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> ----------
> From:         Aspects of academic research & teaching within Media on
> behalf of Jeremy Gilbert
> Reply To:     Jeremy Gilbert
> Sent:         Friday, October 8, 2004 12:16 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Radical Theory at the European Social Forum
>
> Please Distribute widely
>
> RADICAL THEORY FORUM (RTF)
>
> Thursday 14th October; 11am until late at the 491 Gallery (491 Grove
> Green Road, Leytonstone, London E11) (www.491gallery.com)
>
> Tube: Leytonstone (Central Line); two stops from Stratford (Central
> line/ Jubilee line); Bus: 66, 145, 257, W13, W14, W16, W19; Train:
> Leytonstone High Road (Gospel Oak - Barking line) or Stratford (Richmond
> - North Woolwich line)
>
> Entry: By donation
>
> Summary: The Radical Theory Forum will host a series of daytime
> workshops/discussions on the theme of 'Radical theory: How can theory
> inform action?' followed by a party with film screenings, art
> installations, spoken word and damn good music.
>
>
> PROGRAMME
>
> 11am:
>
> Doors open for people to help to set up the space, listen to music,
> watch some activist films and browse around the ongoing gallery space.
>
> Gallery: To be shaped by activist artists Guy Smallman, Julian Gibson
> and Christian da Souza.
>
>
> WORKSHOPS
>
> 12.30pm:
>
> Introduction - 'What is Radical Theory?'
>
>
> 1pm-2.30pm (Two parallel workshops run for 90min each):
>
> 1a) 'Beyond the Lecture Theatre: Subverting the Neoliberal Paradigm
> Through Popular Education' (facilitated by Emma Dowling)
> * As the capitalist logic informs the management of schools and
> universities, its ideology hijacks the classroom - what role does free,
> popular education play in current activist projects and what new
> possibilities are there for virtual and face-to-face informal education?
>
> 1b) 'Who are "we"? Complexity and Social Movements: Theory and Practise'
> (facilitated by Alex Plows)
> * One of the core elements of social movement theory is that for a
> social movement to 'be', it has to have a "collective identity" (Melucci
> 1996). Especially in the moment of action, that sense of "we", of "us
> and them", is notable- "we" are not the arms sellers at DSEI or the
> bullshitting warmongers - "we" are the people taking action against
> "them". Yet activists and theorists have long been problematising that
> sense of "we" in our movements. Not only is there great diversity and
> difference amongst "ourselves", our personal identities and motivations
> (though also much we all hold in common), this complexity becomes more
> problematic when eg globalisation throws up 'strange bedfellows' in
> terms of other actor groups who oppose the same issues but often for
> different reasons. Is "our movement" fragmenting? Was it always
> fragmented? Is "my enemy's enemy is not my friend" a context-dependant
> thing? Why does any of this matter? Open discussion.
>
>
> 2.45-4.15pm (Two parallel workshops run for 90min each):
>
> 2a) 'Feminist Theory, Feminist Practice at the ESF/WSF' (facilitated by
> Catherine Eschle and Bice Maiguashca)
> * This workshop will explore the contributions, limitations and
> possibilities of feminist activist and academic interventions in the
> ESF/WSF process. Although feminists succeeded in gaining a high profile
> at the last WSF, their presence in the ESF seems more marginal. Further,
> there has been little sustained analysis of the nature of their
> contribution. Indeed, while there exists a large body of feminist
> research critical of the impact of globalised capitalism, and analysis
> of feminist activism in that context, there has as yet been little
> theorisation of the place of feminism in the recent wave of
> anti-capitalist, anti-globalisation politics. This workshop seeks to
> bring together theoretical and activist concerns of feminists and fellow
> travellers involved in and studying the ESF/WSF. It will ask: what have
> feminists been doing, and what should they be doing, to engage with the
> ESF/WSF? What can feminist theory and practice offer the ESF/WSF and
> vice versa? How best can we research and theorise ESF/WSF politics in
> feminist ways? (Cate and Bice have confirmed they are running this)
>
> 2b) 'Are Other Worlds Possible? The Challenges and Possibilities of
> Pedagogical Open Spaces' (facilitated by Vanessa Andreotti)
> * The educational project Other Worlds was funded by DFID and hosted by
> Mundi. It proposes an approach to transnational (global/political)
> literacy based on 'reflexive ethics', in which participants are
> encouraged to engage critically with issues related to global and local
> contexts and think about how their way of seeing the world and acting in
> it are connected to justice and injustice. This approach is based on
> ideas related to critical and postcolonial pedagogies, as well as a
> constructivist understanding of the learning process. This workshop is
> divided into two parts. In the first part participants will be invited
> to experiment with the methodology and in the second part, the
> background of the project, three case studies and a research cluster
> proposal will be presented for discussion.
>
>
> 4.15-4.45pm
>
> Coffee/tea/cake/drinks break
>
>
> 4.45-6.15pm (Two parallel workshops run for 90min each):
>
> 3a) 'Post-/Marxism in the 21st Century' (facilitated by Jeremy Gilbert
> and Simon Tormey)
> * What is the relevance, if any, of the Marxist tradition to the
> anti-capitalist movement? Does the idea of class have any relevance in a
> post-modern world? What use can be made of those ideas which have
> emerged from a sympathetic critique of orthodox Marxism in theory and
> practice - the 'post-Marxisms' of Deleuze & Guattari, Laclau & Mouffe,
> and Hardt & Negri? Should the concepts of revolution and class struggle
> still be at the centre of our thinking, or should we be working to break
> down concentrations of power in more diffuse and heterogeneous ways? Is
> it true, as Leninist groups like Globalise Resistance maintain, that
> anarchist, libertarian, and radical democratic political currents are
> incapable of formulating effective political strategies? How do we make
> new kinds of political alliance on the complex terrain of 21st century
> life?
>
> 3b) 'Academia, Immaterial Labour and Cognitive Capital' (facilitated by
> Rodrigo Nunes)
> * What can it mean to be an academic activist? Can we conceptualise a
> form of activism specific to the academic, as a form of immaterial
> labour within certain institutional constraints? Could collective action
> around processes like the 'RAE' (re?)-radicalise the academy?
>
>
> 6.30-8pm  (Three parallel workshops run for 90min each):
>
> 4a) 'The Organisation and Politics of the London ESF' (facilitated by
> Steffen Bohm, with Oscar Reyes, Rodrigo Nunes, Emma Dowling and Jai Sen)
> * Many of us have participated in organising this year's ESF, which has
> left many of us with a sense of frustration and sometimes anger. The
> process of getting 'horizontals' and 'verticals' into one room has often
> been painful. So, where do we go from here? This workshop starts with
> the premise that we need to go beyond our surface emotions and try to
> contextualise the organisational process of the London ESF within the
> wider historical sphere of the organisation of the British and
> international Left. What kind of theoretical trajectories can help us
> understand the current political confrontation between 'horizontals' and
> 'verticals'? What lessons can we learn for future political struggles in
> this country and beyond? How does the British experience compare to
> other processes of organising social forums (e.g. in India and Brazil?).
> In this workshop we seek to start to explore these questions, because we
> feel that they are absolutely crucial for the social forum movement.
>
> 4b) 'Building a European-wide Radical Media Distribution Network'
> (facilitated by Sam Wild, with Chris Reeves and Zoe Young)
> * Alternative media is finally hitting its target: Farenheit 911 is
> dragging Dubya's dodgy past into the spotlight and Supersize Me is
> denting the McDonalds' super armour. Critical voices are finding a
> platform and progressive ideas are reaching wider audiences. However the
> reality of making - and ultimately distributing - radical media content
> is still problematic for many people ... breaking out of the alternative
> media 'ghetto' is no small task! Looking at examples of successful
> radical media projects which have reached out to large numbers of
> people, this multimedia seminar aims to take inspiration and establish
> the foundations for an Internet-based European-wide radical media
> distribution network. The ESF - with representatives from across the
> world - provides a unique and timely opportunity to combine developments
> in digital technology with the established strengths of the massive
> global underground cinema and screening network ... maybe the revolution
> will be televised after all!
>
> 4c) 'Anti-consumerism' (facilitated by Jo Littler and Nicola Kirkham)
> * Exposing the social, cultural and environmental exploitation upon
> which everyday consumer brands depend has become an important part of
> contemporary activism and popular culture - from culture jams and
> actions against BP and Starbucks, through downsizing and fairtrade to
> Supersize Me! and No Logo. Can anti-consumerism be both part of a late
> capitalist niche market and part of progressive social change? If
> anti-consumerism seeks to function 'outside' a corporate economy, then
> how can it move beyond 'enclave politics'? If it attempts to work
> alongside it to effect change (such as fairtrade being sold in
> Starbucks, or No Logo being published by a Murdoch-owned conglomerate)
> then what are the boundaries? When does co-operation become co-option?
> How do we deal with consumerism - and anti-consumerism's - complex
> relationships to gender, 'race' and class, desire and identity? Does
> 'anti-consumerism' offer exciting possibilities for new alliances or is
> it just too broad a strategy and term to be useful?
>
>
> EVENING FUN
>
> 8.15pm-9.15pm:
>
> Radical poetry/spoken word (by a handful of London's leading radical
> poets led by Yap, Whatshername and others)
>
>
> 9.30-10.30pm:
>
> 'Rebel Thinking / Rebel Visions': Activist film screenings co-ordinated
> by Zoe Young
> * Form and content in radical film may - or may not - relect radical
> theories of social and ecological change. We'll show short videos we
> like (or don't), from 'riot porn' to 'expert exposition' via  'poetic
> license', 'cuts for the post MTV generation' and 'plain weird'. And if
> we feel like it, we'll pull them apart. There'll be no uptight film
> experts here, only film makers, film viewers and film users. So bring
> your favourite shorts (CD, DVD, DV or VHS PAL) and your most cutting
> critique. And we'll try and sort out some pop corn J
>
>
> 10.30pm-late:
>
> Party with DJing by Nikki Lucas (Bitches Brew, The Shrine, Future
> Fusion)
>
>