Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story

Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story
ISBN-10
1848137737
ISBN-13
9781848137738
Category
Social Science
Pages
272
Language
English
Published
2013-04-04
Publisher
Zed Books Ltd.
Author
Professor Eric Selbin

Description

Why do revolutions happen? Decades of social science research have brought us little closer to understanding where, when and amongst whom they occur. In this groundbreaking book, Eric Selbin argues that we need to look beyond the economic, political and social structural conditions to the thoughts and feelings of the people who make revolutions. In particular, he argues, we need to understand the stories people relay and rework of past injustices and struggles as they struggle in the present towards a better future. Ranging from the French Revolution to the Battle for Seattle, via Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam and Nicaragua, Selbin makes the case that it is myth, memory and mimesis which create, maintain and extend such stories. Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance identifies four kinds of enduring revolutionary story - Civilizing and Democratizing, The Social Revolution, Freedom and Liberation and The Lost and Forgotten - which do more than report on events, they catalyse changing the world.

Similar books