WiSER and the Forge invite you to an online seminar by Tom Lodge (University of Limerick): Who joined the Party? The changing sociology of South African Communism, 1921–2021.

Lodge is the author of Red Road to Freedom: A History of the South African Communist Party 1921–2021, out now from Jacana Media.

The book is the product of many years’ research by Lodge, whose Black Politics in South Africa since 1945 established him as a leading commentator on South African politics, past and present.

The seminar will address questions such as:

Who joined the South African Communist Party during the different phases of its history? From which social groups during its history did it usually find its membership and looser support? And in which ways did the character of Party’s social base shape its beliefs, ideas and culture? Finally, how has the change since 1990 from functioning as an elitist vanguard to becoming a mass organisation affected the Party’s character and purpose?

Paper available at WiSER’s website.

Event details

Date: Tuesday 26 October 2021
Time: 6 PM SAST
Register here

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Book events Jacana Media Red Road to Freedom Tom Lodge Virtual book events WiSER