Red reads: rare books exhibition on "Communism"

A selection of more than 150 items showing the range of left-wing and Communist-related material held in the library’s Rare Books Collection, are on display from Wednesday 16 March 2005.

Material in the exhibition includes propaganda (both anti and pro-communism) pamphlets, books and posters, including some distributed at Monash during the 1960s and 1970s when the university was a centre of student unrest.

All Monash staff and students are invited to attend the exhibition opening, at 5:45pm, Wednesday 16 March in the exhibition room on level 1 at the Sir Louis Matheson Library on the Clayton campus. To RSVP email Lorraine David or telephone 03 9905 2689 by 14 March, 2004.

Dr Peter Lentini, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, will give the opening address at 6pm.

“Radicalism and radical political movements are always subjects of intense academic interest and studying these posters, pamphlets and books allow researchers to follow controversies in fine detail,” said exhibition curator and Rare Books Librarian, Richard Overell.

Mr Overell said material was sourced from many places including “communist” bookshops, booksellers and significant private donations, with the Monash-specific material being collected during the 60s and 70s by local academics and Rare Books staff.

“Students might be surprised to know posters and fliers distributed on campus are still collected by Rare Books staff.”

The exhibition will run from 16 March 2005 – 27 May 2005. You can request a printed catalogue of the exhibition items by emailing Lorraine David.

10 March 2005

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One of the items on display: “Joseph Stalin”, cover illustration for The Australian Women’s Weekly, 12 May 1945.