Freedman, Alan Freeman, Gregor Gall, Heide Gerstenberger, Melanie Gilligan, Andrew Glyn, Hugh Goodacre, Jonathan Goodhand, Jamie Gough, Peter Gowan, Volker Gransow, Diego Guerrero, Peter Hallward, Jane Hardy, Chris Harman, Graham Harrison, Barbara Harriss-White, David Harvie, Owen Hatherley, Mike Haynes, Micheal Head, Michael Heinrich, Renate Holub, Richard Hyman, Makoto Itoh, Peter Ives, Donna Jones, Patrick Keiller, John Kelly, Mick Kennedy, Laleh Khalili, Jim Kincaid, Jeff Kinkle, Gal Kirn, Sharon Kivland, Sam Knafo, Onur Suzan Komurcu, Michael Kraetke, John Kraniauskas, Hannes Lacher, Rocco Lacorte, Mark Laffey, Spiros Lapatsioras, Costas Lapavitsas, Ching Kwan Lee, Esther Leslie, Norman Levine, William Lewis, Renzo Llorente, Dic Lo, Domenico Losurdo, David Mandel, Giacomo Marramao, David McNally, George Meramveliotakis, Alessandra Mezzadri, Keir Milburn, John Milios, Owen Miller, Toby Miller, Dimitris Milonakis, Kim Moody, Fred Moseley, Rastko Mocnik, Simon Mohun, Adam Morton, Kevin Murphy, Mike Neary, Michael Neocosmos, Paolo Novak, Benjamin Noys, Carlos Oya, Bryan Palmer, Silke Panse, Ilan Pappé, Simon Pirani, Anna Pollert, Moishe Postone, Nina Power, Ozren Pupovac, Devi Sacchetto, Mõkkel Bol Rasmussen, Mike Richards, Glenn Rikowski, Spyros Sakellaropoulos, Jyoti Saraswati, Hajime Sato, Ben Selwyn, Helena Sheehan, Stuart Shields, Subir Sinha, Bev Skeggs, John Smith, Tony Smith, Panagiotis Sotiris, Gaspar Tamas, Benno Teschke, Adrien Thomas, Peter Thomas, Massimilano Tomba, Alberto Toscano, Greg Tuck, Vanessa Ushie,Kees van der Pijl, Elisa van Waeyenberge, Fabio Vighi, Mike Wayne, Tunde Zack Williams, Paul Willis, Jane Wills, Frieder Otto Wolf, Tony Wood, Owen Worth, Leo Zelig, Slavoj Zizek.

The conference has become an important event on the Left, providing an annual forum to discuss recent developments on the agenda of historical materialist research by scholars, researchers, students and activists from different continents. Online registration is now available. Prices are suggested donations but as the conference receives no other funding they encourage all - including paper givers - to register now. See: http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/hm/conference2007.htm

Glenn Rikowski will be speaking at the conference on Marxist Educational Theory Unplugged.


13. LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SUPPLIERS (LMS) AT CILIP
On Friday 9 November 2007, from 09.00am - 16.00pm, 12 library management suppliers (LMS) will be talking about their library computer management systems, providing demonstrations and responding to questions from participants at the HQ of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), at 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE.A list of the suppliers is available at:http://www.cilip.org.uk/training/suppliers/sss/lms207.htm
The session is free. To register, click here:http://fs3.formsite.com/cilip/form822887713/index.html
All visitors on the day will also be entered into a free prize draw to win a New Apple iPod nano 8GB kindly donated by IS Oxford, designer of the Heritage Library Management System.

This seems like a very good opportunity to me, to compare and contrast the advantages, disadvantages, level of customer support and functionality of different library computer management systems. LMS’s are costly, so the more information that can be gathered prior to making that all-important decision can surely only be to the good, particularly given that I.T. is now so much part of our everday life. Saying ‘no’ to the purchase of a library management system is not a possibility for most library managers today. The advantages to be gained are tremendous of course, but there is still much room for improvement, particularly in regard to customer support. This applies to the computer industry in general, in fact. This is something that we all need to be more aware of and seek to make companies more accountable. We must always be mindful of the fact that organisations in capitalism are essentially about value creation and profit-making, and customer care and support is and always will be, very much secondary (at least) to this agenda. But by exercising some pressure, we can improve the situation in some ways.


14. STATISTICS ON OUR WEBSITE, ‘THE FLOW OF IDEAS’ – DOING WELL, AND CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOMED
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/

The statistics on our website are doing well (by our standards anyway!), averaging over 100 visits a day, and were up to around 150 a day in the summer. If anyone is interested in writing a piece for it, or contributing in some other way, then do let us know!

15. JOHN BOND’S FUNERAL
A very dear friend of mine passed away a few weeks ago (on 22nd September 2007). His name was John Thomas Bond. He was 91 years old, so in that way, something to celebrate, I guess, rather than feel sad about. But obviously, it is still difficult when one loses someone like that. I went to the lovely, personal and open funeral service that took place on Thursday, 11th October 2007, at the Friary, The House of the Divine Compassion, where he lived for the last few years of his life. Some of the service was held in the spirit of the Society of Friends – the Quakers. There were some 70 people there. John’s favourite saying was ‘The best is yet to be’. John – we wish you well on your journey. You are irreplaceable, a light in our life, seeking social justice and providing hope, joy and peace as well as being a magnet to so many.

I spoke about John in the piece I wrote about my parents, that is now available on our website. It is entitled ‘Stanley and Mabel Turney and the Peace Pledge Union: experiences of being bought up in a family advocating peace’ and is available at:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Turney%5ba%5ds%20and%20PPU



16. MUSIC4PEOPLE SUMMER SCHOOL
Finally, to end on a nice, cheerful note, here is some uplifting musical news!
Virginia Rushton, who runs the ‘Second Chance’ choir that I am now a member of, has been involved in writing a new opera, entitled ‘Brushwork’ for ‘Music4People’. ‘Music4People’ is a new organisation that was set up in 2007 to widen access to quality musical activities for adults. The focus, in particular, is to provide musical opportunities for those people who, for whatever reason, were not able to engage more fully with musical activities earlier in their lives.

‘Music4People’ will be having annual, weekly residential Summer Schools (to be held in the first week of August) and the first one will be held next summer at Giggleswick School in the Yorkshire Dales, from 2nd-9th August 2008. ‘Brushwork’ which is a comic opera and was inspired by a variety of historical portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, will be performed at this workshop.

This sounds like a very exciting project to me - opening up musical creativity and enabling more people to be able to enjoy and participate in music. If you want to know/find out more – do contact me.


Many thanks to Maria Jesús Morillo Calero, Shiraz Durrani, Paul Catherall, Mike Cole,
Dionyssios Gouvias, Clare Hardcastle and Virginia Rushton for providing information for items 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13 and 16 respectively.

Thanks also to Paula Allman for reading the draft version of this, and for her comments in regard to item 1.


Best wishes,
Ruth


30th October 2007