From its foundation in 1957 to its self-dissolution in 1972, the Situationist International established itself as one of the most radical revolutionary organisations of the twentieth century.

This book brings together leading researchers on the SI to provide a comprehensive critical analysis of the group's key concepts and contexts, from its relationship to earlier artistic avant-gardes, romanticism, Hegelianism, the history of the workers' movement and May '68 to the concepts and practices of 'spectacle', 'constructed situations', 'everyday life' and 'detournement'. The volume also considers historically underexamined areas of the SI, including the situation of women in the group and its opposition to colonialism and racism.

With contributions from a broad range of thinkers including Anselm Jappe and Michael Loewy, this account takes a fresh look at the complex workings of a group that has come to define radical politics and culture in the post-war period.

About the Author

Alastair Hemmens is Lecturer in French at Cardiff University School of Modern Languages, Wales.

Gabriel Zacarias is Professor in the Department of History at the University of Campinas, Brazil.

Reviews
'It's hard to see how this book could be surpassed in rigor and scope. As its authors carefully unpack the complex manifold of situationism, readers begin to grasp again the political, aesthetic, philosophical, and cultural totality of consumer capitalism that the Situationists argued we can leave. This mid-twentieth-century critique and speculation remains an undeniable wonder' -- Simon Sadler, Professor of Design at the University of California, Davis and author of 'The Situationist City'
'Philosophy, critical theory, artistic practice, strategies and tactics of social contestation, transnational networks and internecine clashes all came together in the Situationist International. In this volume, new archival resources and a new generation of scholars point the way to a richer, more complete picture of the movement and its place in the 20th and 21st centuries' -- Kevin Repp, Curator of Modern European Books & Manuscripts at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library



Book Information
ISBN 9780745338897
Author Alastair Hemmens
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Pluto Press
Publisher Pluto Press
Weight(grams) 412g