Rebels with a cause

"Five centuries of social history collectied by the International Institute of Social History (IISH)". This book is also available in Dutch

Revolutionaries, anarchists, socialists, peace activists, sexual reformers, fundamentalists... 'rebels with a cause' have featured in every age, The collections of the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam are full of them.

This book is published on the occasion of the Institute's 75th anniversary in 2010. It looks back on three quarters of a century of collection development in an international context. Yet it also tells a new history of creative ideas and people who fought for radical change. 'Rebels with a cause' constitute the thread through this story built from over two hundred original documents. From Karl Marx to Aung San Suu Kyi, from the French Revolution to the Chinese student revolt of 1989, from the early modern world explorers to today's anti-globalists.

Jaap Kloosterman and Jan Lucassen are senior staff members of the IISH. They have been involved as curators in the exhibition 'Rebels with a Cause: the IISH at 75' in the Special Collections Building of the University of Amsterdam, 29 October 2010-30 January 2011.