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1st OXFORD WORKING CLASS BOOKFAIR- Saturday 20 June

Tom Paine | 06.05.2009 12:01 | Education | Workers' Movements | Oxford

Saturday 20 June, 11 am - 6 pm
Ruskin College, Walton Street, Oxford
We cordially invite you to visit the 1st ever Oxford Working Class Bookfair! There will be books, talks, workshops, short films and more books and magazines . .

We cordially invite you to visit the 1st ever Oxford Working Class Bookfair! There will be books, talks, workshops, short films & more books and magazines . . .

We plan to recover/reclaim some of the hidden history of Oxford & England, with its gallery of rogues, rebels & revolutionaries, to touch upon some topics of contemporary relevance to the man & woman on the street today, provide quality entertainment, discuss the big issues past and present & hopefully have a real good time to boot! - All in a relaxed and warm atmosphere!

The range of local groups invited includes; political groups, Trade Unions, community groups, campaign groups, booksellers and history societies. If you would like to have a stall/participate/more info please email us at  oxfordworkingclassbookfair@googlemail.com

The event will include a commemoration & discussion of the 1909 Ruskin College Student Strike - the first student occupation of its kind - a pioneering student uprising for independent working class education, that saw students breakaway to form a radical education and self-help networks based on an alternative progressive view of what education could be. They argued that the working class didnt' just need to be admitted into higher education, but needed a fundamentally different form of education and curriculum, they set up an anti-capitalist education network as an alternative to the conventional university system around the Plebs League (a revolutionary alternative to the reformist WEA) and Central Labour Colleges.

Along the way, we will also learn the story of the RED SHIRTS, a group set up at Ruskin College by trade unionists and students to sabotage the attempts of Mosely's fascist BLACK SHIRTS to get a base in Oxford & consider how we fight against fascism & racism today. There will also be sessions on culture, trade union and labour history, war and empire, feminism/women's liberation etc.More information about speakers, events and other happenings planned will appear on this page shortly - watch this space!

Tom Paine
- e-mail: oxfordworkingclassbookfair@googlemail.com
- Homepage: http://www.oxfordworkingclassbookfair.blogspot.com

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  1. South Wales — Noah Ablett
  2. Network these events — Mayday