From 22 to 28 November 2021 the Working Class Movement Library invites everyone to an Engels Week. This aims to raise awareness of Friedrich Engels and his work, find out what he means to people and explore how his work is still relevant today – as well as to draw attention to resources available at the Library which everyone can come and use.
MONDAY 22 November:
9.30am Why not mark the start of Engels Week by viewing a short film? It's
In the footsteps of Friedrich Engels in Manchester – a film by Anne Roerkohl, 2016 (16.34 mins) and can been seen on YouTube here.
This film provides a small snapshot of Engels’s life in Salford and Manchester. Although created by the Museum Industriekultur, Wuppertal it is available in English. It shows archive images and refers to the conditions that impelled Engels to write The condition of the working class in England. These are interspersed with narrative comment and current shots of Manchester.
The Wuppertal museum also makes available on YouTube a number of short informative films about Engels’s time growing up in Wuppertal, his family - even including a tour of Engels’s house - and a description of his character entitled The life motto of a revolutionary. If you want to give these a try too the link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmPe9Op9Etw_znGuNJ1gOJw.
Notes provided by Carol Moores from the Manchester and Salford Film Society. From its early days what was originally known as the Manchester and Salford Workers’ Film Society included factual, scientific or educational films in their programme. This film continues that tradition.
4pm Here's activist Chantelle Lunt from Merseyside BLM Alliance telling us what Engels means to her:
TUESDAY 23 November:
11am Here's Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett on what Engels means to him:
Check back later each day this week for more on an Engels theme...
Later this week:
On Thursday 25 November at 7pm the Library is very pleased to be welcoming Amelia Horgan to give this year’s live-streamed Engels Lecture, The place of work in socialist feminism. Amelia, author of Lost in work: escaping capitalism which was published earlier this year, is a writer from London. More details here. The event will be run as a live webinar. Please register in advance at
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZubnSsofTK2nRqCvYgHP6g.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
On Sunday 28 November at 2pm Library trustee Royston Futter will lead a radical wander around the Crescent and Chapel Street, starting at the Library, with reminders of Engels and his time in Salford. The event is free, no need to book; attendees are asked to be mindful of social distancing. More details here.
During the Week the Library will also be encouraging people to follow links to view films with an Engels theme - in conjunction with Manchester & Salford Film Society and with Turner Prize nominee Phil Collins. Links will be made available via this page. And keep an eye on the Library’s socials during the course of the week for videos – answering the question ‘What does Engels mean to me?’ – from a diverse range of Library supporters.