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This book is dedicated to Susan Reynolds and celebrates the work of a scholar whose views have been central to reappraisals of the position of the laity in the Middle Ages. The themes and concerns include a medieval world in which the activity and attitudes of the laity are not obscured by ideas expressed more systematically in theoretical treatises by ecclesiastics; a world in which lay collective action and thought take centre stage. Reynolds has written her own Middle Ages, especially in her innovative book Kingdoms and Communities whose influence can be seen in so many of the essays. Collectivities, solidarities and collective action are everywhere in these essays, as Reynolds has shown us to expect them to be. Collective action was carried out often in pursuit of social peace, but it existed precisely because there was discord. Of the narratives and interpretative frameworks with which Reynolds's work has been concerned, the book has least to say directly on the debate over feudalism. The book engages many of the themes of Reynolds's work and pursues some of the issues which are prominent in re-examinations of the medieval world and in studies of the medieval laity. It discusses secular aristocratic attitudes towards judicial combat within the broader setting of fictional 'treason trials' of the later twelfth century. Although kinship did not start out as an explicit and overt theme of the book, it emerges as a leitmotiv, perhaps in part because when feudalism is removed, kinship is thrown into sharper relief.
, anticolonial critical theory, one which adequately ‘provincialises’ the Frankfurt School – subjecting that work to a critique which is clear-eyed about its Eurocentric limits – while not hesitating to raid that body of work for any resources it can offer the project of emancipation. 1 This chapter aims to contribute to that work. It uses Adorno’s conceptualisation of solidarity to
propositions. Firstly, borrowing from O’Neill’s discussion of representing nature and future generations, it is argued that advocacy by interest groups for some constituencies simply cannot be pursued through representation style behaviour; it can only be pursued through a form of what is referred to here as ‘solidarity’. Secondly, in turn, it is argued that the legitimacy of solidarity style advocacy by groups does not require (indeed does not benefit from) internal democratic structures. That is, some interest group advocacy is founded on other – non-democratic – forms of
In the early 1980s Angela Davis, one of the most visible faces in US Marxist, anti-racist and feminist activism, visited Egypt. The result of the trip was not only a fascinating account of her experiences, published as a chapter in her book Women, Culture, and Politics , 2 but it also marked the formation of new transnational connections of solidarity between Davis and numerous
5217P GLOBAL JUSTICE-PT/lb.qxd 13/1/09 19:59 Page 196 8 Geographies of transnational solidarity Solidarity is not a matter of altruism. Solidarity comes from the inability to tolerate the affront to our own integrity of passive or active collaboration in the oppression of others, and from the deep recognition of our most expansive self-interest. From the recognition that, like it or not, our liberation is bound up with that of every other being on the planet, and that politically, spiritually, in our heart of hearts we know anything else is unaffordable
7 Networks of solidarity The London left and the 1984–85 miners’ strike Diarmaid Kelliher In March 1984 the majority of British miners walked out on strike against the threat of widespread pit closures. Unlike the 1972 and 1974 coal disputes during the previous Conservative government, this was to be a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful struggle, ending a year later with no agreement and the National Coal Board’s Ian McGregor promising to teach miners ‘the price of insubordination and insurrection’.1 Although many miners and their families were undoubtedly
giving voice to affected populations in the form of testimonies is a widespread phenomenon in the humanitarian sphere. The article concludes that the prism of solidarity can help reinvigorate the concept of témoignage, helping reconcile reason with emotion, combining practices of advocacy with those of activism, in turn creating the foundations of a more solidarist humanitarianism. Rise of a Humanitarian témoin Témoignage has been woven into the fabric of
, in the hope that Indian feminism and feminists can begin to work with the rage and pain that were generated, not forgetting it but accepting that we can talk, engage and even collaborate across the divides created. Deep emotions – of rage, shock, pain, betrayal, but also affection, friendship, solidarity – have been an integral part of this debate. This chapter is part auto-ethnography, part online ethnography via participant observation, and part textual analysis of the conversation on social media, online
110 Public diplomacy 6 Friendship is solidarity: the Chinese ping-pong team visits Africa in 1962* Amanda Shuman There is great promise in these [Ghanaian] West African players and one day, soon, they’ll make the table tennis world sit up and applaud. Rong Guotuan, China’s first ping-pong world champion, following the team’s visit to Africa in 1962.1 Many people today are aware of the so-called ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ that helped thaw US–China relations in the early 1970s.2 Few know that the Chinese leadership already had two decades of experience using sport
4 Mobilisation, solidarity and network cohesion The fundamental way that we are going to carry on campaigning is by engaging people on the street and talking to people and putting our message over through local media. The internet just adds another medium through which we can get our campaigning message across. (Chris Crean, West Midlands RCC, FoE) Mobilising participation is a crucial function of many environmental groups. They aim to mobilise those already within the movement (those already integrated) to join in with the specific environmental activism of