Disruption has been critical to the emergence of new subjects and subjectivities. Here you will find documents by subjects who rejected their given roles, descriptions, and functions in order to redefine themselves on new terms.
All
Black
Students
Colonized
Queer
Latino
Indigenous
Women
Workers
Subjects Redefined
All
Pre-Modern
1700-1830s
1840-1945
1946-1989
1990-2010
2011-Present
Man Made Language (1980)
Written in 1980, this introduction to Dale Spender’s Man Made Language explores the patriarchy and its presence in language. Spender discusses how language has been a means for constructing and sustaining the patriarch…
Voice of the Women’s Liberation Movement (1969)
As the Women’s Liberation Movement widened its scope and began to see involvement in all corners of the country, it became increasingly more important to maintain a certain degree of connectedness between chapters, so as…
Free Puerto Rico! – New Movement in Solidarity with Puerto Rican Independence and Socialism (1986)
This document is a May 1986 newsletter published by the New Movement in Solidarity with Puerto Rican Independence and Socialism, focusing on Puerto Rico’s ongoing fight for independence from the United States. It highl…
Letter from the Strike Committee – Lawrence, Massachusetts (1912)
This letter is from the striking textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. It is written to the president of the American Woolen Co. William M. Wood. The letter explains that workers can no longer bear the wor…
Funeral Oration for the Burial of Traditional Womanhood (1968)
During a protest against the war in Southeast Asia, radical feminists staged a mock funeral for the end of traditional womanhood in the United States, which they deemed forced women to accept an unsatisfactory hand in li…
The Wretched of the Earth – Conclusion (1961)
Frantz Fanon – who was born in the French colony Martinique – extensively wrote about decolonization. According to Fanon, decolonization is always a violent process. The violence involved in decolonization for Fanon is a…
A Fundamental Necessity of the Revolution (1973)
This document is from the opening speech – given by Samora Machel – of the First Conference of Mozambican Women. In this speech, Machel answers the question “why women’s liberation?” She explores the basis of women’s exp…
Statement of Indigenous Youth Standing in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en (2020)
On February 6, 2020, Indigenous youth in Canada began their occupation of the ceremonial gates and steps to the B.C. Legislative Assembly in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation, who were resisting an encroachment…
Slavery Exists! Miss America is a Slave to:
In 1968, 200 feminist activists protested at the Miss America Pageant, symbolically trashing items that enabled domination of women, such as bras, hairspray, makeup, girdles, corsets, and more. The protestors saw the pag…
Manifesto of the German Anti-Parliamentarians to the Proletariat of the World – Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD) (1921)
This document is a manifesto from the Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD), outlining its opposition to the tactics of the Third International and the Unified Communist Party of Germany (VKPD). They argue that…
An Excerpt From an Interview With Earl Livermore About the Indians of All Tribes (Ioat) Occupation of Alcatraz – 1970
This is a transcript of an interview with Earl Livermore, a leader of the American Indian Movement. He describes the thought behind occupying Alcatraz, the organization of various committees, schools, medical centers, an…
Ahimsa in All Men are Brothers by Mahatma Gandhi (2012)
All Men are Brothers is a selection from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi compiled for UNESCO that contains most of Gandhi’s writings on nonviolence (ahimsa).
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848)
One of the most influential documents of all time, the Communist Manifesto is an 1848 pamphlet that was written to explain class struggle and capitalism, and to summarize Marx and Engels’ theories on society and politics…
SCUM Manifesto (1967)
The SCUM Manifesto describes all the flaws associated with male created society, and Valerie Solanas’ rationale for ridding society of all men.
Building Resistance & Self-Reliance in Detroit
The Black Panther Party organized a self-run, community-based institution to mitigate the devastating impacts of Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” where healthcare services previously provided to Black families became n…
A Critique of the Miss America Pageant (1968)
The Miss America Pageant Protest marked a turning point for the Women’s Liberation Movement, because the media coverage of the event itself exposed the American public to the existence of the movement. With a focus on th…
Women’s Day Off – Executive Committee for Women’s Day Off (1975)
On October 24, 1975, ignited by the activism of the Red Stockings radical women’s group, 90% of Iceland’s women went on strike to protest the exploitation of women’s unpaid labor at home and their underpaid, undervalued…
The Young Lord’s Trip to Puerto Rico
In December of 1970, Gloria Gonzales and Denise Oliver took a ten day trip to Puerto Rico. Their experiences, written in a newspaper article, underline the destructive impacts that western colonialism, specially from Ame…
Violence and Class Consciousness in Revolutionary Struggle – L’Ouvrier Communiste (1930)
This document, written in 1930 by L’Ouvrier Communiste, a French political publication linked to the communist movement of the early 20th century, examines the relationship between violence and the development of class…