Journal of Co-operative Studies, Vol 59 No 2
November, 2026 - Special issue: Imagining co-operatives? Co-operatives and co-operative economy in art and culture
Journal of Co-operative Studies, 59(2) - No. 177
Comment from the editor
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the latest issue of the Journal of Co-operative Studies, a special issue called 'Imagining co-operatives? Co-operatives and co-operative economy in art and culture'. For this special issue, I am joined by guest editors Aidan Byrne and Martin Parker.
The Journal of Co-operative Studies has delineated the ideals and practices of co-operation in theory and in practice for many decades. Now we turn to the imagination. This special issue explores the cultural imaginaries of co-operation in creative works and within cultural co-operatives themselves.
Special issues are an important feature of the Journal of Co-operative Studies. They present us with opportunities to explore emerging topics, offer fresh perspectives on key issues, and bring together co-operative voices from across the world. The editorial team are always happy to discuss ideas for special issues. If there is a topic you would like to develop, please email me.
Anita Mangan
Co-operative imaginaries: A co-operative editorial
Aidan Byrne, Martin Parker, and Anita Mangan, pp. 3-13
Peer reviewed papers
What shall be the mechanism? The coming co-operative commonwealth in utopian literature
Chris Olewicz, pp. 14-25
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61869/JKIU8759
How co-operative architecture sparked the movement's imagination and embodied their ambition: Key buildings in England's north-west, 1844-2016
Stephen McCusker, pp. 26-40
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61869/EUTM5455
Dreaming of “meaningful labour”: Notions of cooperativism and environmental sustainability in imagined intentional communities
Amber van Aurich, Tim Mazzarol, and Bruce Baskerville, pp. 41-53
Short articles (editorial review)
Honno, that female one: The first forty years of a Welsh feminist community co-operative press
Rosanne Reeves and Jane Aaron, pp. 54-61
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61869/LJDU5485
Gilmore Girls and the co-operative imaginary: Stars Hollow’s co-operative economics as comfort TV
Zoe Rasbash, pp. 62-70
Think piece
Rethinking utopian limitations: Black co-operative traditions and W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Quest of the Silver Fleece (1911)
Verena Adamik, pp. 71-74
Reflections on the Black co-operative imaginary
Mutual aid as lament
Irvin Hunt, pp. 75-81
