At Risk of Being Forgotten: Great British Libertarian Educationalists Leila Berg and Bob McKenzie. Anything More Needed to be Said About Education?

Anarchism & Education

AT RISK OF BEING FORGOTTEN: GREAT BRITISH LIBERTARIAN EDUCATIONALISTS LEILA BERG AND BOB McKENZIE. ANYTHING MORE NEEDED TO BE SAID ABOUT EDUCATION?

A talk by Ros Kane and Emily Charkin

Saturday 23 July 2016, 2.00pm – 4.30 pm

@ The MayDay Rooms

Organised by the New Anarchist Research Group
R F McKenzie is a largely forgotten libertarian educationalist, but Ros Kane considers that he has written the last words on the subject. Attempting to initiate child-centred, creative practices within the state system as head of two Scottish secondary schools, he was – not surprisingly – twice kicked out, ending his days writing and lecturing. Ros, who has flirted with teaching and now works in child mental health, will present an account of Bob McKenzie’s life, work and books, and invite a discussion about what lessons we can learn of the possibilities and pitfalls of trying to apply A.S. Neill-type ideas in state schools. Ros Kane is author of To Have An Only Child.

‘We talked practically non-stop’:  Mackenzie and his radical networks (1910-1987)
This talk explores how Mackenzie’s life and work can be understood in the wider context of radical educational and political ideas in the twentieth century. Emily will draw on her current research on John Aitkenhead (1910-1998), who was friends with Mackenzie, and ran a private boarding school in Scotland called Kilquhanity (1940-1995) based on many of their shared ideas about freedom and community in education.  I will also share perspectives on Mackenzie from my research on Leila Berg (1917-2012) drawing particularly on a transcript of an over-night meeting which Berg hosted at her home in London, in 1968 – a radical cocktail of Mackenzie, Duane, Neill and Holt.  I will argue that this network and their debates can help us draw significant distinctions between progressive and radical educational ideas – and their relationship to anarchist political thought.

Emily Charkin’s historical work is concerned with anarchist educational ideas, experiments and the learning experiences of ordinary people.  She uses these historical accounts to cast light on debates in the philosophy of education in the present. She is currently working on an ESRC funded PhD at the UCL Institute of Education with a working title: ‘Together they build a structure to suit their needs’: Children’s experiences of self-build, radical education and anarchism from the 1930s to today. Her previous work has been about the Peckham Health Centre (1935-1950), Whiteway Colony (1926-today), Colin Ward (1924-2010), Leila Berg (1917-2012) and the US de-schoolers in the 1970s. Emily has also worked outside academia as a social researcher at the National Centre for Social Research and a curriculum director for the civic leadership organisation, Common Purpose.  She and her architect-builder husband are currently setting up a work hub and ‘school’ of self-reliance at Wilderness Wood where adults and children can work and learn together.

MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH

Please note, that we have a new venue, The MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. The nearest tube station is St Paul’s (Central Line), but there are others close by. For more details about the MayDay Rooms and how to get to there (including a map) go to their website:

MayDayRooms: http://maydayrooms.org/rooms/visiting/

***END***

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An Alternative to Neo-Liberal Education – Venue Change

AN ALTERNATIVE TO NEO-LIBERAL EDUCATION – VENUE CHANGE

NOW AT THE MAYDAY ROOMS

Apologies for the short notice but unfortunately it has been necessary to change the venue for the meeting on Saturday 28 November.  This will now be held in the MAYDAY ROOMS, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH, 2.00pm – 4.30pm. 

NEW ANARCHIST RESEARCH GROUP

JOINT MEETING WITH THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CENTRE (LINCOLN)

Saturday 28 November 2015

Mayday Rooms

88 Fleet Street

London, EC4Y 1DH

2.00pm – 4.30pm

The Social Science Centre (SSC) in Lincoln is a self-organised co-operative higher learning provider that is democratic at all levels of its organisation. The scholars who are members of the Centre work and study together whether they are traditionally students or teachers. One of the aims of the Centre is to analyse and dissolve the tensions in the relationships between research and teaching, and students and academics. Set up by academics from the University of Lincoln, the Centre has no relationship with the University, although it is a critique of the formal institution as a dysfunctional neoliberal arrangement in many ways. The SSC aims to ‘reinvent’ the University and transform the scholars’ relationship to knowledge in order to insert their own experiences into theoretical knowledges that aim to emancipate them as active change agents. The SSC engenders provocations, conversations and discussions that enliven the notion that all those who are involved in active knowledge work should become (co-) producers of knowledge. Two of the (student) scholars and an academic from Lincoln will be visiting the Anarchist Research Group to talk about the centre and their experiences studying there.

In this session, we would like to tell you a little about our experiences with the SSC and then invite a discussion on the SSC, self-organised education and the relationships between education, learning, and social change.
The Social Science Centre provides free public higher education in the city of Lincoln and emphasises the collective and collaborative nature of education. The Centre was opened in 2011 by academics and students and Lincoln residents who feel passionately that those wishing to study higher education should not have to take on the burden of debt. There is no fee to pay when joining the Centre, only what you can afford. Free also means freedom to study outside of the current disciplinary structures of higher education around topics and issues that are of direct concern to you and your local community.

Anarchist Research Group Website: http://torrianomeetinghouse.wordpress.com/where-we-are/ 

***END***

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

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Ruth Rikowski @ Academia: http://lsbu.academia.edu/RuthRikowski

 

An Alternative to Neo-Liberal Education

Neoliberalism

AN ALTERNATIVE TO NEO-LIBERAL EDUCATION

NEW ANARCHIST RESEARCH GROUP

JOINT MEETING WITH THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CENTRE (LINCOLN)

Saturday 28 November 2015

2.00 pm – 4.30pm

The Torriano Meeting House

99 Torriano Ave

Kentish Town

LONDON, NW5 2RX

The Torriano Meeting House: https://torrianomeetinghouse.wordpress.com/

The Social Science Centre (SSC) in Lincoln is a self-organised co-operative higher learning provider that is democratic at all levels of its organisation. The scholars who are members of the Centre work and study together whether they are traditionally students or teachers. One of the aims of the Centre is to analyse and dissolve the tensions in the relationships between research and teaching, and students and academics. Set up by academics from the University of Lincoln, the Centre has no relationship with the University, although it is a critique of the formal institution as a dysfunctional neoliberal arrangement in many ways. The SSC aims to ‘reinvent’ the University and transform the scholars’ relationship to knowledge in order to insert their own experiences into theoretical knowledges that aim to emancipate them as active change agents. The SSC engenders provocations, conversations and discussions that enliven the notion that all those who are involved in active knowledge work should become (co-) producers of knowledge. Two of the (student) scholars and an academic from Lincoln will be visiting the Anarchist Research Group to talk about the centre and their experiences studying there.

In this session, we would like to tell you a little about our experiences with the SSC and then invite a discussion on the SSC, self-organised education and the relationships between education, learning, and social change.

The Social Science Centre provides free public higher education in the city of Lincoln and emphasises the collective and collaborative nature of education. The Centre was opened in 2011 by academics and students and Lincoln residents who feel passionately that those wishing to study higher education should not have to take on the burden of debt. There is no fee to pay when joining the Centre, only what you can afford. Free also means freedom to study outside of the current disciplinary structures of higher education around topics and issues that are of direct concern to you and your local community.

ANARCHIST RESEARCH GROUP: Our meetings are friendly and informal. They are usually held on the fourth Saturday each month, at the Torriano Meeting House in Kentish town, 99 Torriano Avenue, London NW5 2RX between 2.00pm and 4.30 pm
Directions: From Kentish Town tube station walk up Leighton Road, and turn left into Torriano Avenue.

We take a collection after each meeting to cover the cost of the venue.

Website: http://torrianomeetinghouse.wordpress.com/where-we-are/ 

Education Crisis

***END***

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Ruth Rikowski @ Academia: http://lsbu.academia.edu/RuthRikowski

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.co.uk/

Ruth Rikowski at Serendipitous Moments: http://ruthrikowskiim.blogspot.co.uk/

12th Working Class Bookfair

12th WORKING CLASS BOOKFAIR

31st October 2015
Saturday at 11:00–17:00

Museum Vaults
Silksworth Row, SR1 3QJ City of Sunderland, UK
Directions: About 11 minutes walk from Sunderland rail station

Sunderland Working Class Bookfair 2015

Books, magazines and pamphlets will cover at least: local and general history, Marxism, environment, football and other sport, culture, railways, mining, fiction, social science, co-operatives, economics, Anarchism, international relations, Socialism, trade unions, sex, drugs & rock n’ roll… smile emoticon
Stalls confirmed so far include Unite Community, Clothing Bank, Active Distribution, PM Press and Mayday Books

What is going on?

Despite the accidental way Jeremy Corbyn has become Labour leader this has opened up new spaces for politics, and we aim to welcome all progressive people.

Immediately, the Tories are in crisis with the defeat in the Lords, but this doesn’t mean we are happy with things as they are, no – we want lots more!

REMEMBER Remember the 5th of November is coming up soon and we hope everybody’s making their Tory dummies to burn. Andrew Lloyd Webber is the latest candidate to add to our list of dummies.

On a wider level the Liberals have collapsed because they’re career opportunists; its class against class now and you have to take sides. Recent media scare stories have proven that the spectre that haunts Europe is no longer that of communism but of anarchism, and on this Halloween we can note the importance of this haunting.

Our side are the poor, workers, unemployed, the NEETS, disabled, the pensioners and those trying to get a decent pension, migrants and the otherwise oppressed such as the trainee workers – THE STUDENTS. We want to spread great literature that is useful for our people.
Words are not enough though and we have to put ideas into practice on a large scale.

Come and plan for the day out in London when the massed ranks of education workers, students and the otherwise pissed off at the TORY government will be making their voices heard for once on the large STUDENT protest on November 4th in London.

A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of anarchism

In London a large Anonymous march on November 5th will see Class War dragging an effigy of Zac Goldsmith, the posh Tory boy Mayoral candidate, down Downing Street where it’s going to be burnt.

Hopefully we will be hearing from those who went to the Manchester Tory conference about what a great time they had too.

This is an open invite to all fellow travellers to come on down to the 31st October Bookfair and have a great time; Teesside Solidarity Movement, Steelworkers, Sunderland Welfare Action group, the Industrial Workers of the World, SPGB, Class War, NUM, Mayday books, North East Anarchists, the Black Bloc (if we can find them), UKUNCUT, syndicalists, students, teachers and lecturers, and many more are invited as well.

First Published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/12th-working-class-bookfair.-31st-october-2015.-sunderland

***END***

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Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Ruth Rikowski @ Academia: http://lsbu.academia.edu/RuthRikowski

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.co.uk/

Ruth Rikowski at Serendipitous Moments: http://ruthrikowskiim.blogspot.co.uk/

London Anarchist Bookfair 2015

London Anarchist Bookfair 2015

LONDON ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR 2015

Saturday 24th October 10am to 7pm

Central Saint Martins, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London, N1C 4AA

Books, pamphlets, magazines, meetings, films, discussions, crèche and older kids space, food and much more…

We have finally found a venue suitable for this year’s Bookfair. Central St. Martin’s is a huge building behind Kings Cross train station. It is a fantastic space for us all to display why anarchism is just such a bloody good idea. In these days of hyper capitalism an alternative is needed. That alternative can only be anarchism. Come and find out why.

If you want to book a stall or meeting or want an advert in the bookfair programme go to the bookings page.

What is anarchism?

Like all really good ideas, anarchy is pretty simple when you get down to it – human beings are at their very best when they are living free of authority, deciding things among themselves, rather than being ordered about. That’s what the word means: without government. Read on…

Anarchism and the bookfair

Bookfairs provide a space where like-minded people can come together to re-affirm old friendships, make new ones, discuss all things anarchist and anticapitalist and start planning the future revolution. They’re also one of the public faces of anarchism. Anyone unfamiliar with the ideas or wanting to know more about the politics can come along, look through books, sit in or get involved in meetings, workshops and discussions or just chat to the groups and organisations having stalls there.

It is also a space where we counter the rubbish talked about anarchism by sections of the media and our opponents. Bookfairs are one small element of making anarchism a threat to the present political system.

We need people to help us publicise the event to every nook and cranny in London. If you are new to anarchism, check out the pages websitesand bookfairs. There are links to anarchist and campaigning groups around the country and anarchist bookfairs throughout the world.

Access issues

If you have any access requirements, please let us know so we can try and meet your needs. If you are Deaf and require BSL interpreting and/or speech-to-text provision, please give us as much notice as possible and we will do our best to organise these. To discuss any specific access needs, please contact us at access at anarchistbookfair.org.uk.

Dogs

To make the bookfair a safe environment for children and adults alike, we ask people do not bring dogs to the event, except guide dogs. Thanks.

Cameras

Please don’t take photographs – it’s not necessary and it can annoy or concern some people.

 

See: http://anarchistbookfair.org.uk/

 

***END***

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Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Rikowski Point: http://rikowskipoint.blogspot.co.uk/

 

POSTANARCHISM

Postanarchism

POSTANARCHISM

A new book by Saul Newman

Published by Polity

October 2015 | 160 Pages

Hardback: 9780745688732 | £50.00/€68.97

Paperback: 9780745688749| £12.99/€17.91

 

 

 

Praise For Postanarchism:

“For those on the left who despair about the ongoing power of neoliberalism, Saul Newman offers a powerful insight. Whereas older models of resistance are based on revolution and opposition to the state, Newman notes that the state is no longer the key problem of our time. Postanarchism is his response; it is based on autonomy, insurrection and the recuperation of politics. This book is critical for those who wish to think and act beyond our contemporary condition.” — James Martel, San Francisco State University

“Beautifully written, Newman’s book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of contemporary capitalism, the nature of political contestation and the choices we can exercise as political actors. It’s a fearless and provocative work, unafraid not only to challenge cherished nostrums of both left and right but to work creatively with “dangerous” concepts: insurrection, violence, servitude. In sum, this is a thoughtful and invigorating text for understanding our times.” — Simon Tormey, University of Sydney

 

In this book, Newman develops an original political theory of postanarchism; a form of anti-authoritarian politics which starts, rather than finishes, with anarchy. He does this by asking four central questions: who are we as subjects; how do we resist; what is our relationship to violence; and, why do we obey? By drawing on a range of heterodox thinkers including La Boétie, Sorel, Benjamin, Stirner and Foucault, the author not only investigates the current conditions for radical political thought and action, but proposes a new form of politics based on what he calls ontological anarchy and the desire for autonomous life. Rather than seeking revolutionary emancipation or political hegemony, we should affirm instead the non-existence of power and the ever-present possibilities of freedom.

As the tectonic plates of our time are shifting, revealing the nihilism and emptiness of our political and economic order, postanarchism’s disdain for power in all its forms offers us genuine emancipatory potential.

 

Book Details at Polity: http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745688732

The Politics of Postanarchism: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/saul-newman-the-politics-of-postanarchism

***END***

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Social Structures of Direct Democracy

SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Social Structures of Direct Democracy: On the Political Economy of Equality

By John Asimakopoulos

Hardcover ISBN: 9789004262720 E-ISBN: 9789004262751

Dear All and especially LIBRARIANS,

Please consider asking your academic library to obtain a copy of my new book published by Brill or get your personal copy. Any help in announcing the book through online social networks, listservs, and blogs is greatly appreciated. Gratitude to all! Sincerely, John

Brill

Amazon.com

Facebook

“Ambitious in scope, timely in content, and rigorous in argumentation and analysis, John Asimakopoulos’ Social Structures of Direct Democracy promises to make a significant and lasting contribution to contemporary discussions in democratic theory and political economy. By combining the utopian ethical ideal of the libertarian socialist tradition with the technical precision and analytic cohesiveness of Marxism and classical political economy, Asimakopoulos offers a fresh and innovative perspective on the present and future of democracy, both political and economic, around the globe. The book deserves praise for its interdisciplinary breadth and critical depth.” —Nathan Jun, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Midwestern State University

“Social Structures of Direct Democracy is a lucid and powerful analysis of the threat that inequality poses to any viable democracy while also providing a brilliant analysis of the mechanisms that make it so savage and unsustainable. But the book provides more than a critique of inequality, it also offers a stirring program for change at a time when democracy is under dire siege. A must read for anyone concerned about the fate of democracy in the United States.” —Henry Giroux, Center for Research in the Public Interest, McMaster University

“Social Structures of Direct Democracy will undoubtedly make an impressive and timely contribution to the literature. The excellent structure, original focus and critical content will ensure that the book enjoys a broad appeal across a range of academic disciplines, at all levels. Indeed, anyone with an interest in (engaging with) new, wonderfully alternative responses to address the current political and economic crisis should buy this book now!” —Richard J White, Senior Lecturer in Economic Geography, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

ABOUT THE BOOK: Neoliberalism has pushed capitalism to its limits hollowing out global economies and lives in the process while people have no voice. John Asimakopoulos addresses the problem with a theory to practice model that reconciles Marxism with diverse radical currents and democratic theory. Social Structures of Direct Democracy develops a political economy of structural equality in large-scale society making strong empirical arguments for radical transformation. Key concepts include filling positions of political and economic authority e.g., legislatures and corporate boards, with randomly selected citizens leaving the demos as the executive; a common wage combined with markets and currency. Asimakopoulos shows that an egalitarian society leads to greater innovation and sustainable economic growth with positive social benefits in contrast to economies based on individualism, competition, and inequality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Asimakopoulos, is Full Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York and executive director of the Transformative Studies Institute (TSI), an educational think tank. He has advanced degrees in and has taught sociology, political science, and economics resulting in a unique interdisciplinary perspective. His students include undergraduates and graduates from diverse ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds who honor him for over 20 years with the highest teaching evaluations. His research is focused on social movements, critical theory, and international political economy. Asimakopoulos is author of Revolt! (2011) The Accumulation of Freedom (2012), many journal articles, and is editor in chief of Theory in Action, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal.

For interviews and presentations contact the author at: jasimakopoulos@transformativestudies.org

CONTENTS

Foreword

Mark Zepezauer

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Theory, Praxis, and Change

The Ragged Edge of Anarchy: Direct Democracy

Mutualism

Collectivism

Communist Anarchism

Conflict Theory

Why Capitalism Must Always Collapse

The Relationship between Change and Radicalism

Structural Limitations to Change

Insurrection versus Revolution

A Case Study in Political Revolution: Egypt

Does Direct Democracy Require Small-scale Societies?

McDonald’s Iron Cage

2 Relations of Authority

The Fraud of Representative Democracy

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Stealing Democracy Old School

Political Parties

A Path to Direct Democracy

Economic Authority

Political Authority

Constitution

3 Material Relations

Economic Utilities of Direct Democracy

Markets and Prices

Currency, Income, Banking, and Credit

Profit and Worker-owned Firms

Authority over Productive Property

Innovation and Small Business

Relations of Consumption

Income Distribution

Regulated Labor Markets: Hiring Halls

Distribution of Productive Property

Resource Use

What to Produce

How to Produce

Can the System Adapt?

4 Social Structure

Culture and Social Integration

Organizing Principles of Social Structure

Social Statuses

Social Roles

Virtual Worlds

Institutions and Socialization

Religion

Family and Sexuality

Education

The Means of Violence

Compulsion and Discipline

Journalism

The Social Network: The Future that Can be Now

Conclusion: No Islands of Egalitarianism in a Sea of Inequality

Afterword: What Can Grow in the Graveyard for Orthodoxies?

Richard Gilman-Opalsky

Bibliography

Index

**END**

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Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

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State of Education – What Next?

Critical Education / Education is Critical

STATE OF EDUCATION – WHAT NEXT?

September 14 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Following on from our conference in March we are continuing the threads and planning next steps…

http://stateofeducation2014.wordpress.com/

Details:

Date: September 14, 2014

Time: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Event Category: organising meeting

Organizer: Radical Education Forum

Website: http://radicaleducationforum.tumblr.com/

Venue: Common House, Unit E, 5 Pundersons Gardens, Bethnal Green, London, E29QG United Kingdom

+ Google Map

Website: http://www.commonhouse.org.uk

 

**END**

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Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

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Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

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London Anarchist Bookfair 2014

Anarchism

LONDON ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR 2014

Saturday 18th October 2014

10.00am – 7.00pm

Queen Mary University of London

Mile End Road

London

E1 4NS

 

Books, pamphlets, magazines, films, meetings, and discussions along with crèche, older kids space and much more.

Website: http://www.anarchistbookfair.org.uk

Email: mail@anarchistbookfair.org.uk

Flyer: http://anarchistbookfair.org.uk/images/2014frontandback.pdf

 

The London Anarchist Bookfair is the biggest anarchist event in the country but there’s a lot more to anarchism than books or bookfairs. Saturday also sees the national TUC organised demonstration in London with a big anarchist presence, showing anarchists are part of all workers struggles. But we don’t accept the idea that our problems will be solved for us by Union leaders or politicians.

If revolution breaks out in Hyde Park we’ll be there. If not the Bookfair is 15 minutes away on the central line.

The week after there is a United Friends and Families Campaigns (UFFC) march – for the hundreds who have died in police custody or at the hands of the police. These cases and the UFFC’s resistance remind us again of what state power and policing means for many people. UFFC will be speaking at the Bookfair.

So the Bookfair is a small part of a movement and struggles that become more crucial every year. But it’s also a celebration of those fights and a place to set out our stall(s). As always there are books, magazines and newspapers full of ideas and opinions and passion, there will also be dozens of meetings and discussions, films, cabaret and more than anything a chance to meet other people who want to build a new world.

Anarchism doesn’t mean no organisation, so there’s food, a well-run crèche and older kids space and anything we think can make the day more open and accessible. Crèche Available for children 2-8 years. Younger children welcome with carers. Older children There is a supervised space and a youth space.

**END**

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

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

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Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

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Theory in Action

Fear of a Blank Planet

THEORY IN ACTION

MAKE A DIFFERENCE: SUBMIT YOUR WORK TO THEORY IN ACTION

NO SUBMISSION FEES!

Professionalism & Courtesy: benefit from the fastest decision times and publication. Don’t wait a year just to be rejected by the other journals

Click here to go directly to our online submission and peer review system for Theory in Action.

Submissions can be made 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

Library of Congress: H1 .T485 361 14 2007214369

Crossref Member

 

Theory in Action is an international peer reviewed journal that publishes the highest quality original research. It is published quarterly by the independent Transformative Studies Institute (TSI), a non-profit educational think tank committed to academic freedom, social justice, and the legitimization of scholar-activism.

 

Why publish with Theory in Action?

*Breadth of scope in progressive thinking – Theory in Action is a forum for research on the interconnections between theory and direct action that promotes social justice, broadly defined. While valuing radical and unconventional ideas, the journal does not privilege any particular theoretical tradition or approach. We are interested in how theory can inform activism to promote economic equality and democracy.

*Audacious – It seeks research that ‘conventional’ journals would reject because they are too radical or break with prior molds.  We welcome ALL scholarship and seek to transform reactionary elitist academia into a space of true independent thought without retaliations, reprisals, or the compartmentalization of knowledge.

*Extensive exposure – Theory in Action is available in hundreds of libraries all over the world.  Your work will reach a wide community of academics, professionals, and activists, across a range of relevant disciplines.

*High visibility via our online platform and partners such as EBSCO/H.W. Wilson, ProQuest, and more – The FULL TEXT (not just an abstract) of your article will be accessible globally and will benefit from the very latest in online search and discoverability technology.

 

You can be assured of the highest attention to production values.

We would like to invite you to submit your work to Theory in Action.

Please click here to access manuscript and submission guidelines.

 

Best Wishes,

The Editorial Board

Transformative Studies Institute – Theory in Action

www.transformativestudies.org

journal@transformativestudies.org

Visit us at: WWW.TRANSFORMATIVESTUDIES.ORG

 

**END**

 

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London Radical Bookfair & Alternative Press Takeover

LONDON RADICAL BOOKFAIR & ALTERNATIVE PRESS TAKEOVER

Presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers

Saturday 10^th May, 10.00-5.00pm

Bishopsgate Institute

230 Bishopsgate

London EC2M 4QH

Free entry to fair and talks: no advance booking required

See: http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/event/456/Troublemakers?—London-Radical-Bookfair–Alternative-Press-Takeover?&Keyword=troublemakers&TypeID=

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers invites you to the London Radical Bookfair & Alternative Press Takeover, showcasing the depth and breadth of radical publishing and bookselling in the UK.

Spread across the three floors of Bishopsgate Institute you will find an array of stalls from radical booksellers, publishers, zine makers, artists and activists.

Guest authors shortlisted for two book prizes, the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing, and the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award, will also present talks throughout the day. The bookfair will culminate in an awards ceremony for the two prizes, to be awarded by guest judges Jess McCabe, Seumas Milne and Nina Power.

For further information on stall holders, speakers and guest judges please visit the London Radical Bookfair and Alternative Press websites.

Alliance of Radical Booksellers: http://www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk/

 

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

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State of Education 2014

Education Is Not For Sale

STATE OF EDUCATION 2014: CONFERENCE ON RADICAL AND AUTONOMOUS EDUCATION

Where: Oxford House, Derbyshire Street,  Bethnal Green,  London E2 6HG
When: Saturday 1st March 2014, 10.30am to 7pm (+ afterparty tbc.) 
Bookings (Please book in advance as places are limited): http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/state-of-education-conference-1-march-2014-tickets-10238604943 

Access: Conference spaces are fully accessible to wheelchair users and a crèche will run in the gallery space. 

Day Programme

10.30-11.00: Arrivals and Registration 

11.00-11.30: Opening 

11.30-13.00: World Cafe

Taking place in the main theatre, World Cafe will be used as a way to start having conversations in small groups.  A convener will sit in each group throughout to facilitate three 30 minute sessions around a ‘key’ question and subject. Conference participants will have the opportunity to gather around questions of interest, meet each other and contribute to group discussions, which will be recorded and shared at the end of the morning. 

13.00-14.00: Lunch 

14.00-17.30 (including two 15 mins breaks): Afternoon Workshops 

The Trend Away from Freedom
For thousands of years we were becoming more free. Now we have become less so:
How can Enlightenment thinkers like Hegel, Mill and (later) Fromm influence our practice today?

Instead of school 
What if mass, compulsory, full-time schooling is a 150 year old experiment which hasn’t worked?  A workshop to generate and discuss ideas about what ‘instead of school’ might look like, convened by a group with experience of the ideas and practices surrounding alternatives to school.

Direct Action in Schools
What can teachers do to raise awareness of and respond to the current market-led reforms of state schooling? This session will be led by a full-time state primary teacher.
http://jennycollinsteacher.wordpress.com/

Chatting Critically with Young People and Youth Workers  
Turning Voices into Action
Facilitated by ‘In Defence of Youth Work’

Freedom and Democracy in action
Democratic Education is, of course, no longer radical. Staff and students from two of the world’s most famous democratic schools, the UK’s Summerhill School and Sands School, will explain and take questions about democratic education, the schools themselves, and the unique experience they offer both students and teachers.

Another Roadmap for Arts Education: ‘Glossary of Conflicted Terms’
‘Cultural Exchange’, ‘Creative Workforce’, ‘Arts Curriculum’, ‘Radical Education’ are terms which have become synonymous for a rigid, tokenistic, yet empty tick-boxing exercise around Arts Education. By unpicking these terms we want to foster a conversation that looks at what actually is important to us as arts education practitioners, teachers, students and organisers.

Education workers and unions: organising to reclaim education
Collective organising is essential to transform our education system into one that will genuinely meet our needs.
What can we learn from successful struggles in this country and further afield?

The potential of socially critical environmental education

The aim of the workshop is to present and criticise dominant trends in environmental education and raise a debate on critical approaches. The discussion will draw from the participants’ teaching experiences in environmental education and relevant curriculum subjects (e.g. geography, science, citizenship) as well as their interests in environmental issues.

Ethics and practice in teaching

Teachers / educators of the Radical Education Forum have been working through their experiences to build an ethical framework for our practice. We will workshop input from the REF ‘s Behaviour Management Clinic and the application of participatory theatre methods to ethical issues, based on the “Ethics of Participatory Theatre”.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/subjects/palatine/ethics-of-participatory-theatre

‘Hip Hop Education as Radical Education? 
History, Theory and Practice

Sustaining the movement

How do we ensure that the stateofeducation2014 conference is not just a one-off experience?  What real and practical next steps do we need to take? This workshop will feed its ideas and plans into the plenary event.

The suppression of freedom in schools

Do schools undermine school students’ human rights? Can students ever have a say and be listened to at school? Are schools like prisons? Can school students, youth workers, teachers and others work together to make a serious change to schools?

‘Voice of Youth’ will present their short film and lead a discussion.

17.30-17.45: Break

17.45-18.15: Closing Thoughts

18.15-19.00: Informal Networking

BOOK YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

For any additional needs or questions, or if you need to cancel your participation, please let us know by sending us an email to stateofeducation@riseup.net

What: Radical Education Forum and Libertarian Education are co-organising a one-day conference, which will bring together teachers and education workers interested in radical education. We will meet, share ideas and discuss concrete alternatives to dominant trends towards increasingly right wing and authoritarian ideologies in education.

Who is the conference for?

The conference is open to teachers and other workers in formal state education, school students, parents, youth workers, activistsand other educators and workers.

Who are we?

We are teachers, educators, students, researchers, community members, parents, precarious workers, people interested in being part of a wider social change. Our use of the term ‘radical’ is not meant to make claims of political purity, nor to be off-putting for those who don’t think of themselves as ‘radicals’. It is rather to mark our terrain that includes different forms of practice including popular education and research, critical literacy, participatory action research, social justice education, libertarian education and many others.

 

Conference website: http://stateofeducation2014.wordpress.com/

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