Soundings (journal)

"Soundings", is a journal of political thought which has been published since 1995. It describes its aim as "contributing to the process of left renewal" and is published in London by Lawrence & Wishart. Its founding editor was Professor Michael Rustin (University of East London) and its current editor is Professor Jonathan Rutherford (Middlesex University).

"Soundings" has acted as a focus for post-Marxist thought since the CPGB dissolved itself in the early 1990s. Most of its contributors are unaligned (though on the left) or are members of the Labour Party (though often highly critical of it).

It was launched with a special issue edited by Stuart Hall and can be seen as a continuation of the Gramscian Eurocommunism espoused by the defunct "Marxism Today". Contributors then and since have included Zygmunt Bauman, Beatrix Campbell, Chantal Mouffe, Ernesto Laclau, Peter Singer, Madeleine Bunting and Neal Lawson.

Having begun with a critical analysis of the Communitarian ideals then in the ascendant under Tony Blair, most recently it has probed notions of identity, globalisation and the so-called Respect agenda. Each issue also features reviews, poetry and short fiction, with contributors including Barry Gifford and Joolz Denby.

External links

* [http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/journals/soundings/contents.html "Soundings" homepage]