The Radical Imagination: Social Movement Research in the Age of Austerity - Softcover

Khasnabish, Doctor Alex; Haiven, Max

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780329016 ISBN 13: 9781780329017

Publisher: Zed Books, 2014

Synopsis

The idea of the imagination is as evocative as it is elusive. Not only does the imagination allow us to project ourselves beyond our physical and temporal limits, it also allows us to envision the future, individually and collectively. The radical imagination, then, is that spark of difference, desire, and discontent that can be fanned into the flames of social change. Yet what precisely is the imagination and what might make it 'radical'? How can it be fostered and cultivated? How can it be studied and what are the possibilities and risks of doing so?

This book seeks to answer these questions at a crucial time. As we enter into a new cycle of struggles scholar-activists Khasnabish and Haiven explore the processes and possibilities for cultivating the radical imagination in dark times.

A lively, accessible and timely intervention that breaks new ground in speaking to radical politics, social research, social change, and the collective visions that inspire them.

About this title

About the Author

Max Haiven is a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Art and Public Policy at New York University, USA, and teaches at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. His research focuses on the fate of the imagination under contemporary forms of capitalism. His work on the imaginative dimensions of finance and the broader social trend towards 'financialization' has appeared in leading journals including Social Text, Cultural Studies, and Mediations. He is guest editor of a special issue of the journal TOPIA on 'The Financialized Imagination and Beyond'. His work on the radical imagination and social movements has appeared in journals including Cultural Critique, Cultural Studies, Critical Methodologies, and The Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies.
Alex Khasnabish is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS, Canada. His work focuses on the radical imagination, contemporary social movements, globalization, and anti-capitalist/anarchistic social justice struggles. He is a founding member of Anthropologists for Justice and Peace, an adjunct scholar with the Globalization and Autonomy Project, and co-director of the SSHRC-funded Radical Imagination Project. He is the author of Zapatistas: Rebellion from the Grassroots to the Global (Zed Press), Zapatismo Beyond Borders: New Imaginations of Political Possibility (University of Toronto Press), co-editor of and contributor to Insurgent Encounters: Transnational Activism, Ethnography, and the Political (Duke University Press, forthcoming), a contributor to numerous edited volumes, and his work has also appeared in Affinities, AmeriQuests, Anthropologica, Critique of Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology Hot Spots, Cultural Studies, Critical Methodologies, Ephemera, Journal for the Study of Radicalism, and Upping the Anti.

Review

'I deserted the academy for activism over ten years ago, but this book reminds me that there are some scholars who really do radicalize their research processes so that the university once again becomes a tool of post-capitalist struggle rather than a feather in the neoliberal crown. A timely reminder for scholars to get their hands dirty, immerse themselves in radical movements and write for change rather than academic careers.' John Jordan, artist, activist and co-founder of the direct action protest movement Reclaim the Streets. 'For Haiven and Khasnabish the "Radical Imagination" is the most important tool of resistance to neoliberal capitalism. Drawing on a breathtaking range of examples, they urge us to learn from and understand the knowledge produced within radical political movements. This impressive book is a must-read for those committed to radical social change and concerned with producing alternate worlds.' Imogen Tyler, senior lecturer of sociology, Lancaster University and author of Revolting Subjects 'The Radical Imagination offers astute insights into the ways capitalism and crisis constrain our social and political imaginaries. This is a compelling book, highly readable and full of possibility. A welcome contribution to the kinds of engaged research needed right now.' Emma Dowling, senior lecturer in sociology, Middlesex University 'Theoretically sophisticated and politically grounded, The Radical Imagination challenges us to think beyond the limits of both contemporary social movement organizing and scholarship.' Lesley Wood, assistant professor of sociology, York University 'This book is an important and thought-provoking tool for activists and scholars. It is a sort of dialogical manual, bringing the reader into a conversation on what the radical imagination is and can be. While questioning, the authors suggest alternative ways of thinking about important issues, such as the meaning of success, failure, research and methodology - all from below, and grounded in the thoughts and experiences of others involved in movements.' Marina Sitrin, author of They Can't Represent Us! and Everyday Revolutions 'The Radical Imagination is a fantastic resource for both social movements and the scholars who study them. It insists that social transformation requires research and that the process of research should itself be transformative. It crackles with new ideas and innovative approaches while asking that most important of questions: what would it mean for social movements to win?' Keir Milburn, lecturer in political economy and organisation, University of Leicester, and co-author of Moments of Excess: Movements, Protests and Everyday Life

Edition details

• Publisher: Zed Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1780329016
• ISBN 13: 9781780329017
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 280