Praise for Generation Rising from the mRb

The Montreal Review of Books sings the praises of Generation Rising in a new review published in its fall edition. The book, released in April 2015 by Fernwood Publishing, is reviewed alongside Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois’s In Defiance, the newly released English translation of the Governor-General’s Award-winning Tenir Tête.

In the glowing feature entitled “Naming the Possible,” Montreal writer and cultural producer Patricia Boushel writes:

“Shawn Katz integrates Nadeau-Dubois’s account into a panoramic history of student politics in Quebec since the Quiet Revolution. The book’s astonishing level of detail reflects the author’s thorough research and makes up for a dearth of writing in English about the topic. Like Nadeau-Dubois, Katz supplies a rich index, copious notes, and a solid list of references, including Badiou, Hessel, and Massumi. The historical account of student associations is frankly fascinating when set alongside the major changes in Quebec society over the past fifty years. Katz at times relays the action on the streets and in the corridors of power with histrionic zeal – but the extent of mainstream media’s compliance with the government’s agenda, and the latter’s conflation of governance with profit mongering, should rightfully arouse indignity! The author gets carried away and carries us with him. […]

Throughout their works, both Katz and Nadeau-Dubois call upon readers to locate instances of democratic and political possibility and engagement.”

Click here to read the full review in the Montreal Review of Books.

 

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Generation Rising on CCPA’s Summer Reading list

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has selected Generation Rising as a “staff pick” in its July/August edition of national magazine The Monitor. 

Molly McCracken, Director of the CCPA’s Manitoba branch, writes:

“As a Manitoban, I have long admired the passion in Quebec for social justice, rooted in the Quiet Revolution. In the 1960s, expansion of public education was fundamental to democratic reform in Quebec. Efforts were taken to increase access, with the ultimate goal of free education. But this was never realized and access to university education eroded, as it has across Canada.

In 2012, in response to large fee increases, the ‘network generation,’ as Katz calls them, used social media to put forward their message and successfully organize. Generation Rising has a revolutionary and optimistic tone. It is an insightful account of the role of today’s student movements, and social movements overall, in the struggle for democratic control over our common resources.”

Click here to download the free July/August edition of The Monitor, where you can find the review in the Summer Readings section on p. 54.

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Generation Rising lauded by Canada’s national book magazine

Generation Rising receives the praises of Canada’s national book magazine, Quill & Quire, in a review published in its July/August 2015 edition.

Reviewed jointly along with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois’s In Defiance, Montreal-based writer Patricia Maunder lauds the two books for offering “convincing” arguments and “thorough and intelligent insights into the Maple Spring, and why it was more than just a fight between students and Jean Charest’s government over proposed fee hikes to universities.”

Maunder singles out Generation Rising for being “extensively researched” and labels the book an “articulate encapsulation of the protesters’ perspective” and a “solid primer” on the movement.

Writes Maunder:

“Among the most important contributions Katz makes to the conversation is an analysis of his generation’s disenchantment with hierarchies, including democratic institutions they feel do not represent them, and their shift toward ‘horizontal, decentralized, and networked structures.’ Critical to this, and likely a catalyst for it, is the embracing of social media, which enables the mobilization of essentially leaderless movements, from Quebec’s carrés rouges to the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street.

Those of the neo-liberal mindset that Katz and Nadeau-Dubois attack are about as likely to read these books as Das Kapital. For others, who seek a better understanding or fresh perspective on the Maple Spring, Generation Rising and In Defiance will be welcomed. They make valuable contributions to discussions about the price, cost, and value of education, the nature of democracy, and the meaning of prosperity.”

Click here to read the full review in Quill & Quire.

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Intimate and in-depth with McGill campus radio

Shawn was recently on the CKUT couch for a relaxed and wide-ranging interview with radio host Tamara Filyavich. This one is quite special in many regards, in a way that sometimes only campus radio can be. Tamara’s pertinent and incisive questions were the invitation for deep forays into the core ideas and arguments put forth in Generation Rising.

The full interview runs about 35 mins, divided into two segments.

A podcast with your breakfast, perhaps?

Interview with Tamara Filyavich – Part 1

Interview with Tamara Filyavich – Part 2

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Radio interview with Dan Delmar

Shawn was once more invited onto CJAD last Friday to chat with host Dan Delmar about the students’ current anti-austerity mobilization. In this brief interview, Shawn discusses the reasons for the rising youth anger in the streets, the fundamental clash between generations on the direction our society is going, and what it all might mean for the months and years to come.

Have a listen.

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Radio interview with Dave Fisher

Shawn was invited on to CJAD again this morning to discuss the latest developments in the students’ anti-austerity campaign in the wake of the mass resignation/dismissal of the ASSÉ executive. Here Shawn discusses the rising youth opposition to the Liberals’ austerity agenda, the causes and consequences of that opposition, and what might lie ahead in the months to come.

Host Dave Fisher was standing in for Andrew Carter.

Have a listen above. The segment begins at 27:35.

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Radio interview with Todd van der Heyden

Shawn was invited back onto CJAD over the holidays to discuss his upcoming book Generation Rising with host Todd van der Heyden.

The longtime host of CTV Montreal’s nightly newscast, Todd van de Heyden is now a national anchor for CTV News Channel. He hosts his own syndicated talkshow every Saturday on Bell Media’s local station CJAD in Montreal.

Have a listen using the player above.

The segment begins at 26:55 and runs for about 20 minutes.

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