Power and Resistance Conference

Inca

POWER AND RESISTANCE – 2012 SSPT CONFERENCE

Studies in Social and Political Thought Annual Conference — Power and Resistance
June 15-16, 2012
Sussex University, Brighton

Keynote: Werner Bonefeld (University ofYork)

While governments around the world have initiated austerity measures on a grand scale and have even been ousted in favour of technocratic administrations, pockets of sustained resistance continue to manifest themselves. Whether it is the populist Occupy movement, ultra-left theorists of Communisation, anti-cuts protesters, or even the rioters who took to the streets ofLondonand beyond, the struggle against the apparent status quo continues. When taken in the light of the Arab Spring, questions must be asked in regards to the relationship between resistance and revolution.  These movements managed to turn a tide of resistance into a force for revolution. Is this a paradigm-shift in the way this relationship must be thought?

Alongside these movements and despite the optimism generated by them, the power of the governments to crush, delegitimise, and ignore opposition appears to continue unabated. Some critics blame a lack of coherent message and agenda; others say that the forces of opposition are not dealing with the reality of the situation. This critique, however, does not have the last word. Theseforms of resistance, in their many diffuse guises [‘diffuse guises’ sounds odd to me, but maybe that’s just me], challenge the state’s belief that it has a monopoly on reality. They challenge the very legitimacy of the state to disseminate the status quo and, therefore, represent a radical alternative even if they do not, or cannot, dictate what the alternative may be. What role do the concepts of power and resistance play in our analysis of the current situation? Do they require a reassessment or does the contemporary conjuncture simply represent a reassertion of the same old forces in a different guise?

Power is one of the core concepts of social and political thought. Yet, there is plenty of disagreement about what is, how it functions and how it should be contested. Our present conjuncture is witnessing many different manifestations of power and resistance. However, there is a lack of serious theoretical engagement with the current situation. We are seeking papers that engage theoretically with the current situation, and which emphasise the central roles of the concepts of power and resistance. Possible theoretical frameworks include, but are not limited to, theories of biopolitics, instrumental reason, critical theory, post-colonialism, discourse and democratic theory, structuralism and post-structuralism, recognition, soft-power, hegemony, world-systems, sovereignty, legality, and legitimacy.

Please send abstracts of 350 words to ssptconference2012@gmail.com  by March 30th. For more information go to ssptjournal.wordpress.com

**END**

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

‘Human Herbs’ – a new remix and new video by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

‘Stagnant’ – a new remix and new video by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Politics at a Distance from the State

John Holloway

POLITICS AT A DISTANCE FROM THE STATE

A conference titled ‘Politics at a distance from the state’ is being held on 29th and 30th of September 2012 at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

The conference is intended as a space at which academics and activists sympathetic to or supportive of ‘politics at a distance from the state’ can openly and freely explore, discuss and debate this idea and form of politics. The conference arose in the light of the visit later this year to Rhodes University by John Holloway and Jacques Depelchin, both of whom will be in attendance at the conference. The conference seeks to consider anti-statist politics in South Africa and beyond.

Political practices in South Africa, since the end of Apartheid, have been dominated by state-centric forms of politics under the hegemony of the African National Congress (ANC). Although state-centred struggle and the capturing of state power were embedded – as important trajectories – within the anti-Apartheid organizations of the 1970s and 1980s, there was also a pronounced anti-statist tendency that sought to build alternative forms of communality in a pre-figurative way. Of significance in this regard was the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Black trade union movement. In large part, with the de-mobilization of anti-Apartheid struggles in the 1990s and a technocratic, neo-liberal programme pursued vigorously by the ANC state since 1994, anti-statist politics in contemporary South Africa are heavily compromised and marginalised. This form is politics is also rarely discussed in the academia. The conference, in its South African focus, seeks to revisit the struggles of the 1970s and 1980s and, in so doing, to identify and articulate the anti-statist moments inherent in them. Activists centrally involved in the BCM, UDF and trade union movement will be present to facilitate and contribute to these discussions. The three leading academics in South Africa who presently think and theorise about politics at a distance from the state will also be in attendance, namely, Michael Neocosmos, Richard Pithouse and Lucien van der Walt (co-author of Black Flame, 2009). As well, community activists and groups in South Africa supportive of and pursuing ‘at a distance’ politics, such as the shack-dweller movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, will be present.

The conference seeks to locate South African politics in the broader, more global, debates and activism. Academically, John Holloway’s book Change the World without Taking Power (2002) ignited an intense debate a decade ago about emancipatory politics and change; this work though spoke directly to the lived experiences and everyday politics of the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico. His overall critique of state-centred change is not an entirely new argument but his Autonomist Marxist perspective is certainly rich in nuanced insights about the prospects for interstitial revolution today. Jacques Depelchin, the highly esteemed Congolese historian, has – with Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba – tried to rethink politics in the Congo in Africa. The critique of state-centric emancipation has deep roots in Anarchist theory (and practice), and reaches back to the debates between Marx and Bakhunin. Over the last few decades, post-Anarchism (as a ‘fusion’ of Anarchism and post-Structuralism) has emerged (for instance the works of Richard Day and David Graeber), claiming that many of the localized struggles taking place globally have anarchistic principles (such as pre-figuration) embedded within them. Simultaneously, a range of other (often older, ex-Marxist) scholars – in the ongoing light of Paris ’68 – have constantly highlighted the significance of anti-statist politics (beyond ‘the political’) for authentic emancipatory processes. Of particular importance in this regard are Jacques Ranciere and Alain Baidou – it is from the latter that the title for the conference is taken.

Crucial differences exist between the different theoretical and political tendencies highlighted above. But they all share a comment interest in questioning emancipation in and through the state, and in exploring the possibilities and actualities of a lived immanent politics (some call it a living communism) taking place in the interstices of the current capitalist and hierarchical order. It is this shared common interest that forms of the basis for the ‘at a distance’ conference.

The conference is specifically designed for academics and activists with a particular interest in engaging constructively with politics at a distance from the state. This gathering is the first of its kind in post-Apartheid South Africa and it should appeal not only to individuals and groups within South Africa but also to individuals and groups outside South Africa who wish to engage through an interchange of ideas and practices with like-minded academics and activists in Africa.

The format for the conference has yet to be decided upon. But it will be as informal as possible yet very vigorous and engaging. It will entail a number of conversations in which all will equally participate.

For any further information, please contact:
Kirk Helliker, Sociology, Rhodes University: k.helliker@ru.ac.za
Richard Pithouse, Politics, Rhodes University: r.pithouse@ru.ac.za 

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a new remix and new video by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

‘Stagnant’ – a new remix and new video by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkP_Mi5ideo  

‘Cheerful Sin’ – a song by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIbX5aKUjO8

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.com

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Glenn Rikowski on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/glenn.rikowski

Digital Futures

Ruth Rikowski

DIGITAL FUTURES

We have 2 places remaining on the Digital Futures Academy run by Simon Tanner and Tom Clareson.

The full programme and rates are available here: http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/digifutures/london.html

Guest speakers include:
Professor Tim Hitchcock, University of Hertfordshire
William Kilbride, Digital Preservation Coalition
Alistair Dunning, The European Library

We will visit behind the scenes at The National Gallery and The British Library.

If you wish to come then please email me.

We have 23 delegates so far this year from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, representing libraries, museums, archives, plus corporate and national repositories. Delegates range from senior management, curatorial and content specialists to technical implementation staff.

All my best
Simon Tanner

Digital Futures Academy
The British Library, London
March 19-23, 2012
http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/digifutures/london.html

King’s College London is pleased to announce the Digital Futures Academy 5-day training event. We are thrilled that this year it will be hosted at The British Library.

Digital Futures focuses on the creation, delivery and preservation of digital resources from cultural and memory institutions. Lasting five days, Digital Futures is aimed at managers and other practitioners from the library, museum, heritage and cultural sectors looking to understand the strategic and management issues of developing digital resources from digitisation to delivery. Delegates will also receive 2 half day visits with expert talks and behind the scenes tours of The National Gallery and The British Library.

As the Academy enters its 9th year we invite you to join our experts of international renown in London, UK. Delegates from over 40 countries have experienced the benefits of the Digital Futures Academy. This is what they have said:
               “Excellent – I would recommend DF to anyone anticipating a digitization program”
               “I was very pleased. The team was exceptionally knowledgeable, friendly and personable.”
               “Thanks, it has been an invaluable experience.”
               “A really useful course and great fun too!”

Digital Futures is led by Simon Tanner, Director of Digital Consultancy at King’s College London and Tom Clareson, Lyrasis. They have over 20 years experience each and worked on over 500 digital projects across the world in delivering digital content or preserving culture. They will be supported by Alistair Dunning of  The European Library and William Kilbride of the Digital Preservation Coalition.  Other experts at the National Gallery and The British Library will give talks during the tours.

Digital Futures  covers the following core areas:
               Planning and management
               Fund raising
               Understanding the audience
               Social media and its impact
               Metadata – introduction and implementation
               Copyright and intellectual property
               Sustainability, value and impact
               Financial issues
               Implementing digital resources
               Digital preservation
A certificate of attainment is offered to all Digital Futures Academy delegates on completion of the course.

If you are interested, please email me as soon as possible, spaces are limited.

Best regards,
Simon

Simon Tanner
Director of Digital Consultancy (KDCS)
Department of Digital Humanities
King’s College London
26-29 Drury Lane
London WC2B 5RL

Email: simon.tanner@kcl.ac.uk
Web: www.kcl.ac.uk/ddh/ http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ddh/ and www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/
Twitter: @SimonTanner http://twitter.com/#!/SimonTanner
Phone: +44(0)7887-691716 (direct)   +44(0)20-7848-2861 (Dept Office)

Co-Director of MA in Digital Asset Management<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/humanities/depts/cch/pg/madam/>
DDH research and teaching: my personal page<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/ddh/people/core/tanner/index.aspx>

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‘Human Herbs’ – a new remix and new video by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

‘The Lamb’ by William Blake – set to music by Victor Rikowski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw3VloKBvZc

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com