by Christina Heatherton
University of California Press
2/6/2024, paperback
SKU: 9780520403055
An international history of radical movements and their convergences during the Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a global event that catalyzed international radicals in unexpected sites and struggles. Tracing the paths of figures like Black American artist Elizabeth Catlett, Indian anti-colonial activist M.N. Roy, Mexican revolutionary leader Ricardo Flores Magón, Okinawan migrant organizer Paul Shinsei Kōchi, and Soviet feminist Alexandra Kollontai, Arise! reveals how activists around the world found inspiration and solidarity in revolutionary Mexico.
From art collectives and farm worker strikes to prison "universities," Arise! reconstructs how this era's radical organizers found new ways to fight global capitalism. Drawing on prison records, surveillance data, memoirs, oral histories, visual art, and a rich trove of untapped sources, Christina Heatherton considers how disparate revolutionary traditions merged in unanticipated alliances. From her unique vantage point, she charts the remarkable impact of the Mexican Revolution as radicals in this critical era forged an anti-racist internationalism from below.
Reviews:
"Arise! is one of the most thrillingly original books I have read in many a year. Combining theoretical sophistication, prodigious research, and breathtaking global reach, the book offers profound, sometimes startling connections that put an entire era of worldwide revolution in a brilliant new light." -- Marcus Rediker, coauthor of The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic
"Finally! The Mexican Revolution is restored to its rightful place as an integral act of modernity in modern history and a beacon of liberty to oppressed people throughout the world. This book demonstrates that the struggles of Mexico's peasantry, railroad workers, feminists, muralists, and others inspired and informed revolutionary movements on six continents for decades to come." -- Paul Ortiz, author of An African American and Latinx History of the United States
About the Author:
Christina Heatherton is Elting Associate Professor of American Studies and Human Rights at Trinity College, Connecticut. She is coeditor of Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter.