Anthropologies of The Present

Tate Britain

ANTHROPOLOGIES OF THE PRESENT

 

Two Talks in the Series ANTHROPOLOGIES OF THE PRESENT
Tate Britain, London SW1

Tuesday, 17 November 2009, 18.30–20.00

Kristin Ross, ‘Democracy for Sale’
Setting out from the controversy over Ireland’s ‘no’ vote to the European constitution, this talk will consider the current global stakes of the more radical form of democracy associated with the Paris Commune. Kristin Ross is Professor of Comparative Literature, New York University. Her books include The Emergence of Social Space (1988) and May ‘68 and its Afterlives (2002).

Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 18.30–20.00

Kojin Karatani, ‘The End of Capitalism?’
Capitalism may be on the verge of extinction, but it will not end by itself, because states do everything possible to prolong its life. This talk will consider the role of the state in this context and the counter-politics it provokes. Kojin Karatani is the author of Architecture as Metaphor (1995) and Transcritique: On Kant and Marx (2003) and a founder of the New Associationist Movement in Japan.

Peter Osborne, an editor of the journal Radical Philosophy, will act as Chair and Respondent.

The Auditorium, Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1
£8 each talk (£6 concessions) – price includes drink reception afterwards
Tate.org.uk/tickets or tel. 020-7887-8888

Anthropologies of the Present at Tate Britain: http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/eventseducation/talks/anthropologiesofthepresent.htm
Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

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

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

The Future of Democracy: Prospects and Challenges

Chantal Mouffe

The Future of Democracy: Prospects and Challenges

 

Which way forwards for the European Union?

This event has been organised by Chantal Mouffe (co-initiator of the Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space network).

Friday, 13 November 2009, 10.30am to 1pm
The Pavilion, University of Westminster
115 Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW

RSVP Charlotte Regan
Email:  charlotte.regan@my.westminster.ac.uk

Round-table discussion:
Thomas Ferenczi (Paris)
Fernand Keuleneer (Brussels)
Kalypso Nicolaidis (Oxford)
Frieder Otto Wolf (Berlin)

The Round-table will be chaired and introduced by Chantal Mouffe (London)

Now that the Irish have finally voted in favour of the ratification of the Lisbon treaty, a decisive step in the consolidation of the European Union might hopefully take place. After years of uncertainty – initiated by the rejection of the Constitutional Treatise by the French and the Dutch – concerning the future of the European institutions, the possibility now exists to envisage the future in a more optimistic way. But a successful future requires fostering among the people of Europe a real allegiance towards the European project. To be sure, with the financial crisis many people began to realize the importance of being in the EU, however its popularity remains at a very low ebb. A few decades ago things were different though, and the European project appeared as expressing the aspirations of many people and as able to awaken their enthusiasm. What has happened to bring about this change? Which mistakes have been made to explain the current disaffection with the EU? Many explanations have been offered which range for the geo-political transformations linked to the end of the Cold War, the resistances against a too rapid process of enlargement, imposed from the top without popular consultation. The criticism most often rehearsed is the lack of legitimacy of the EU due to its democratic deficit. What can be done to reverse this trend? Which model should European unification adopts? How could common forms of identification be established among the citizens of Europe, so as to mobilize their affects around a European vision that does not negates their differences? Those are some of the issues that will be discussed by a panel composed of specialists from various countries and several disciplines.

For “The Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space” network website: http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org

For Radical Politics Today magazine:
http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org/resources/publications/magazine/magazine.html

For more on the book What is Radical Politics Today? published in 2009 by Palgrave Macmillan: http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org/resources/resources_bookstoread.html

Jonathan Pugh
Senior Academic Fellow
Director “The Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space” network
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
5th Floor Claremont Tower
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
United Kingdom
Honorary Fellow, The Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

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

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

Euro Elections

Euro Elections: where should we turn our fire?

 

Uncaptive Minds Discussion Forum

 

The second series of our ‘Uncaptive Minds’ forums is about “capitalism and the working class today”, looking at issues such as the financial climate, globalisation and imperialism, casualisation and the transformation of the workforce.

 

The next meeting is on the subject of “Euro elections: where should we turn our fire?” We will be looking at the European Union’s response to the recession and proposed constitution; whether there is any worth in contesting elections and whether they have any relevance to today’s workplace struggles; and the politics of the No2EU election campaign backed by the RMT, Morning Star and Socialist Party.

 

Speakers include:

Peter Gowan: a New Left Review editorial board member

Andy Littlechild: an RMT (LuL) London Region activist

Mick Dooley: rank-and-file candidate for general secretary of the builders’ union UCATT.

 

The meeting takes place from 7pm at the Lucas Arms, near King’s Cross on Monday 20th April.

 

Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com for more info.

 

The Commune issue no.4 is out now and available on-line at: http://www.thecommune.co.uk

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

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

 

Civil Society Dialogue

Civil Society Dialogue: Bringing together workers from Turkey and the EU through a shared culture

 

Brussels, 20 October 2008

 

Ankara will host on 20 and 21 October the opening conference of an important European project steered by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and involving Turkish and European unions. The conference marks the start of this project aimed at promoting better mutual knowledge of workers from the European Union (EU) and Turkey.

 

“Civil Society Dialogue: bringing together workers from Turkey and the EU through a shared culture” is the name of the ambitious European project meant to ensure better knowledge and understanding of one another among Turkish and European workers.

The ETUC’s members include four Turkish organisations (Turk-Is, Hak-Is, DISK and KESK) and it has decided to launch this project of major political importance in an increasingly globalised economy. The project will include a range of activities designed to help Turkish and European workers meet and interact with each other.

 

Three Turkish unions (Turk-Is, Hak-Is and DISK) will be involved in the project together with 17 European trade union confederations, all of which are members of the ETUC, and seven European industry-based federations. This broad support underlines the scope and importance of the initiative.

 

The opening conference, which will take place on 20 and 21 October, will launch the project. It will focus to a large extent on mutual cooperation between Turkey and Europe and will bring together Turkish and European trade union leaders, ETUC General Secretary John Monks and Turkey’s Minister for Labour and Social Protection, as well as academics and representatives of civil society.

 

For more information :
Patricia Grillo.
ETUC Head of Press and Communications
+ 32 (0)2 224 04 30
+ 32 (0)477 7 7 0 1 64
E-mail: Pgrillo@etuc.org

 

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Rikowski web site, The Flow of Ideas is at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Glenn’s University of Northampton Staff Profile is at: http://www2.northampton.ac.uk/portal/page/portal/education/home1/staff/glennrikowski