Award-winning fiction writer China Miéville leads a discussion on the portents and possibilities ofÌýrevolutionÌý
China Miéville’s new bookÌýOctober: The Story of the Russian RevolutionÌýopens a window onto a century of revolution. The Russian Revolution was a blast in the continuum of history that gave way to huge political and social transformations, introducing extraordinary change from radical aesthetics to a new Soviet calendar. The award-winning author is joined by Esther Leslie, Professor in Political Aesthetics at Birkbeck, and Owen Hatherley, author ofÌýThe Ministry of NostalgiaÌýand Landscapes of Communism, to explore the revolutionary concept of history as theorised by Walter Benjamin, speculative storytelling and what the Russian Revolution might tell us about contemporary moments ofÌýcrisis.Ìý
The event precedes the 2017 É«¿Ø´«Ã½ exhibitionsÌýIlya and Emilia Kabakov:ÌýNot Everyone Will Be Taken Into the FutureÌýandÌýRed Star Over Russia, which will explore the themes of Soviet society andÌýidentity.Ìý
Biographies
China MiévilleÌýis the multi-award-winning author of many works of fiction and non-fiction. His fiction includesÌýThe City and the City, EmbassytownÌýandÌýThis Census-Taker, and has won the Hugo, World Fantasy and Arthur C. Clarke awards. He has written for various publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, Conjunctions and Granta and he is a founding editor of the quarterlyÌýSalvage.
Owen HatherleyÌýwrites regularly on architecture and cultural politics forÌýArchitects Journal, Architectural Review, Icon, The Guardian, The London Review of BooksÌýandÌýNew Humanist,Ìýand is the author of several books: Militant Modernism,ÌýA New Kind of Bleak: Journeys through Urban Britain and Landscapes of Communism. He received a PhD in 2011 from Birkbeck College, London, for a thesis on Constructivism andÌýAmericanism.
Esther LeslieÌýis Professor of Political Aesthetics at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is a leading expert on Marxism and Marxist theories of aesthetics and culture. Her books include Walter Benjamin: Overpowering Conformism and Derelicts: Thought Worms from the Wreckage. She is also an editor for Radical Philosophy and HistoricalÌýMaterialism.
In partnership withÌýVerso.
This event has been provided by Tate Gallery on behalf of Tate Enterprises LTD.​