Sean Scalmer - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers in scholarly journals by Sean Scalmer

Labour History, 77, November, pp. 1-10., 1999

Labour Intellectuals are knowledge producers in labour institutions. The liberal conception of th... more Labour Intellectuals are knowledge producers in labour institutions. The liberal conception of the 'free-floating' intellectual has limited utility for understanding labour intellectuals. The idea of the labour intellectual directs our attention to the complex and changing relationships between intellectuals, classes and labour movement institutions, and the place of these institutions in broader society. This article reviews the contributions of Antonio Gramsci, Jurgen Habermas and his critics, and Ron Eyerman, to the concept of the labour intellectual. Gramsci directs us to the possibility that all have the capacity to be (labour) intellectuals. Learning from Habermas, we trace intellectuals back to the sites in which they produce ideas and discourse. Agreeing with the critics of Habermas, we see those sites as multiple publics. From Eyerman we take the idea of labour intellectuals as a plural historical category. The study of labour intellectuals has the potential to widen the scope of labour history.

Papers by Sean Scalmer

International Review of Social History

Direct action" emerged as a central concept in labour-movement politics in the late nineteenth an... more Direct action" emerged as a central concept in labour-movement politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article traces and explains that process of invention. In doing so, it seeks to settle three currently unresolved historical problems: the problem of the meaning of direct action; the problem of its relative novelty; and the problem of its relationship to nation. The article draws upon pamphlets and newspapers published on four continents in English, French, Spanish, and German. It argues that the concept of direct action was used in several analytically distinguishable ways: categorical; performative; and strategic. While aspects of direct action were evident in many nations over several decades, French activists played a decisive and catalytic role in the development of the concept. They welded the categorical, performative, and strategic together. They assembled key performances into an agreed repertoire. And they underlined the revolutionary significance of this combination. This new assemblage was then widely taken up across the global labour movement. *Many thanks to Marcel van der Linden, Peter Beilharz, Iain McIntyre, and Jackie Dickenson for advice on an earlier draft and for encouragement. Thanks also to the IRSH: its anonymous referees, Editorial Committee, Editor Aad Blok and Editorial Assistant Marie-José Spreeuwenberg. This research is supported by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung.

The Transnational Activist, 2017

Although a child of the nineteenth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was unquestionably a 'glob... more Although a child of the nineteenth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was unquestionably a 'global activist.' The leader of campaigns for Indian rights in South Africa and later for Indian Home Rule, he pressured leaders and cultivated alliances in the metropole as much as the periphery. 1 His actions won the attention of the Western media: 2

Around the world, social movements have become legitimate, yet contested, actors in local, nation... more Around the world, social movements have become legitimate, yet contested, actors in local, national and global politics and civil society, yet we still know relatively little about their longer histories and the trajectories of their development. This series seeks to promote innovative historical research on the history of social movements in the modern period since around 1750. We bring together conceptually-informed studies that analyse labour movements, new social movements and other forms of protest from early modernity to the present. We conceive of 'social movements' in the broadest possible sense, encompassing social formations that lie between formal organisations and mere protest events. We also offer a home for studies that systematically explore the political, social, economic and cultural conditions in which social movements can emerge. We are especially interested in transnational and global perspectives on the history of social movements, and in studies that engage critically and creatively with political, social and sociological theories in order to make historically grounded arguments about social movements. This new series seeks to offer innovative historical work on social movements, while also helping to historicise the concept of 'social movement'. It hopes to revitalise the conversation between historians and historical sociologists in analysing what Charles Tilly has called the 'dynamics of

Remembering Social Movements, 2021

Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 2002

The history of the Peace Pledge Union of Britain illuminates the process of social movement reper... more The history of the Peace Pledge Union of Britain illuminates the process of social movement repertoire diffusion. In the late 1950s and 1960s British pacifists successfully used nonviolent direct action, but this was based upon a long-term engagement with Gandhism. Systematic coding of movement literature suggests that the translation of Gandhian methods involved more than twenty years of intellectual study and debate. Rival versions of Gandhian repertoire were constructed and defended. These were embedded in practical, sometimes competing projects within the pacifist movement, and were the subject of intense argument and conflict, the relevance of Gandhism was established through complex framing processes, multiple discourses, and increasing practical experimentation. This article offers methodological and conceptual tools for the study of diffusion. A wider argument for the importance of the reception as will as performance of contention is offered.

History Australia, 2017

What is the place of 'peace history' in the study of Australian history? This article considers t... more What is the place of 'peace history' in the study of Australian history? This article considers the marginalisation of 'peace history' and ponders recent challenges to such marginality. It further explores the possibility that studies of the Australian peace movement might not simply contribute to a fuller understanding of Australia's past, but might also contribute to a more ambitious and historically grounded understanding of the 'social movement' as a transnational political actor.

Australian Journal of Political Science, 2015

‘Social movement studies’ sits on the borderlands between political science and sociology. It is ... more ‘Social movement studies’ sits on the borderlands between political science and sociology. It is a sub-discipline of comparatively recent origin. Though the concept of the ‘social movement’ entered the major European languages in the 19th century, it was at first narrowly associated with the activities and priorities of the Labour Movement. Australian Journal of Political Science, 2015 Vol. 50, No. 4, 761–771, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2015.1110785

The Australian Study of Politics, 2009

‘Pressure groups’ and ‘social movements’ were not a central concern of the first Australian polit... more ‘Pressure groups’ and ‘social movements’ were not a central concern of the first Australian political scientists. The earliest studies focused on the structures of government and the role of formal institutions. ‘Pressure groups’ were only a marginal reference in these works, and ‘social movements’ were not referred to at all.

Gandhi in the West

Later on, his actions would be famous. Admirers could eventually invoke a catechism of apparent v... more Later on, his actions would be famous. Admirers could eventually invoke a catechism of apparent victories: South Africa, Champaran, Vykon, Kotgarh, Kheda, Bardoli. There was a mill strike in Ahmedabad, and a battle for the right to parade in Nagpur. A national campaign of nonco-operation would be remembered as a humiliation for the Prince of Wales and a serious affront to the authority of the Raj. Gandhi's 1923 speech from the dock of the accused would ultimately be celebrated as a 'masterpiece'. His bodily experiments would be picked over by learned scholars, and his fasts would enjoy recognition as genuine victories for the spirit of love. Years after his passing, the Mahatma's march to make salt at Dandi would be hailed as one of the founding events of global media history. 1 But all of this was later, much deferred. Western recognition was horribly belated. At first, there was incomprehension. While the eyes of the Westerner fixed intently on the strange person of Gandhi, his precise activities were long enveloped in a curtain of ignorance and misunderstanding. For years it remained difficult to establish exactly what Gandhi did, why he was so inspired, or what he aimed to achieve. Why so hard? When Indians began to question imperial rule, the British state acted immediately to restrict their freedoms of assembly 2 Gandhism in action

Labour History, 2013

This issue of Labour History is dedicated to the study of labour women's leadership. The topi... more This issue of Labour History is dedicated to the study of labour women's leadership. The topic is relatively unfamiliar to the pages of the journal, and even to academic scholarship.

Labour History, 2002

... 1 Translation 11 2 Staging 31 3 Diffusion 76 4 Theory 109 5 Media 137 Conclusion ... 2 • DISS... more ... 1 Translation 11 2 Staging 31 3 Diffusion 76 4 Theory 109 5 Media 137 Conclusion ... 2 • DISSENTEVENTS High Court; arrested again; face a dictation test in Gaelic; be ... He would address countless meetings, generate enthusiasm for the growing campaign against war, and dent ...

Labour History, 1996

This article is a contribution to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relative virtues of cultura... more This article is a contribution to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relative virtues of culturalist Marxism and discourse analysis in the study of labour and social history. The dialogue has increasingly preoccupied more theoretically-minded historians over the 1980s and '90s, as the conceptual basis of much of labour history has been subjected to quite fundamental critique. Ann Curthoys has recently offered such a critique in Labour History, arguing that the search for structural explanations of events should be abandoned as 'authoritarian' and 'reductive', and that it should be replaced by an exploration of the 'diversity of meanings and perspectives' that history contains.1 This article responds to such a view. The argument proceeds in three broad sections. Firstly, it traces the theoretical underpinnings of Thompsonian labour history, and in particular the political and intellectual genesis of the central concept of 'working class experience'. Secondly, it explores the critiques of working class experience launched over the 1970s and '80s from the perspectives of structuralism and post-structuralism, and assesses the power and the implications of such critiques. Thirdly, it offers the beginnings of an attempt to adjust to the force of this attack from a materialist perspective, and to suggest a reformulated, and more aggressive form of labour history. It is a theoretical article, concerned with the discussion of approaches to the writing of history, rather than with the demonstration of such approaches, yet it remains intimately concerned with the future treatment of labour in actual historical scholarship.

Journal of Australian Studies, 1999

Australian Journal of Politics & History, 2008

Australian Journal of Politics & History, 2010

The memoirs and diaries composed by politicians represent an increasingly important form of histo... more The memoirs and diaries composed by politicians represent an increasingly important form of history. This article provides a comprehensive survey of such writings in Australia. It suggests that they have become more popular, diffuse, confessional, immediate, ambitious, interventionist and cynical over recent decades. The significance of these developments is considered and some tentative explanations advanced.

Labour History, 77, November, pp. 1-10., 1999

Labour Intellectuals are knowledge producers in labour institutions. The liberal conception of th... more Labour Intellectuals are knowledge producers in labour institutions. The liberal conception of the 'free-floating' intellectual has limited utility for understanding labour intellectuals. The idea of the labour intellectual directs our attention to the complex and changing relationships between intellectuals, classes and labour movement institutions, and the place of these institutions in broader society. This article reviews the contributions of Antonio Gramsci, Jurgen Habermas and his critics, and Ron Eyerman, to the concept of the labour intellectual. Gramsci directs us to the possibility that all have the capacity to be (labour) intellectuals. Learning from Habermas, we trace intellectuals back to the sites in which they produce ideas and discourse. Agreeing with the critics of Habermas, we see those sites as multiple publics. From Eyerman we take the idea of labour intellectuals as a plural historical category. The study of labour intellectuals has the potential to widen the scope of labour history.

International Review of Social History

Direct action" emerged as a central concept in labour-movement politics in the late nineteenth an... more Direct action" emerged as a central concept in labour-movement politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article traces and explains that process of invention. In doing so, it seeks to settle three currently unresolved historical problems: the problem of the meaning of direct action; the problem of its relative novelty; and the problem of its relationship to nation. The article draws upon pamphlets and newspapers published on four continents in English, French, Spanish, and German. It argues that the concept of direct action was used in several analytically distinguishable ways: categorical; performative; and strategic. While aspects of direct action were evident in many nations over several decades, French activists played a decisive and catalytic role in the development of the concept. They welded the categorical, performative, and strategic together. They assembled key performances into an agreed repertoire. And they underlined the revolutionary significance of this combination. This new assemblage was then widely taken up across the global labour movement. *Many thanks to Marcel van der Linden, Peter Beilharz, Iain McIntyre, and Jackie Dickenson for advice on an earlier draft and for encouragement. Thanks also to the IRSH: its anonymous referees, Editorial Committee, Editor Aad Blok and Editorial Assistant Marie-José Spreeuwenberg. This research is supported by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung.

The Transnational Activist, 2017

Although a child of the nineteenth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was unquestionably a 'glob... more Although a child of the nineteenth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was unquestionably a 'global activist.' The leader of campaigns for Indian rights in South Africa and later for Indian Home Rule, he pressured leaders and cultivated alliances in the metropole as much as the periphery. 1 His actions won the attention of the Western media: 2

Around the world, social movements have become legitimate, yet contested, actors in local, nation... more Around the world, social movements have become legitimate, yet contested, actors in local, national and global politics and civil society, yet we still know relatively little about their longer histories and the trajectories of their development. This series seeks to promote innovative historical research on the history of social movements in the modern period since around 1750. We bring together conceptually-informed studies that analyse labour movements, new social movements and other forms of protest from early modernity to the present. We conceive of 'social movements' in the broadest possible sense, encompassing social formations that lie between formal organisations and mere protest events. We also offer a home for studies that systematically explore the political, social, economic and cultural conditions in which social movements can emerge. We are especially interested in transnational and global perspectives on the history of social movements, and in studies that engage critically and creatively with political, social and sociological theories in order to make historically grounded arguments about social movements. This new series seeks to offer innovative historical work on social movements, while also helping to historicise the concept of 'social movement'. It hopes to revitalise the conversation between historians and historical sociologists in analysing what Charles Tilly has called the 'dynamics of

Remembering Social Movements, 2021

Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 2002

The history of the Peace Pledge Union of Britain illuminates the process of social movement reper... more The history of the Peace Pledge Union of Britain illuminates the process of social movement repertoire diffusion. In the late 1950s and 1960s British pacifists successfully used nonviolent direct action, but this was based upon a long-term engagement with Gandhism. Systematic coding of movement literature suggests that the translation of Gandhian methods involved more than twenty years of intellectual study and debate. Rival versions of Gandhian repertoire were constructed and defended. These were embedded in practical, sometimes competing projects within the pacifist movement, and were the subject of intense argument and conflict, the relevance of Gandhism was established through complex framing processes, multiple discourses, and increasing practical experimentation. This article offers methodological and conceptual tools for the study of diffusion. A wider argument for the importance of the reception as will as performance of contention is offered.

History Australia, 2017

What is the place of 'peace history' in the study of Australian history? This article considers t... more What is the place of 'peace history' in the study of Australian history? This article considers the marginalisation of 'peace history' and ponders recent challenges to such marginality. It further explores the possibility that studies of the Australian peace movement might not simply contribute to a fuller understanding of Australia's past, but might also contribute to a more ambitious and historically grounded understanding of the 'social movement' as a transnational political actor.

Australian Journal of Political Science, 2015

‘Social movement studies’ sits on the borderlands between political science and sociology. It is ... more ‘Social movement studies’ sits on the borderlands between political science and sociology. It is a sub-discipline of comparatively recent origin. Though the concept of the ‘social movement’ entered the major European languages in the 19th century, it was at first narrowly associated with the activities and priorities of the Labour Movement. Australian Journal of Political Science, 2015 Vol. 50, No. 4, 761–771, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2015.1110785

The Australian Study of Politics, 2009

‘Pressure groups’ and ‘social movements’ were not a central concern of the first Australian polit... more ‘Pressure groups’ and ‘social movements’ were not a central concern of the first Australian political scientists. The earliest studies focused on the structures of government and the role of formal institutions. ‘Pressure groups’ were only a marginal reference in these works, and ‘social movements’ were not referred to at all.

Gandhi in the West

Later on, his actions would be famous. Admirers could eventually invoke a catechism of apparent v... more Later on, his actions would be famous. Admirers could eventually invoke a catechism of apparent victories: South Africa, Champaran, Vykon, Kotgarh, Kheda, Bardoli. There was a mill strike in Ahmedabad, and a battle for the right to parade in Nagpur. A national campaign of nonco-operation would be remembered as a humiliation for the Prince of Wales and a serious affront to the authority of the Raj. Gandhi's 1923 speech from the dock of the accused would ultimately be celebrated as a 'masterpiece'. His bodily experiments would be picked over by learned scholars, and his fasts would enjoy recognition as genuine victories for the spirit of love. Years after his passing, the Mahatma's march to make salt at Dandi would be hailed as one of the founding events of global media history. 1 But all of this was later, much deferred. Western recognition was horribly belated. At first, there was incomprehension. While the eyes of the Westerner fixed intently on the strange person of Gandhi, his precise activities were long enveloped in a curtain of ignorance and misunderstanding. For years it remained difficult to establish exactly what Gandhi did, why he was so inspired, or what he aimed to achieve. Why so hard? When Indians began to question imperial rule, the British state acted immediately to restrict their freedoms of assembly 2 Gandhism in action

Labour History, 2013

This issue of Labour History is dedicated to the study of labour women's leadership. The topi... more This issue of Labour History is dedicated to the study of labour women's leadership. The topic is relatively unfamiliar to the pages of the journal, and even to academic scholarship.

Labour History, 2002

... 1 Translation 11 2 Staging 31 3 Diffusion 76 4 Theory 109 5 Media 137 Conclusion ... 2 • DISS... more ... 1 Translation 11 2 Staging 31 3 Diffusion 76 4 Theory 109 5 Media 137 Conclusion ... 2 • DISSENTEVENTS High Court; arrested again; face a dictation test in Gaelic; be ... He would address countless meetings, generate enthusiasm for the growing campaign against war, and dent ...

Labour History, 1996

This article is a contribution to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relative virtues of cultura... more This article is a contribution to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relative virtues of culturalist Marxism and discourse analysis in the study of labour and social history. The dialogue has increasingly preoccupied more theoretically-minded historians over the 1980s and '90s, as the conceptual basis of much of labour history has been subjected to quite fundamental critique. Ann Curthoys has recently offered such a critique in Labour History, arguing that the search for structural explanations of events should be abandoned as 'authoritarian' and 'reductive', and that it should be replaced by an exploration of the 'diversity of meanings and perspectives' that history contains.1 This article responds to such a view. The argument proceeds in three broad sections. Firstly, it traces the theoretical underpinnings of Thompsonian labour history, and in particular the political and intellectual genesis of the central concept of 'working class experience'. Secondly, it explores the critiques of working class experience launched over the 1970s and '80s from the perspectives of structuralism and post-structuralism, and assesses the power and the implications of such critiques. Thirdly, it offers the beginnings of an attempt to adjust to the force of this attack from a materialist perspective, and to suggest a reformulated, and more aggressive form of labour history. It is a theoretical article, concerned with the discussion of approaches to the writing of history, rather than with the demonstration of such approaches, yet it remains intimately concerned with the future treatment of labour in actual historical scholarship.

Journal of Australian Studies, 1999

Australian Journal of Politics & History, 2008

Australian Journal of Politics & History, 2010

The memoirs and diaries composed by politicians represent an increasingly important form of histo... more The memoirs and diaries composed by politicians represent an increasingly important form of history. This article provides a comprehensive survey of such writings in Australia. It suggests that they have become more popular, diffuse, confessional, immediate, ambitious, interventionist and cynical over recent decades. The significance of these developments is considered and some tentative explanations advanced.

Australian Journal of Politics & History, 2009

Political diaries can claim literary, political and intellectual significance, yet they have rare... more Political diaries can claim literary, political and intellectual significance, yet they have rarely been subject to serious or extended enquiry. In this article we offer the first comprehensive survey of the Australian political diary. We also analyse these writings in some depth, suggesting that, taken as a whole, the diaries reveal three Weberian "ideal types" of the politician: the "patrician", the "professional", and the "radical". These ideal types are used to shed a new light on the functioning and limitations of parliamentary democracy in Australia.