[eccr] 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)

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Carpentier Nico (Phd)
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Katholieke Universiteit Brussel - Catholic University of Brussels
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T: ++ 32 (0)2-412.42.78
F: ++ 32 (0)2/412.42.00
Office: 4/0/18
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Media Sociology (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.30
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.28.61
Office: 5B.454
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European Consortium for Communication Research
Web: http://www.eccr.info
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ kubrussel.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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