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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Political control & influence > Political oppression & persecution > General
'Intimate, highly sensory' - Daily Telegraph 'Indispensable' -
Sunday Times 'Harrowing' - New Statesman 'A powerful personal
narrative' - Irish Times THE FIRST MEMOIR ABOUT THE 'RE-EDUCATION'
CAMPS BY A UYGHUR WOMAN For three years, Gulbahar Haitiwaji
disappeared into a secret network of jails. Now, she is the first
female Uyghur survivor to give a connected and revealing account of
life inside China's brainwashing 're-education' camps. Her account
reads like a modern version of 1984. It tells the story of a woman
confronted by an all-powerful state bent on crushing her spirit -
and her struggle for freedom and dignity. This rare portrait of
China's gulag is visceral and internationally important. 'An
intimate, highly sensory self-portrait... of an educated woman
passing through a system that appears at turns cruel, paranoid,
capricious and devastatingly effective.' - Daily Telegraph
'Gulbahar's memoir is an indispensable account, which makes vivid
the stench of fearful sweat in the cells, the newly built prison's
permanent reek of white paint. It closely corresponds with other
witness statements... Most impressive is her psychological
honesty.' - Sunday Times
'This elegantly written, erudite book is essential reading for all
of us, whatever our identifications' - Lynne Segal Antisemitism is
one of the most controversial topics of our time. The public,
academics, journalists, activists and Jewish people themselves are
divided over its meaning. Antony Lerman shows that this is a result
of a 30-year process of redefinition of the phenomenon, casting
Israel, problematically defined as the 'persecuted collective Jew',
as one of its main targets. This political project has taken the
notion of the 'new antisemitism' and codified it in the flawed
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's 'working definition'
of antisemitism. This text is the glue holding together an
international network comprising the Israeli government, pro-Israel
advocacy groups, Zionist organisations, Jewish communal defence
bodies and sympathetic governments fighting a war against those who
would criticise Israel. The consequences of this redefinition have
been alarming, supressing free speech on Palestine/Israel,
legitimising Islamophobic right-wing forces, and politicising
principled opposition to antisemitism.
Confronting the truths of Canada's Indian residential school system
has been likened to waking a sleeping giant. In The Sleeping Giant
Awakens, David B. MacDonald uses genocide as an analytical tool to
better understand Canada's past and present relationships between
settlers and Indigenous peoples. Starting with a discussion of how
genocide is defined in domestic and international law, the book
applies the concept to the forced transfer of Indigenous children
to residential schools and the "Sixties Scoop," in which Indigenous
children were taken from their communities and placed in foster
homes or adopted. Based on archival research, extensive interviews
with residential school Survivors, and officials at the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission of Canada, among others, The Sleeping
Giant Awakens offers a unique and timely perspective on the
prospects for conciliation after genocide, exploring the
difficulties in moving forward in a context where many settlers
know little of the residential schools and ongoing legacies of
colonization and need to have a better conception of Indigenous
rights. It provides a detailed analysis of how the TRC approached
genocide in its deliberations and in its Final Report. Crucially,
MacDonald engages critics who argue that the term genocide impedes
understanding of the IRS system and imperils prospects for
conciliation. By contrast, this book sees genocide recognition as
an important basis for meaningful discussions of how to engage
Indigenous-settler relations in respectful and proactive ways.
How does gendered power work? How does it circulate? How does it
become embedded? And most importantly, how can we challenge it?
Heather Savigny highlights five key traits of cultural sexism -
violence, silencing, disciplining, meritocracy and masculinity -
prevalent across the media, entertainment and cultural industries
that keep sexist values firmly within popular consciousness. She
traces the development of key feminist thinkers before
demonstrating how the normalization of misogyny in popular media,
culture, news and politics perpetuates patriarchal values within
our everyday social and cultural landscape. She argues that we need
to understand why #MeToo was necessary in the first place in order
to bring about impactful, lasting and meaningful change.
A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION. Ai Weiwei - one of the
world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long
epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of
his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet.
'Engrossing...a remarkable story' Sunday Times Here, through the
sweeping lens of his own and his father's life, Ai Weiwei tells an
epic tale of China over the last 100 years, from the Cultural
Revolution to the modern-day Chinese Communist Party. Here is the
story of a childhood spent in desolate exile after his father, Ai
Qing, once China's most celebrated poet, fell foul of the
authorities. Here is his move to America as a young man and his
return to China, his rise from unknown to art-world superstar and
international rights activist. Here is his extraordinary account of
how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.
It's the story of a father and a son, of exceptional creativity and
passionate belief, and of how two indomitable spirits enabled the
world to understand their country. 'A story of inherited resilience
and self-determination' Observer 'A majestic and exquisitely
serious masterpiece about his China... One of the great voices of
our time' Andrew Solomon 'Intimate, unflinching...an instant
classic' Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition
At the heart of racist attitudes and behaviors is anti-Black
racism, which simply put, is the disregard and disdain of Black
life. Anti-Black racism negatively impacts every aspect of the
lives of Black people. Edited by renowned scholar and psychologist
Kevin Cokley, Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black
Racism explores the history and contemporary circumstances of
anti-Black racism, offers powerful personal anecdotes, and provides
recommendations and solutions to challenging anti-Black racism in
its various expressions. The book features chapters written by
scholars, practitioners, activists, and students. The chapters
reflect diverse perspectives from the Black community and writing
styles that range from scholarly text supported by cited research
to personal narratives that highlight the lived experiences of the
contributors. The book focuses on the ways that anti-Black racism
manifests and has been confronted across various domains of Black
life using research, activism, social media, and therapy. In the
words of Cokley: "It is my hope that the book will provide a
blueprint for readers that will empower them to actively confront
anti-Blackness wherever it exists, because this is the only way we
will progress toward making Black lives matter." Making Black Lives
Matter is a book that is meant to be shared! The goal for Cognella
for publishing this book is to amplify the voices of those who need
to be heard and to provide readers free access to critical
scholarship on topics that affect our everyday lives. We're proud
to provide free digital copies of the book to anyone who wants to
read it. So, we encourage you to spread the word and share the book
with everyone you know.
The British government has taken steps to halt the prosecution of
soldiers responsible for the deaths of civilians in Northern
Ireland, most of whom had no connection to paramilitary activities.
These killings were part of a ruthless dirty war that commenced in
1970 when Brigadier Frank Kitson, a counter-insurgency specialist,
was sent to Northern Ireland. Kitson had spent decades in Britain's
colonies refining old, and developing new, techniques which he
applied in Northern Ireland. He became the architect of a
clandestine war, waged against Nationalists while ignoring Loyalist
atrocities. Kitson and his colleagues were responsible for: * The
establishment of the clandestine Military Reaction Force (MRF)
which carried out assassinations on the streets of Belfast of
suspected IRA members; * They unleashed the most violent elements
of the Parachute Regiment [1 Para] to terrorise Nationalist
communities which, they adjudged, were providing support for the
Official and Provisional IRA; * Spreading black propaganda designed
to undermine Republican but not Loyalist paramilitary groups; *
Deployed psychological warfare techniques, involving the torture of
internees; * Sent Kitson's 'Private Army' - Support Company of 1
Para - to Derry where they perpetrated the Bloody Sunday massacre.
The British Widgery and Saville inquiries did not hold Kitson and
his elite troops accountable for Bloody Sunday. Kitson's Irish War
lays bare the evidence they discounted: Kitson's role in the events
leading up to and surrounding that massacre; evidence from a
deserter from 1 Para who joined the IRA; a deceitful MI5 agent; a
courageous whistle blower whom the British state tried to
discredit, and much more, all of which points to a motive for the
attack on the Bogside. This book unlocks the some of the key
secrets of the Dirty War that the British government is still
determined to cover-up.
Conquered in 1492 and colonized by invading Castilians, the city
and kingdom of Granada faced radical changes imposed by its
occupiers throughout the first half of the sixteenth century -
including the forced conversion of its native Muslim population.
Written by Francisco Nunez Muley, one of Granada's New Christians,
this extraordinary letter lodges a clear-sighted, impassioned
protest against the unreasonable and strongly assimilationist laws
that required all Granadans to dress, speak, eat, marry, celebrate
festivals, and bury their dead exactly as the Castilian settler
population did. Rendered into faithful English prose by Vincent
Barletta, Nunez Muley's account is an invaluable example of how
Granada's former Muslims made active use of the written word to
challenge and openly resist the progressively intolerant policies
of the Spanish Crown. Timely and resonant - given current debates
concerning Islam, minorities, and cultural and linguistic
assimilation - this edition provides scholars in a range of fields
with a vivid and early example of resistance in the face of
oppression.
How was it possible to write history in the Soviet Union, under
strict state control and without access to archives? What methods
of research did these 'historians' - be they academic, that is
based at formal institutions, or independent - rely on? And how was
their work influenced by their complex and shifting relationships
with the state? To answer these questions, Barbara Martin here
tracks the careers of four bold and important dissidents: Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn, Roy Medvedev, Aleksandr Nekrich and Anton
Antonov-Ovseenko. Based on extensive archival research and
interviews (with some of the authors themselves, as well as those
close to them), the result is a nuanced and very necessary history
of Soviet dissident history writing, from the relative
liberalisation of de-Stalinisation through increasing repression
and persecution in the Brezhnev era to liberalisation once more
during perestroika. In the process Martin sheds light onto late
Soviet society and its relationship with the state, as well as the
ways in which this dissidence participated in weakening the Soviet
regime during Perestroika. This is important reading for all
scholars working on late Soviet history and society.
This book is the story of an exceptional man: David Samaai. The author takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the life of Davy (as he was affectionately known by his peers) who began his career in the streets of a beautiful suburb called the Ou Tuin (Old Garden) on the banks of the picturesque Berg River. Due to the Group Areas Act of the apartheid government they were forced to leave their homes. They had
to move to the other side of the river to a new town: Paarl East.
Many thought that it was the end. On the contrary, it was anything but game set and match. Because of inspirational leadership, they managed to overcome apartheid and even excelled! David led by example. First, he conquered Wimbledon and then he led his community rebuilding their town, their schools, the mosque and the church. In fact, they rebuilt their entire lives.
Eventually it turned out to be a chronicle of the political emancipation of a community to which David Samaai was an inspiration, not because he was a legendary tennis player, a gifted musician or a committed school principal and teacher, but because he was and still is an example to any South African.
He left a legacy that with hard work and perseverance you can achieve your dream.
This is the first attempt to bring together diverse scholars, using
different lenses, to study South Africa’s Border War. As a book, it
is critical in approach, provides deeper reflection, and focuses
specifically on the SADF experience of the war. The result is a
more complex picture of the war’s dynamics and its legacies.
Although South Africa is a vastly different country today, the
study of the Border War opens a range of questions, also relevant
to contemporary deployments such as in Lesotho (1998) and the
Central African Republic (2013).
It includes the debate on participation in foreign conflicts; on
the deployment, design and preparation of appropriate, modern armed
forces and their use as foreign policy instruments in far-off
theatres; on military planning; and, as the historical
controversies regarding the battles at Cuito Cuanavale and Bangui
illustrate, on the interface between foreign campaigning and
domestic politics.
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government's system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it.
Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online - a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet's conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.
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