The 1967 'Summer of Love' brought all sorts of unusual people and
events to London but perhaps nothing so extraordinary as the
Congress on the Dialectics of Liberation. The congress, organized
by the American 'anti-psychiatrist' Joe Berke, with help from Leon
Redler, R.D. Laing, David Cooper, and a host of students,
ex-students, psychiatric 'patients', and secretaries, took place at
the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm Road over two weeks during July, and
was designed to 'demystify human violence in all its forms, the
social systems from which it emanates, and to explore new forms of
action.' But that bald summary of the purpose of the congress,
accurate as it is, hardly does justice to its immediate
achievements or to its long-term significance. Mingling with the
many then famous speakers: Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Marcuse, Paul
Goodman, Stokely Carmichael, Gregory Bateson, C.L.R. James, Julian
Beck, Emmett Grogan, Thich Nhat Hanh, Paul Sweezy, John Gerassi,
and Lucien Goldmann, were many younger people who arrived with
their own ideas and who themselves went onto distinguished and
influential careers in the arts, politics and academia. One was the
American artist Carolee Schneemann, who devised a happening which
was performed on the last day of the congress. Another was the
British psychoanalyst and feminist Juliet Mitchell. A third was the
American feminist, Angela Davis. This book, which is in part a
biography of Joe Berke, traces the Congress from its origins in the
United States to its major outgrowth The Anti-University of London,
and concludes with some brief reflections on the congress's
relevance to today's 'revolutionary' identity-based politics.
General
Imprint: |
Ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild U Christian Schon
|
Country of origin: |
Germany |
Release date: |
November 2023 |
Authors: |
Martin Levy
|
Pages: |
250 |
ISBN-13: |
978-3-8382-1659-1 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
3-8382-1659-8 |
Barcode: |
9783838216591 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!