Event – Within and Against the Metropole: Communism and Transnational Anti-Colonialism in Interwar Europe (Manchester, 30 Nov)

Within and Against the Metropole: Communism and Transnational Anti-Colonialism in Interwar Europe

(University of Manchester// November 30^th, 2018// 9:30 am- 4:30 pm)

The professed internationalism and anti-imperialism of the communist movement has attracted the attention of historians of transnational labour movements, empire and colonialism. A resurgence in studies which focus on the relationship between communists and anti-colonial movements has taken place, due to both the growing availability of formerly-restricted source materials, and the rise of increasingly-sophisticated transnational methodologies. These new sources and methods have allowed for a richer study of the development, growth, transformation, and decline of anti-colonial networks involving communist activists, with emphasis placed on the role of border-crossing populations and individuals, local cultures of activism, and patterns of conflict and cooperation in both the Comintern and national Communist Parties’ apparatuses.

This one-day conference will bring together an international group of scholars to explore the relationship between communism and anti-colonialism in the interwar period. This will include sessions on the transnational connections and journeys of individual activists and their relationship to the structures of international communism; various anti-colonial milieus’ connections to labour and social movements in differing national and regional contexts; and the broader relationships between communists, race, and nationalism, both in colonial and metropolitan settings.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Satnam Virdee (University of Glasgow)
• Kasper Braskén (Åbo Akademi)
• Oleksa Drachewych (Independent Scholar)
• Daniel Edmonds (Independent Scholar)
• David Featherstone (University of Glasgow)
• Kate O’Malley (Royal Irish Academy)
• Professors Kevin Morgan, John Callaghan, and Neville Kirk, in a roundtable discussion.

Thanks to the generosity of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, attendance will be free, and registered attendees will receive lunch as well as tea and coffee. To book your place please email anticolonialconference@gmail.com

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New post at History & Policy on controlling Cypriot migration to UK

History and Policy has published an opinion piece by Andrekos Varnava and I on our research into the controlling of Cypriot migration to the UK in the 1920s-30s. It is based on our article in English Historical Research last year and some of the research we have been doing as part of our ARC project on border control in Britain and Australia. You can read the piece here.

Guest post at Verso blog on the ‘long 1968’ in Australia

I am excited to let you all know that the Verso Books blog published a piece by Jon Piccini and I on the old left, new left and the ‘long 1968’ in Australia. It is based on the introduction to our new book (co-edited with Matthew Worley), The Far Left in Australia since 1945, which will be published by Routledge in July.

You can pre-order the paperback version here. We will hopefully having a book launch in Melbourne in late August. More details to follow!

New post for AHA ECR blog: Surviving academia without permanency

I am very excited that the ECR blog for the Australian Historical Association has featured an article by me on surviving in academia without tenure. Here is the first paragraph:

I have decided that the best way to write about being a non-tenured academic in Australia in the humanities/social sciences is to talk about surviving. But it is not about personal resilience in an attempt to overcome the problems of academia, but about recognising that working in academia on a casual, fixed-term or independent basis requires survival in the face of institutional pressures and pitfalls.

You can read the rest of the piece here.

Get ‘Against the Grain: The British Far Left from 1956’ for under $US 10

*SORRY, THIS DEAL SEEMS TO HAVE ENDED ALREADY. APOLOGIES!*

This is just a quick plug that you can get the paperback version of Against the Grain: The British Far Left from 1956 for under $US 10 via Amazon. I don’t how long the sale is for, but get it while you can!

New job, new project

I am happy to announce that last week I joined the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University as a Research Fellow in History, working on the ARC Discovery Project, ‘Managing migrants and border control in Britain and Australia, 1901-1981’. Here is a short description of the project:

This project aims to historicise the creation and control of ‘suspect’ migrant communities and the restrictions on the further immigration of members of these groups by the British and Australian authorities from 1900-81. The project aims to scrutinise the creation of ‘suspect communities’ and the policies of surveillance, community control and restricted entry. The expected outcome is to show that such policies and practices did not prevent Britain and Australia from becoming multicultural societies by the 1970s. This will provide a greater understanding of how Britain and Australia’s border control systems have evolved since 1900 and how past historical policies relate to contemporary practices.

I am working alongside Associate Professor Andrekos Varnava, Associate Professor Marinella Marmo, Emeritus Professor Eric Richards and Dr Ananstasia Dukova. A blog/website for the project will be established in the near future.

If you are working in a similar area, please get in contact!

Hardback version of ‘Against the Grain’ for only £15!

Comrades, just a quick announcement that until the end of the month, you can get the hardback version of Against the Grain: The British Far Left from 1956 for only £15! Order the book here from Manchester University Press. And check out the rest of the sale items here.