[matilda] Making Global Civil Society: Grassroots practice and academic theory...

[gavin at cyber-rights.net]

Hello,

Sorry to clog the inboxes. I think Dougald was interested in this, 
but I don't have his email. Maybe some of the rest of you will be, 
too.

> ****************************************
> CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS
> 
> Making Global Civil Society:
> Grassroots Practice and Academic Theory of Globalisation from 
Below
> 
> A weekend gathering for collective reflection amongst activists 
and
> academics.
> 
> November 4, 5 & 6, 2005
> 
> Lancaster University, North West England.
> 
> With support of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at 
Lancaster
> University, the “Knowledge Laboratory on Globalisation from Above 
and
> Below" is happy to invite you, your affinity group, your 
collective, or
> your organisation to contribute to its first event.
> 
> The aim of the gathering is to discuss key aspects of the 
historical
> development of the capitalist economy that drives globalisation 
from
> above - such as enclosures, (precarious) labour, structural 
violence,
> colonialism, and their justifying cultural imagery ?and to make 
> visible
> alternative architectures of social organisation emerging through 
the
> processes of globalisation from below, that is, through 
grassroots
> movements cooperating to create a global civil society based on 
human
> rights and mutual aid, and to restore the (intellectual) commons, 
in 
> the
> street, on the land, and in cyberspace.
> 
> We are particularly interested in contributions that relate 
people’s
> experiences of, perspectives on, motivations for, and 
frustrations with
> their involvement in grassroots movements. The idea is to bring 
> together
> first-hand accounts of the successes and failures of social, 
cultural
> and political projects and experiments with theoretical 
elaborations by
> academics trying to understand the reality of globalisation and 
the
> connections between its manifestations from above and below. By 
opening
> up a space for collective engaged reflection, we hope to create 
an
> atmosphere in which practice can inform theory and where 
theoretical
> academic perspectives can facilitate a reflection on activist 
> practices.
> 
> If you are engaged in any form of social, political, or cultural
> activism and have a story to tell, issues to explore, or anything 
else
> you would like to share in this forum, then get in touch and 
suggest a
> contribution or presentation.
> 
> While we prioritize contributions by grassroots collectives and 
> on-going
> projects, we welcome academic presentations in areas relevant to 
social
> movements, such as:
> 
> * conceptions of global civil society, counter-public sphere and
> counter-hegemonic movements
> 
> * the dynamics of enclosing knowledge and genetic material
> 
> * history and change of precarious labour
> 
> * resisting enclosures, resisting precarity, constructing 
alternatives
> 
> * transformations of colonialism: biocolonialism, TRIPs and 
structural
> adjustment
> 
> * networked databases, biometrics, and border control
> 
> * subversive and transhuman uses of technology
> 
> * reclaiming/liberating urban spaces and rural land
> 
> * sexual politics, discourse, and resistance
> 
> * radical media and art collectives
> 
> * self-organisation and consensus processes conceptually
> 
> * non-central, non-hierarchical networks and governance; 
> network-centric
> thinking
> 
> * human rights as  community building, form of resistance, and as 

> global
> vision of movements
> 
> 
> Participation is limited to a hundred people.  A LIMITED NUMBER 
OF
> TRAVEL GRANTS AND FREE ACCOMODATION FOR UNFUNDED OR LOW-PAID
> PARTICIPANTS ARE AVAILABLE  - CONTACT US NOW.
> 
> SEND SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND PAPERS (MAX. 1 
PAGE)
> BY AUGUST 19 TO: n.moeller [at] lancaster.ac.uk
> 
> ?further info will be made available on
> http://knowledgelab.blogspot.com (download .pdf file of this call 
from
> there, too!)
> 
> Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan) Friday dinner, 
Saturday
> lunch and dinner:
> 
> Volunteers/unpaid activists:             Free
> Unfunded students:                Donation
> Funded students, Lancaster academics:        ?0 (additional 
donation
> welcome!)
> Representatives of smaller NGOs:         ?5 (negotiable)
> Representatives of bigger NGOs:             ?5
> Academics:                    ?5
> 




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