Revolutionary Moments Reading Revolutionary Texts

Since at least the mid-seventeenth century, the concept of revolution has been an important tool both for those seeking to bring about political change and for those trying to understand it. And it is as relevant today as it has ever been. This volume re-evaluates our understanding of the history of revolutionary thought by examining a selection of key texts. These range from the 17th to the 20th century, and are carefully chosen to include both constitutional documents and theoretical works by figures such as James Harrington, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maximilian Robespierre, Peter Kropotkin and Deng Xiaoping

Each chapter engages with a particular revolutionary moment via a specific text, usually an extract of around 300 words, and considers the significance of the text for the history of revolutionary thought. The structure of the book allows readers to make connections and comparisons across the different revolutionary texts and moments, thereby providing a broader, deeper and more nuanced understanding of revolutions. Stimulating, accessible and interdisciplinary, Revolutionary Moments will appeal to students and researchers in the history of political thought and intellectual history, and beyond.

Rachel Hammersley is Senior Lecuturer in Intellectual History, Newcastle University, UK.

1. Introduction by Rachel Hammersley, Newcastle University, UK
2. From Native Rights to Natural Equality: The Agreement of the People (1647) by Rachel Foxley, University of Reading, UK
3. James Harrington, The Commonwealth of Oceana and a Revolution in the Langauge of Politics by Rachel Hammersley, Newcastle University, UK
4. Works by Joseph Addison by Steve Pincus, Yale University, USA
5. A Revolution Ménagée: Mably's Des droits et des devoirs du citoyen by Kent Wright, University of Arizona, USA
6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract (1762) by Richard Whatmore, Sussex University, UK
7. Exclusion at the Founding: The Declaration of Independence by Robert Parkinson, Shepherd University, USA
8. Securing Liberty: The Federalist Papers by Tom Rodgers, Newcastle University, UK
9. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, August 1789 by Lynn Hunt, UCLA, USA
10. Revolution, Reform and the Political Thought of Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès by Michael Sonenscher, University of Cambridge, UK
11. Paine's Rights of Man and the Religiosityof Rights Doctrines by Greg Claeys, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
12. Virtue and Terror: Maximilian Robespierre on the Principles of the French Revolution - Marisa Linton, Kingston University, UK
13. The Haitian Declaration of Independence by Julia Gaffield, Duke University, USA
14. The Communist Manifesto by Julian Wright, University of Durham, UK
15. From National Backwardness to Revolutionary Leadership: Alexander Herzen's book On the Development of Revolutionary Ideas in Russia by Derek Offord, University of Bristol, UK
16. George Plekhanov, Socialism and Political Struggle (1883) by Christopher Read, University of Warwick, UK
17. Ordinary Miracles: Lenin's Call for Revolutionary Ambition by Lars T. Lih, McGill University, USA
18. Peter Kropotkin, Modern Science and Anarchism (1908) by George Crowder, Flinders University, USA
19. Liu Shaoqi, How to be a Good Communist (1939) by Jonathan Howlett, University of York, UK
20. Between Socialist Futures: Mao Zedong on the "Ten Major Relationships" by Daniel Leese, Freiburg, Germany
21. Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth: Embodying the anti-colonial action by Xavier Guegan, Newcastle University, UK
22. Thinking in Threes: Deng Xiaoping's speech at the U.N. General Assembly, 1974 by Jen Altehenger, King's College, University of London, UK
23. Conclusion by Rachel Hammersley, Newcastle University, UK