CfP: Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Paris, July 2-6, 2012: Call for
abstracts for panel entitled "The consultariat and the occupiers"
The consultariat and the occupiers
This panel takes as its starting point the neoliberalisation of
certain aspects of progressive politics and their conversion into
managerial and technocratic procedures which become focused on
individual achievement rather than collective emancipation. One
consequence is that progressive politics become seen as the domain of
what Paul Gilroy has termed the ‘consultariat’, with the risk of
eclipsing, or even entirely severing links with vital social
movements.
Within this context, what happens to initiatives and actions that fall
outside a managerial or technocratic framework, or as Paul Mason put
it in his analysis of the ‘Occupy’ movement, activities that may have
little in common with the “besuited young people who populate the
think tanks of Labour, the SPD, the US Democrats etc.”? Aside from
right wing backlash (as in the Tea Party in the US, or the English
Defence League’s claim to speak as the authentic voice of the British
working class), what popular social movements are beginning to emerge,
such as, for example, some of the recent public square demonstrations
and occupations, which could be seen, at least in part, as a response
to the failures of neoliberalised progressive politics?
We are seeking papers which examine the consequences of the
neoliberalisation of progressive politics, which explore alternatives,
or which reflect on our role as academics in relation to these
phenomena. Theoretical and empirical contributions are welcome, as
well as contributions from activists.
Please send 150-word abstracts to Peter Conlin ([log in to unmask])
or Kirsten Forkert ([log in to unmask]) by 21 November.
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