Anarchist Essays

Essay #97: Matt Grimes, ‘I’m not someone who calls themselves an anarchist, I am an anarchist’: The Continuing Significance of Anarchism in the Latter Lives of Ex-Adherents of British Anarcho-Punk’

In this essay, Matt Grimes discusses the continuing significance of anarchism among a group of ageing anarcho-punks, who first engaged with anarchist ideologies and politics in their adolescence in the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing on the relationship between ageing, identity, memory and nostalgia, Matt explores how this group of ageing anarcho-punks have negotiated their anarchist beliefs, alongside the responsibilities often associated with adulthood and ageing.
Dr Matt Grimes is Course Director BA (Hons) Music Business and Senior Lecturer in Music Industries and Radio. Matt’s most recent publications are; Way, L. and Grimes, M. (2024) (eds) Punk, Ageing and Time. London: Palgrave MacMillan and Grimes, M. (2024) "I'm not someone who calls himself an anarchist, I am an anarchist". Anarcho-punk praxis and the continuing ideological significance of  British anarcho-punk in the later lives of its ex-adherents’. In: Laura Way and  Matt Grimes (eds) Punk, Ageing and Time. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
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Essay #96: Dana Williams, ‘Concerning Anarchist Sociology: Working Within and Against Discipline’

In this essay, Dana Williams discusses the many complicated connections between sociology and anarchism. In particular, Williams explores what could be meant by "anarchist-sociology" and the potential for a social science anarchist studies.
Dana Williams is Professor of Sociology at California State University, Chico in California (USA). Williams's most recent publications include "The Uncivil Sphere and Anti-authoritarian Movements: Problems of Status Quo Violence, Internationalist Militancy, and Non-state Civil Society" (published in Theory in Action) and "Anarchist and Anarchistic Anti-Systemic Movements in World-Systems Perspective: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Non-State Spaces" (with Spencer Louis Potiker and Jake Alimahomed-Wilson, in Journal of World-Systems Research), and a forthcoming book about radical trust with Pluto Press.
Williams can be found on social media at: https://scholar.social/web/@dmw  and  https://bsky.app/profile/dmwilliams.bsky.social
Full-text articles available here: https://hcommons.org/members/dmwilliams/  and  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dana-Williams-4
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.
 
 

Essay #95: Alexandria Hollett, ‘No Gods, No Masters: Practicing Freedom Through Anarchist Civics’

In this essay, Alexandria Hollett describes how liberal and conservative approaches to civic education in the so-called United States dangerously position the nation-state as the incontestable organizer of contemporary life, promote national myths, encourage young people to develop affinity for the nation-state, and position voting and other constitutional processes as exclusive tactics for social change. By contrast, this essay offers direct democracy, mutual aid, and direct action as anarchist interventions into the ongoing crisis of civic education. 
Alexandria Hollett is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at California State University, Northridge. Alexandria Hollett's most recent publication is ‘No Gods, No Masters: Practicing Freedom through Anarchist Civics’ and she is a member of the Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation. You can find her at https://academics.csun.edu/faculty/alexandria.hollett or on Instagram at @alleholle. 
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #94: Libera Pisano, ‘Embracing Life: Gustav Landauer’s Anarchism as Rejection of Death’

In this essay, Libera Pisano explores Gustav Landauer’s unique approach to anarchism, grounded in a rejection of death as both a literal and symbolic concept. Landauer’s philosophy emphasizes the transcendence of individual isolation through community and mystical consciousness, positioning revolution as a life-affirming path to unity and interconnectedness.
Libera Pisano is a Research Associate at Nova University Lisbon. Her recent publications are “Resisting Nihilism: The Motif of Entwurzelung in Jonas’s Early Writings,” in Hans Jonas: The Early Years (eds. D. Herskowitz, E. Lapidot, C. Wiese; London: Routledge, 2024), 201-217 Hans Jonas: The Early Years - 1st Edition - Daniel M. Herskowitz - Ela, and “Die Grammatik der Hoffnung: Diasporisches Hören und weiblicher Abgrund bei Margarete Susman,” in Margarete Susman: Beiträge zu Werk und Wirkung (eds. M.J. Kudla, C. Battegay, I. Sauter, W. Goetschel; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2024), 317-333 Margarete Susman.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #93: Alexander Sawatsky, ‘Anarchist Perspectives for Social Work Practice: Disrupting Oppressive Systems’

In this essay, Alexander Sawatsky talks about his recent book, Anarchist perspectives for social work: Disrupting oppressive systems.  Along with a summary of the main topics and themes, he describes how he arrived at the idea of writing this book as well as his motivation to work towards an anarchist informed social work practice.
Alexander teaches and is chair of the social work program at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where he lives with his partner, Wendi and his two children, Marianne and Lukas.  His most recent publications are the following:
Sawatsky, A. (2023) What is at the centre? Faith, social work & anarchism, Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 42:4, 477-495.
Sawatsky, A. (2024). Anarchism & social work. Critical Social Work.   Vol. 25, No. 1. 
Sawatsky, A. (2024) Anarchist Perspectives for Social Work: Disrupting Oppressive Systems. Oxford University Press.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.
 

Essay #92: Leonard Williams, ‘A Response to the US Presidential Election’

In this essay, Leonard Williams reflects on the course of the 2024 presidential campaign in the United States. He then explores some implications of a second Trump presidency for both anarchists and anarchism.
Leonard Williams is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Manchester University in Indiana. His forthcoming book entitled Hybridity and Ideology was co-written with Benjamin Franks. Other recent publications include Black Blocks, White Squares: Crosswords with an Anarchist Edge and the edited volume, Anarchism: A Conceptual Analysis.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #91: Jim Donaghey, ‘DIY: A Radical Culture and Ethic Beyond Punk’

In this essay, Jim Donaghey reads an adaption from the introduction to DIY or Die! Do-it-yourself, do-it-together and punk anarchism – the latest volume in The Anarchism and Punk Book Project. The essay goes beyond and before punk to explore the radicality that runs through DIY, in its diverse applications from home improvement to anarchist political philosophy.
Jim Donaghey is a punk working in academia, currently as a Research Fellow at Ulster University. You can read his publications at his website.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #90: Alex Christoyannopoulos, ‘Anarchist Qualms with Pacifism and Nonviolence: Accusations and Rejoinders’

In this essay, Alex Christoyannopoulos maps out and discusses the main qualms aired by anarchists about pacifism and nonviolence (around effectiveness, origins and compromises, and dogmatic censorship). He also fleshes out a rejoinder for each, and reflects on the mutual resonances and overlaps between the two. 
Alex Christoyannopoulos is Reader in Politics and International Relations at Loughborough University. His most recent publications include a contribution to a forum debate on Andreas Malm's How to Blow Up a Pipeline, a paper articulating an anarcho-pacifist reading of international relations, as well as two pieces he mentions in this essay: a longer paper mapping out the tensions and similarities between anarchism and pacifism, and the editorial to the founding issue of the Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence. A fuller list of his publications is available on his website. 
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #89: Jon Burke, ‘Qalang Smangus: Successful Aboriginal Christian Anarchism in Taiwan’

In this essay, Jon Burke describes Qalang Smangus, an aboriginal village in Taiwan which has been collectively organized. Jon makes a case for identifying it as an intentional Christian anarcho-collectivist community, assesses its success, and identifies its internal and exernal challenges.
Jon is a former lecturer in photography and media studies at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan, and is currently a technical writer in Melbourne, Australia. His most recent publications are ‘Learning to love fakes: how to overcome the inauthenticity of digital artifacts’, for the 2023 conference Medievalisms on the Screen III: Digital Medievalisms and the Teaching of History, hosted by Central European University, and ‘Anarchitecture: Anarchist Principles Made Concrete for the Anarchist Studies Network 7th International Conference, 2022.’
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.

Essay #88: Jess Dillard-Wright & Danisha Jenkins , ‘Dangerous and Unprofessional Content: Anarchist Dreams for Alternate Nursing Futures’

In this essay, Jess Dillard-Wright and Danisha Jenkins make the case for an anarchist approach to nursing. Part love note to a problematic profession we love and hate, part fever dream of what could be, we set out to think about what nursing and care might look like after it all falls down, because it is all falling down.
Jess Dillard-Wright is an associate professor of nursing at Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at University of Massachusetts Amherst. You can learn more and find Jess’s contact information here. 
Danisha Jenkins is an assistant professor of nursing at San Diego State University. 
Jess and Danisha’s most recent publications are: 
Jenkins, D., Cohen, J., Walker, R., McMurray, P., & Dillard Wright, J. (2024). Getting Ours? “Girlbossing” and the Ethics of Nurse Reimbursement Models. Health Equity, 8(1), 480-492. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0059 
Dillard-Wright, J., & Jenkins, D. (2024). Dangerous and Unprofessional Content: Anarchist Dreams for Alternate Nursing Futures. Philosophies, 9(1), 25. https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/9/1/25 
Dillard‐Wright, J., & Jenkins, D. (2024). Nursing as total institution. Nursing Philosophy, 25(1), e12460. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12460 
Out of the hospitals. Into the streets.
Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro.
Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns).
Artwork by Sam G.