Marxism 2007: Festival of ideas conference

ETA: Seems like a lot of people are visiting this post. In fairness, I didn't attend the event, here is an account from someone who did.

Hello Torontonian Comrades -- does anyone (of the three ppl that visit here) intend on going to this? Isn't it grande - it's conference season (pour out your wallets, eat stale crackers, drink un-fairtrade coffee, and well maybe learn something)!

Okay, to be completely honest - I went to this conference two years ago and was extremely disappointed by MOST (not ALL) of the presentations. I might try it out this year - I don't know. Hit me up a message if you think you might want to attend. My dislike of the conference specifically was kind of two-fold 1) it was very limiting - i.e. 'art was bourgeois, radical feminism was useless, everything would be resolved by the end of capitalism'... 2) there was no POC understanding nor were there more than a dozen POC at the conference in attendance.

I mean the reason why I'm drawn to socialism is because it's far more 'grounded' in terms of material/structuralist understandings - but this conference was so far removed from lived experience - I was really dismayed.

HOWEVER, having said all this - I have to say this time around it looks like (at least from the presentation list) - they might be moving in a new direction, so it might be worth checking out. I'm thinking Saturday and Sunday... Anyone else?

Copied verbatim from rabble.

More info here.


Marxism 2007: Festival of ideas conference
When: Thursday, 10 May 2007 – Sunday, 13 May 2007 (May 10-13)
Where:

Bahen Centre, University of Toronto40 St. George St. (one block north of College St.)Toronto ON
Contact:

marxism@sympatico.caInternational Socialiststel: 416-924-9042fax: 416-972-6319marxism@sympatico.ca


Details:

NEW: Group rate — Five full weekend registration passes for only $20 each. Register now for one course, one session, one day or (best deal) the whole weekend.
Marxism 2007 features courses for everyone who wants to understand and change the world.

Strategies for Changing the World: What's Radical?: Building a United Anti-imperialist Movement — Jen Hassum, Jessica Squires Jen Hassum is President of the University of Toronto Student Administrative Council (SAC), and President-elect of the Canadian Federation of Students. She is former co-chair of the U of T NDP Club. Jessica Squires is a graduate student in the Department of History at Carleton University. She is President of CUPE Local 4600 and was a candidate for Québec Solidaire in the recent Quebec provincial election.

NGOs and Imperialism: What's the Connection? — Janet Conway, Pam Frache Janet Conway is Associate Professor of Policy Studies at Ryerson University. Among her numerous publications is Identity, Place, Knowledge: Social Movements Contesting Globalization. She is the former Program Director at the Social Planning Council of Metro Toronto, a founding member of the Toronto-based Metro Network for Social Justice and a convenor of the Toronto Social Forum. Pam Frache is a longstanding social justice activist in the labour, student and solidarity movements.

Israel, the US and Zionism: Who's Really in Charge? — Suzanne Weiss, Abbie Bakan Suzanne Weiss is a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust, born in France during the period of Nazi occupation. She is a regular contributor to SocialistVoice.com, and active in Not in Our Name (NION): Jewish Voices Against Israel's Wars, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, and solidarity work against imperialist interventions in Haiti and Venezuela. Abbie Bakan is Professor of Political Studies at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and Editor of Marxism: A Socialist Annual.

Economies of the 21st Century: India and China: The New Superpowers? — Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg is a writer and editor specializing in political economy. His articles include Kari Levitt and the Long Detour of Canadian Political Economy (Studies in Political Economy, 76, Autumn, 2005).

Why is Africa Poor?: From Colonialism to Neo-liberalism – Farid Omar; Sid Lacombe Farid Omar is an expert on African history and politics. He came to Canada in 1993 as a refugee from the civil wars in Somalia. He is a founder of the Pan-African Student Network (PASNET) at the University of Toronto, and of the Horn of Africa Relief Society. Sid Lacombe is Campaign Organizer with the Canadian Peace Alliance.

The Future of the American Empire — Sam Gindin, Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg (as above). Sam Gindin is the Packer Chair in Social Justice, and teaches in the Political Science Department, at York University. He is the former Assistant to the President of the Canadian Auto Workers, and is a member of the Socialist Project. His numerous writings include, Is the Big Ship America Sinking: Contradictions and Openings, that appeared in The Bullet (Feb 8, 2007) and in MRZine (Feb 9, 2007).

Indigenous resistance: Aboriginal identity and Canadian Imperialism — Leslie Doucet, Terry Theakston Leslie Doucet is an Aboriginal rights activist, a member of the International Socialists, and a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Terry Theakston is a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and a longstanding solidarity activist.

Indigenism: Building solidarity with Indigenous Peoples — Zainab Amadahy Zainab Amadahy is an urban, mixed race indigenous writer, activist and community worker. She has contributed to the anthology Strong Women’s Stories: Native Vision and Community Activism co-edited by Bonita Lawrence and Kim Anderson (2004, Sumach Press) and is the author of Moons of Palmares (1998, Sister Vision Press). She is a founding member of the Coalition in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty, member of the Board of the Association of Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts and the Executive Director of Community Arts Ontario.

Palestine and the Right of Return — Rafeef Ziadah, Jonathon Hodge Rafeef Ziadah is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at York University and a member of CUPE. She is active in the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Sumoud Political Prisoner Soldarity Group. Jonathon Hodge is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto. He is author of The Holocaust: A Marxist Assessment published in Marxism, 2005, and a member of the editorial board of Socialist Worker, where he writes regularly on Middle East issues.

Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance is a four day conference of over fifty workshops, artistic displays and performances. If you are against imperialism, war, corporate greed, and the destruction of the environment, if you want to learn about and organize for a new world of peace, freedom, and liberation, then don't miss Marxism 2007: A Festival of Resistance.