The Situationists and the City: A Reader
The Situationist International (SI), led by the revolutionary Guy Debord, were active throughout the 1950s and 60s. They published the journal Internationale Situationniste that included many incendiary texts on politics and art, and were a galvanizing force in the revolutions of May 1968. The importance of their work has been felt particularly in their revolutionary analysis of cities. The SI were responsible for utopian imaginings of the city, where its alienating effects from its routine use as a site of consumption and work were banished and it was instead to be turned into a place of play. Tom McDonough collects all the SI’s key work in this area for an essential one-stop collection. Including such essential works as ‘The Theory of the Derive’, ‘Formulary for a New Urbanism’, and many previously untranslated texts, the book will also be strikingly illustrated by the images that were core to the Situationist project.
Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN: 9781844673643
January 2010
$26.95 / £14.99
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Other Editions
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Hardback, 288 pages
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ISBN: 9781844673322
January 2010
$110.00 / £65.00
Reviews
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A highly readable and well-organised compendium that is likely to be fingered for some time, it lays out neatly the movement's visionary take on the city (read Paris) 'as the primary site of alienation in modern society.'
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Gives us a flavour of this important intellectual moment.
Blog
Verso's guide to political walking
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1. Wanderlust - Rebecca Solnit
The first general history of walking, Rebecca Solnit's book finds a profound relationship between walking and thinking, walking and culture, and argues for the necessity of preserving the time and space in which to walk in an ever more automobile-dependent and accelerated world.
2. Savage Messiah - Laura Oldfield Ford
Savage Messiah collects Laura Oldfield Ford's black and white, cut 'n' paste, punk fanzines that document her drift through London's margins. Illustrated with haunting line drawings of forgotten people and places, Oldfield Ford records the beauty and anger at the city's edges.
"Totality for Beginners" and a Situationist competition!
Avid Verso readers and SI devotees know that McKenzie Wark’s The Beach Beneath the Street features a dustjacket that folds out to a full-length double-sided poster, doubling as a graphic essay. The graphic essay, “Totality for Beginners,” is illustrated by Kevin C. Pyle with texts selected by McKenzie Wark.
“Totality for Kids” is the interactive version of the graphic essay, hosted by Vectors Journal and available at www.beachbeneaththestreet.com.
To introduce you to “Totality for Kids,” we are announcing our latest online competition
Commute, work, commute, sleep ... —or why Situationism can explain the January blues
Psychologists designated Janaury 17th as ‘the most depressing day of the year’. Like so much snake oil, we are bombarded with books, articles and programmes advising us on how to ‘find happiness’ in 2011.