Rebecca Tamás begins her book “Strangers” by recalling the 17th century Levellers and their proto-communist calls for radical democracy and common ownership of land.   Sean Sheehan   She is drawn to their prescient awareness of the need to connect political awareness with ecological concerns, the human and the nonhuman. […]

The depth of James Joyce’s writing provides source material for academics and culture vultures everywhere but while the number of books about Joyce are of oceanic proportions those worth staying on a bookshelf are disproportionately small by comparison.   Sean Sheehan   Andrew Gibson’s “Joyce’s revenge” and “The strong spirit” […]

All of China Mieville’s fiction is worth reading for its political, philosophical and cultural resonances, “the City & The City” and “Embassytown” are extraordinary.   Sean Sheehan   He is also a compelling writer of non-fiction and “A spectre, haunting”, a prequel of sorts to his earlier “October”, is a […]

Some places trade profitably on their stereotyped image: tourists are not allowed to forget that Paris is romantic, London dynamic, New York exciting. Conversely, some locales struggle to overcome negative connotations.   Sean Sheehan   Medellin or Glasgow are no less attractive than others in their countries and in some […]

Mao Zedong saw the opportunity of radical change when the existing social and political disorder was in a state of critical disarray: “There is great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent”.   Sean Sheehan   Zizek goes a step further by noting that, while disorder under heaven is once […]