Overview

Collective youth up trees or down tunnels, protest camps and all-night raves across the land-these are the spectacular features of the politics and culture of nineties youth in Britain. DiY Culture lays to rest the myth of ""Thatcher's children,"" for the flags are flying again-green, red and black. Editor George McKay claims that popular protest today is characterized by a culture of immediacy and direct action. Gathered together here for the first time is a collection of in-depth and reflective pieces by activists and other key figures in DiY culture, telling their own stories and histories. From the environmentalist to the video activist, the raver to the road protester, the neo-pagan to the anarcho-capitalist, the authors demonstrate how the counterculture of the nineties offers a vibrant, provocative and positive alternative to institutionalized unemployment and the restricted freedoms and legislated pleasures of UK plc.

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9781859842607

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Reviews

If you're one of the many people who feel increasingly disenfranchised by the British political system and that New Labour is the same old, repressive, Tory/big business bullshit under a different name, then this is likely to be the most uplifting and empowering book you'll read in a long time. --Irvine Welsh

If you re one of the many people who feel increasingly disenfranchised by the British political system and that New Labour is the same old, repressive, Tory/big business bullshit under a different name, then this is likely to be the most uplifting and empowering book you ll read in a long time. Irvine Welsh

DiY Culture refers to the individuals and groups who, from the 1960s, decided to put their faith in direct action rather than the political infrastructure. It has been widely maintained that the years of Conservatism led to a generation, known as 'Thatcher's children', who were disinterested in all political action. McKay's collection of essays by leading activists lays that myth to rest through the stories of different groups that dominated the news over the 1990s: anti-poll tax campaigners, environmentalists, ravers, road protesters and animal welfare supporters all hit out against the mainstream through direct action. McKay's argument that radical culture and alternativism were alive and well in the 1990s is extremely persuasive. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

George McKay is Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Salford, UK, where he is Director of the Communication, Cultural & Media Studies Research Centre. He writes on alternative cultures and identities-'cultural studies with a soundtrack' is how his website puts it-and his books include DiY Culture, Senseless Acts of Beauty, Glastonbury: A Very English Fair, Community Music: A Handbook (co-edited with Pete Moser), Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain, Radical Gardening: Politics, Idealism & Rebellion in the Garden, and Shakin' All Over: Popular Music and Disability. He maintains his own website at http://georgemckay.org/ George Monbiot writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning, The Age of Consent: A Manifesto for a New World Order, Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding. He is the founder of The Land is Ours, a peaceful campaign for the right of access to the countryside and its resources in the United Kingdom. He was presented with a United Nations Global 500 Award for outstanding environmental achievement by Nelson Mandela.

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