Critical Sociology and Social History

[No abstract][No keywords]

Where have the rebels gone? Interview with Eric Hobsbawm

Fifty years after his pioneering books on rebellion and social banditry, Eric Hobsbawm explains why he always paid close attention to “uncommon people” and popular forms of revolt, and analyses how globalization has triggered off new political mobilizations

Peasant Farming, A Buffer for Human Societies

This article explores the importance of peasant farming worldwide, the debate about its disappearance and the way it is being impacted by differentiated policies. It takes two examples, Tunisia and Egypt, during post-colonial times. In both cases policies tended to favour the modernization of agriculture, ignoring the contribution of peasant farming to the national economies. But interestingly the data show a surprisingly significant importance and increase in the number of small farms in both countries. While theoretical debates continue about the disappearance of peasantries, reality demonstrates that peasant farming is a formidable and resilient buffer for human societies, which helps stabilize, balance and enrich them

Bandyta społeczny

The essay is a translation of a chapter of Eric Hobsbawm’s classic book Primitive Rebels. Hobsbawm attempted to create an ideal model of a social bandit by analysing examples of European brigands from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. In the second part of the essay, the author reflects on the political potential of a social bandit, i.e. whether this kind of activity can effectively undermine existing hierarchies.Transl.: Michał PospiszylTłumaczenie rozdziału klasycznej pracy Erica Hobsbawma Primitive Rebels. Jest to próba stworzenia modelowego obrazu rozbójnika społecznego za pomocą analizy przykładów europejskich brygantów od trzynastego do dwudziestego wieku. W drugiej części rozdziału autor zastanawia się nad potencjałem politycznym bandyty społecznego, to jest na tym, czy ów rodzaj działalności może skutecznie podważyć zastane hierarchie.Tłumaczył: Michał Pospiszy

El desafío de la razón. Manifiesto para la renovación de la historia

La historia, afirma el autor, es la continuación de la evolución biológica del homo sapiens por otros medios; enfoque que aporta a los fundamentos teóricos de la historia ambiental, una historia que debiera ser como una tela indivisible donde se interconectan todas las actividades humanas. Esto –señala- lleva a examinar a través de la historia el conflicto o tensión entre, por una parte, las fuerzas responsables de la transformación del homo sapiens desde la humanidad del neolítico hasta la humanidad nuclear, y por otra, las fuerzas que mantienen inmutables la reproducción y la estabilidad de las colectividades humanas y de los medios sociales, y que durante la mayor parte de la historia se han contrarrestado eficazmente. Postula además que los historiadores marxistas, que no entendieron las consecuencias involuntarias y no deseadas de los proyectos colectivos humanos del siglo XX, quizás puedan esta vez, enriquecidos por su experiencia práctica, ayudar a comprender cómo hemos llegado a la situación actual, y ayudar a descubrir las mejores formas de encarar esa situación de un modo que contribuya efectivamente al desarrollo de nuestra especie en armonía con el resto del mundo natural.L’auteur affirme que l’histoire est la continuation de l’évolution biologique de l’homo sapiens par d’autres moyens; approche qui renforce les fondements théoriques de l’histoire environnementale, une histoire qui devrait être comme une toile indivisible où toutes les activités humaines seraient interconnectées. Cela requiert l’examen à travers l’histoire du conflit ou tension entre, d’une part, les forces responsables de la transformation de l’homos sapiens depuis l’humanité du néolithique jusqu’à l’humanité nucléaire, et d’autre part, les forces qui maintiennent immuables la reproduction et la stabilité des collectivités humaines et des moyens sociaux, et que durant grande partie de l’histoire elles se sont neutralisés de manière efficace. Il affirme de plus que les historiens marxistes qui n’ont pas compris les conséquences involontaires et non désirées des projets collectifs humains du 20ème siècle, pourraient peut-être cette fois, enrichis par leur expérience pratique, aider à comprendre de quelle manière nous sommes parvenus à la situation actuelle, et aider à découvrir les meilleures formes d’affronter cette situation de manière à contribuer effectivement au développement de notre espèce en harmonie avec le reste du monde naturel.History, says the author, is the extension of the homo sapiens biological evolution by other means. This point of view contributes to the theoretical foundations for an environmental history, one which shoud be like an indivisible cloth in which all human activies are interwoven. This should lead to examine -throughout history- the conflict or tension betwen, on one side, the forces responsable for the transformation of the homo sapiens since the neolithics to humanity on the nuclear era, and on the other, the forces that keep the reproduction and stability of human groups and their social means unchanged; forces that during most of history have efficaciously counterbalanced. Furthermore, proposes that marxist historians, who did not understand the undesired and involuntary consequences of the colective human projects along the twentieth century, might this time, enrichened by their practical experience, help to understand how we have reached this present situation, and help to come out with the best means to face this situation in such a way that it can efectively contribute to the development of our species in harmony witht he rest of the natural world

Surgir de las cenizas

No cuenta con resumen

Understanding young people's transitions in university halls through space and time

This article contributes to the theoretical discussion about young people's transitions through space and time. Space and time are complex overarching concepts that have creative potential in deepening understanding of transition. The focus of this research is young people's experiences of communal living in university halls. It is argued that particular space-time concepts draw attention to different facets of experience and in combination deepen the understanding of young people's individual and collective transitions. The focus of the article is the uses of the space-time concepts 'routine', 'representation', 'rhythm' and 'ritual' to research young people's experiences. The article draws on research findings from two studies in the North of England. © 2010 SAGE Publications

Revolution and the end of history: Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest

Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest, written and performed very soon after the Romanian revolution in 1990 and performed both in London and Bucharest, is a dynamic, inter-cultural play that represents a variety of perspectives on the revolutionary events, as well as oscillating between English and Romanian cultural and language coordinates. It has a peculiar topicality in its detailed and specific usages of different aspects of the revolutionary narrative, its sketches of family life before and after the revolution, and the inclusion of the revolution as reported in quasi-documentary-style testimony. The perspective in this article is one that places the play within a framework that thinks through Mad Forest’s relationship to the triumphant, neoliberalist heralding of “the end of history,” most famously argued by Francis Fukuyama in his 1989 article of that name. This discourse gained further confidence from the collapse of Eastern Europe, a collapse that was viewed by proponents of the end-of-history argument as signalling the permanent disintegration of communism and a victory for capitalism. However, Mad Forest is considered here as a play that reflects multiple perspectives on the revolutionary period and, while declining to provide political solutions as such, simultaneously refuses to accede to the implications of the end-of-history argument