Saturday 10.31.09 – Toward a Global Labor History – Marcel van der Linden

CONTENTS:
1. About this Saturday
2. About "Workers of the World"
3. About Marcel van der Linden
4. Suggested Readings for Download
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1. About this Saturday

What: Lecture and Discussion
When: Saturday 10.31.09
Where: 16Beaver Street, 4th Floor
When: 12:00-2:00 pm
Who: Free and open to all

This Saturday afternoon, Marcel van der Linden will be presenting research from his book, “Workers of the World, Essays Towards a Global labor History,” which builds the foundations of a global history of capitalism from below: a history freed from Eurocentrism and methodological nationalism. Using literature from diverse regions, epochs and disciplines, van der Linden provides arguments and conceptual tools for a different interpretation of history – a labor history which integrates the history of slavery, indentured labor, and subsistence labor; and which pays serious attention to diverging yet interconnected developments in different parts of the world.

Tea and coffee will be provided; any simple food contributions are appreciated, such as bread, cheese, honey, jam, fruit, etc. Please note the time for this event. Marcel must leave by mid-afternoon so we are planning an informal early-afternoon event.

This event is co-organized with This is Forever (www.thisisforever.org), a discussion series dedicated to understanding the current composition of political movements and struggles using the lens of autonomist thought.
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2. About "Workers of the World"

The studies offered in this volume contribute to a Global Labor History freed from Eurocentrism and methodological nationalism. Using literature from diverse regions, epochs and disciplines, the book provides arguments and conceptual tools for a different interpretation of history – a labor history which integrates the history of slavery and indentured labor, and which pays serious attention to diverging yet interconnected developments in different parts of the world. The following questions are central:

▪ What is the nature of the world working class, on which Global Labor History focuses? How can we define and demarcate that class, and which factors determine its composition?

▪ Which forms of collective action did this working class develop in the course of time, and what is the logic in that development?

▪ What can we learn from adjacent disciplines? Which insights from anthropologists, sociologists and other social scientists are useful in the development of Global Labor History?

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3. About Marcel van der Linden

Marcel van der Linden (1952) studied Sociology at Utrecht University and obtained a Ph.D. degree at Amsterdam University. His dissertation (published in Dutch and German) focused on Western Marxist critiques of Soviet society, 1917-85.

Marcel van der Linden joined the International Institute of Social History at the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research in 1983, where he now is the Research Director. He is also the Executive Editor of the International Review of Social History (Cambridge) since 1987 and Professor of Social Movement History at Amsterdam University since 1997.

His research mainly deals with labour history and the history of ideas. He edited or wrote nineteen books including The End of Labour History (Cambridge 1993), Social Security Mutualism (Berne 1996) and New Methods for Social History (Cambridge 1998; together with Larry Griffin). His works have appeared in English, Dutch, German, French, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, Russian Portuguese and Japanese.
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4. Suggested Readings for Download

Published in 2008 in the Netherlands, the 477 page book “Workers of the World“ is available as a digital copy for this event. You can download a pdf of the book at:

http://www.thisisforever.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Workers-of-the-World.pdf

While the discussion will span themes from the entire book, the book’s Introduction (pp. 1-14 of the book’s pagination) is a useful starting point. So, too, are the sections Conceptualizations (Chapters Two through Four, pp. 17-78) and Forms of Resistance (Chapters Nine through Twelve, pp. 171-283)