One Path to co-operative studies: A selection of papers and presentations

Abstract

One can approach the study of co-operatives and the co-operative movement from many disciplinary and experiential directions. The essays in this book reflect the journey of one Canadian activist and researcher. It includes some essays from the beginning of his career as an historian, others that demonstrate how and why he became devoted to the field of Co-operative Studies. Though still believing he is fundamentally an historian, he came to recognize, through involvement as an elected person with several coops and community organizations and through discussions with researchers from other disciplines, that a single-discipline approach to understanding the co-operative movement is woefully inadequate for the academy – and co-operators. He now holds the view that this is a main reason why the movement has been poorly understood and under appreciated. He believes that the complexities and possibilities of the movement can only be fully understood by creating a truly interdisciplinary and international approach. The collection of articles suggest how he reached that conclusion.