Red Stripe is a broadly left-wing reading group committed to stimulating radical critical thought and literary and cultural theory in contemporary Ireland. In existence in various forms for over twenty years, the group has engaged in the past with classical marxist theory, Western Marxism (from Lukács, the Frankfurt School and Gramsci to the contemporary British and American New Lefts), left-wing feminism and world systems analysis, but maintains an open interest in many new forms of radical social and cultural critique. It is a collaborative project between academics and students located in Maynooth University, UCD, UCC, and other institutions.
The symposium will consist of short presentations on the following texts, followed by discussion:
- Georg Lukacs, “The Historical Novel of Democratic Humanism” from The Historical Novel (1937) [Michael G Cronin, Maynooth University]
- Fredric Jameson, “The Historical Novel Today, or, Is it Still Possible?” from The Antinomies of Realism (2014) and Perry Anderson, “From Progress to Catastrophe” (LRB, 2011) [Emer Nolan, Maynooth University]
- ‘Capitalist Epics, Abstraction, totality and the theory of the novel’ (David Cunningham, Radical Philosophy, 163, Sept/Oct 2010) [Liam Lanigan, UCD]
We welcome new participants from the academic and student community, as well as all those interested in engaging with the questions on this year’s agenda.
For further information on the 2014/15 programme, and copies of readings for this first symposium, email: [email protected] Participants are encouraged to read the texts in advance of the symposium.