Want to Explore the Untold History of Anarchism?
Anarchism is one of the most misunderstood ideas in modern history.
For over a century, it has been caricatured, feared, dismissed, and largely erased from the public imagination. Yet behind the clichés lies a rich, dramatic history of people who challenged power, defied injustice, and imagined radically different ways of living together.
For the past twenty years, I’ve studied that history as an academic historian. I’ve written books, published articles, and presented research at conferences around the world. But most of that work has stayed where academic work usually stays: inside specialized conversations.
This newsletter is my way of opening the doors.
Here, I bring anarchist history to life for a broader audience, not as abstract theory, but as a human story. A story of rebels, organizers, dreamers, and exiles across the 19th and 20th centuries who refused to accept authoritarian systems as inevitable.
You don’t need to be an anarchist to find this fascinating.
All you need is curiosity about people who challenged the world as it was.
Anarchism is not just a relic of the past. It remains a living, global tradition of resistance and imagination. But my role here is not as a philosopher or political theorist.
I’m a historian.
That means this newsletter is grounded in real lives, real struggles, and real movements, told in an engaging, accessible way.
By subscribing, you’ll get:
• Stories from the hidden history of anarchism
• Insights into radical movements and ideas
• Translations of writings of past anarchist voices
• Occasional updates on new books in anarchist history
If you'd like to explore my academic work, you can visit my website or my pages at Academia and ResearchGate. I also recommend subscribing to the Anarchist Studies journal.
But if you’re curious about the past, and how it still speaks to the present, this is the place to start.
Subscribe (it’s free) and join the journey. I have enabled pledges if you’d consider supporting this work in the future.
—Tom Goyens
