[ecrea] CFP for INTERSECTIONS / CROSS SECTIONS 2012: ³OCCUPATIONS² (March 23­25, 2012)

   Below is the CFP for the annual graduate conference hosted by the
   Joint Programme in Communication and Culture at York and Ryerson
   Universities, Toronto. Please distribute widely.
   + + +
   *CFP for INTERSECTIONS / CROSS SECTIONS 2012: "OCCUPATIONS" (March
   23--25, 2012)
   *11th Annual Communication and Culture Graduate Conference, York
   University/Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario

   Abstracts due: December 23, 2011; notification by January 23, 2012
   Conference date: March 23--25, 2012
   Please email submissions and questions to:
   *(intersections.occupations /at/ gmail.com)
   <mailto:(intersections.occupations /at/ gmail.com)>
   *
   /Occupare: (Latin.) To seize, capture
   /*
   */Occupy but better yet, self manage.... The former option is
   basically passive---the latter is active and yields tasks and
   opportunities to contribute.... To occupy buildings, especially
   institutions like universities or media, isn't just a matter of call
   it, or tweet it, and they will come. It is a matter of go get them,
   inform them, inspire them, enlist them, empower them, and they will
   come.
   /-- Michael Albert, "Occupy to Self Manage"
   (http://interactivist.autonomedia.org/node/33609
   <http://interactivist.autonomedia.org/node/33609> )
   /
   I think that our political structures are corrupt and we need to
   really think about what a democratic society would be like. People
   are learning how to do it now.... This is more than a protest, it's
   a camp to debate an alternative civilization.
   /-- David Graeber, "The Man Behind Occupy Wall Street," interviewed
   by Seth Fiegerman (http://interactivist.autonomedia.org/node/33897
   <http://interactivist.autonomedia.org/node/33897> )
   /
   /This is a critical moment, as "Occupy everywheres" present
   possibilities for new politics, and new forms of learning, engaging
   and living with each other. From the recurring occupations of the
   squares in Greece and Italy to the UK's winter of discontent and the
   Arab Spring, to the summer of protest in Spain and the North
   American autumn---at general assemblies around the globe, people are
   running their own lives, influencing the media and discussing what
   is to be done without politicians. The recent occupations are an
   education in direct democracy and the solidarity necessary for action.

   Occupy Wall Street, and the occupations around the world, are
   attempts to build the social compositions that are the precondition
   for action. They are the working-through of a problem that
   'politics-as-usual' works to suppress---the massive exploitation
   that is capitalism, and the emergence of politics adequate to
   address it. At this stage, the occupations are the connection of
   people, ideas and machines---the cumulation of assemblages that
   might build something. What happens next depends on what is being
   built now.

   As it was written upon the recent expulsion of OWS from Zuccotti
   Park: "You can't evict an idea whose time has come." We invite
   graduate students from all related disciplines to submit proposals
   for academic, artistic and activist presentations and workshops that
   explore, celebrate, analyze and otherwise critically engage with the
   ideas emerging from occupations. Possible areas of engagement
   include: politics and aesthetics, movement research and performance
   studies, humanities and digital humanities, critical disability
   studies, labour studies, social theory, social movement theory,
   policy, political economy, communications studies, media, culture,
   pedagogy, technology, artistic practice and activism.

   Please send a 250-word abstract, as well as a brief biographical
   note (100 words) to *(occupations.intersections /at/ gmail.com)* by
   December 23, 2011. Proposals should list paper/panel title, name,
   institutional affiliation and contact details.

   Workshop facilitators: Please provide a tentative timeline
   highlighting the duration and one or two general learning objectives
   of your session, along with a clear indication of space and
   technical requirements.

   Artists: If sending creative works by email, please limit attachment
   size to 5 MB or less, or direct us to a URL. Include viewing
   instructions, comments and titles in your email if applicable. If
   submitting creative works by post, please mail the proposal, a
   non-original copy of the work, and viewing instructions to the
   following address (well before the submission deadline):

   *Intersections 2012 Conference
   *c/o Graduate Program in Communication and Culture
   3013 TEL Building, York University
   4700 Keele Street
   Toronto, ON   M3J 1P3
   *
   **Intersections / Cross Sections 2012: Occupations *is presented by
   and for graduate student scholars, artists and activists through the
   organizing efforts of the Communication and Culture Graduate
   Students Association (GSA):* *http://thecomcult.wordpress.com
   <http://www.comcultgsa.com>

   For more information about the Joint Graduate Program in
   Communication and Culture at York and Ryerson Universities:
   http://comcult.yorku.ca and
   http://www.ryerson.ca/graduate/programs/comcult/