Soundings a journal of politics and culture |
At the very end of 2001, Soundings hosted an evening's discussion on the war in Afghanistan. It was hastily organised in the context of, and in response to, what seemed like a deafening silence over the deeper and more difficult issues raised by the actions of Bush and Blair and the discourses mobilised around them. We had time, also, for only the most minimal of advance advertising. Yet the meeting was packed, and people were having to be turned away from the doors. The debate was complex and thought-provoking, and we are grateful to all those who took part. We open this issue with papers drawn from the opening contributions of that evening: from Stuart Hall, Chantal Mouffe, and Gary Younge. These are followed by further contributions on the crisis from David Slater, (another participant in the meeting, Eli Zaretsky, and Bob Hackett. Whilst even now the bombing and the 'war against terror' continues and may yet be extended, debate over the some of the bigger issues raised has in the mainstream media often been inadequate and sometimes shied away from altogether.
This was by no means the first time Soundings has organised political discussion beyond the pages of the journal itself. (For example there have been joint events with Signs of the Times, regular Saturday morning seminars, a series of conferences and meetings on Emotional Labour following up the theme of Issue Number 11) and this is activity we want to continue. Events like these help the journal to be more than just a three-time yearly publication, and give stimulus and focus to its thinking. We are now planning a conference on the theme of "Privatisation and the Public" (temporarily eclipsed by war but never far from everyone's mind). As with suggestions for Themes for future issues, please contact us with suggestions for topics and offers to organise such events.
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