Anarchist Studies Network Conference 2.0 - 'Making Connections'

Call for Papers, deadline extended to 1 May

CALL FOR PAPERS

Anarchist Studies Network Conference 2.0 - 'Making Connections'

Loughborough University, UK

3rd-5th September, 2012

***Deadline for abstract submissions extended to May 1st, 2012***

Registration Packages Now Confirmed (scroll down for more) Full contact details for panel organisers available at: http://www.anarchist-studies-network.org.uk

If you have a paper that doesn't necessarily fit in the advertised panel streams, it will still be considered. See below for details.
We live in interesting times. The Arab Spring, Occupy X and anti-austerity protests are only the latest and most visible examples in a long tradition of grassroots social movements in which ordinary people create democratic alternatives to hierarchy and inequality. Here and everywhere, people are getting together and making connections between their own everyday experiences and wider patterns of relationships and power, official and unofficial. They (or we) are making connections with each other, personal and political. New patterns evolve as people experiment with different ways of organising, of relating, of connecting, of thinking. Scholars, artists and activists observe, theorise and participate in various ways, helping to make connections, both in social movements and in the movements of everyday life. Feminists, in particular, have foregrounded intersectional approaches to power, privilege and oppression. Race, class and gender; sexuality, ecology and (dis)ability; age, species and faith -- each of these and more interconnect in numerous ways, both subtle and overt.

The Anarchist Studies Network is hosting a conference to acknowledge, celebrate and deepen these diverse efforts to understand and transform our world, our lives. We want this conference itself to be a space for making connections, both intellectual and personal. It will include a blend of more or less traditional panels, participatory discussions and experiential workshops, extended breaks and social events. This first call is an invitation to propose thematic streams, workshops or panel topics by those who are willing to take a role in organising them. Further calls will invite papers, participation, performance. We're particularly keen to make connections across borders of identities, movements, disciplines and practices. We invite contributions from students, academics and unaffiliated researchers, activists and artists, health practitioners and care workers, trade unionists, community organisers and those without labels. Above all, we would like to nurture a convivial atmosphere in which to make connections with others, explore areas of both overlap and difference, create or simply meet, to learn and to share.

Our intention is for this to be a scholarly conference with a difference. Scholar means both student and teacher. By bringing together a diverse group of participants, who share in common a desire to learn and a commitment to acknowledging and creating alternatives to rigid hierarchies and exploitative relationships, we hope that each of us will have something to offer others and much to learn. The process of organising the conference is decentralised, with the conference initiators welcoming proposals from a diverse range of session organisers covering a wide variety of engaged and engaging topics. We also invite session organisers to consider playful, participatory and/or experimental panel and workshop formats. This might range from a traditional three paper panel followed by a discussion using alternative facilitation techniques (e.g., open space technology, fishbowl, or sitting in a circle with a facilitator) to more interactive workshop-style discussion or experiential sessions. Our intention is not to be transgressive for the sake of it, but to encourage a variety of methods in order to facilitate making connections.

20 Panel Streams and Workshops.
Please contact the conveners with your paper/presentation abstracts (full details on the ASN website).

'No Master But God'? Exploring the Compatibility of Anarchism and Religion. Convener: Alex Christoyannopoulos

Anarchism and Non-Domination. Convener: Alex Prichard

A workshop on workable anti-work utopias (working title). Convener: Peter Seyferth

Anarchism in different national contexts. Convener: Mari Kuukkanen

Anarchism and other animals - making connections across species boundaries. Conveners: Erika Cudworth and Richard White

Connecting Anarchism and Critical Management and Organisation Studies. Conveners: Thomas Swann and Konstantin Stoborod

Anarchism & Autonomism. Convener: Stevphen Shukaitis

Real Democracy and the Revolutions of our Time. Conveners: Laurence Davis and Peter Snowdon

Anarchism and War. Convener: Pietro di Paola

On Violence. Convener: Mohamed Veneuse

Anarchism and Education. Convener: Peter Jandric

Re-imagining Anarchism in America: A Critical Perspective. Convener: Jorell Meléndez

Anarchism and Disability. Conveners: Steve Graby, Anat Greenstein, Jess Bradley

Is anarchism Western?: Anarchism and its challenges in a (post)colonial world. Convener: Gabriel Kuhn

Ontological Anarchism. Convener: Peter Hardy

Anarchist Publishing. Convener: Jason Lindsey

MethodBox Workshop. Conveners: Eleni Froudaraki and Isidora Ilic

***Other Sessions Confirmed***

'Let's Build it Together': A Workshop on Protest Camps and Autonomous Politics Session Organisers: Anna Feigenbaum and Fabian Frenzel

Bodily Anarchy. Facilitator: Jamie Heckert

What now for workplace organising: Contemporary wobbly experiences. Convener, David Bailey

Film night and other social activities to be scheduled....

Nothing here that takes your fancy? Contact Chris Rossdale with your paper proposal for the open stream (C.Rossdale @ warwick.ac.uk).

Registration options:
Registration fees:
Full waged: £68
Low-waged: £38
Unwaged: £10

Registration will open in early May. Please check the ASN website for regular conference updates.

The registration fee covers the costs for lunches, snacks and refreshments on Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th of September, and contributes towards venue costs and bursaries. Full travel and accommodation bursaries will be made available on the basis of need. On registration you will be asked to detail your requirements and to ensure you keep all your receipts.

For more information, contact Alex Prichard: alprich [at] gmail.com