[SSC] Meeting tonight

Fri Apr 15 15:23:02 UTC 2011

Hi all,

Sorry I've not been active in a while and that I couldn't make the meeting -
I'm in Senegal until the summer!

Just added a few names to the list of invitees - feel free to follow them up
and amend the background information.. I think they're all googlable!

Also worth mentioning: some of you might be interested in dropping into the
week-long event Roundhouse are putting on in London at the start of May. It
takes Ricardo Blaug’s recent book ‘How Power Corrupts’ as the subject of an
experiment in reconnecting academic publishing with real-life discussion.
Rather than expecting everyone to fork out/read the whole thing, the event
will discuss a 2000-word pamphlet version of the book:
http://roundhousejournal.org/how-power-corrupts/pamphlet/

(background info – Roundhouse is a student-led Critical Theory
journal/discussion group, that grew out of Ricardo’s Critical Theory module
when he was still at Leeds University.)

In terms of the SSC itself, ‘The Power of the Local’ discussion (Friday 13th)
might be particularly interesting.  Amongst other things this will touch on
the potential offered by new social media for new forms of community
organization.

Also, Jenny – from the haphazard picture of your research interests I’ve
picked up through SSC – you might be especially well placed/personally
interested to contribute to the ‘Online Deliberation’ panel discussion (3pm
on Wednesday 11th), about avoiding hierarchy in new social media.

Full blurb from facebook event (
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195346933830759&notif_t=event_invite)
is pasted below.

Cheers,

Mike

-------

10th to the 13th of May
if:book and The Roundhouse Journal present

HOW POWER CORRUPTS

The Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London

A week long curation of a book by Dr Ricardo Blaug
Supported by Palgrave Macmillan.

if:book and Roundhouse will use Dr. Blaug’s timely work to spark discussion
across formats: online, onscreen, on the wall and in person. Join our
occupation of the Free Word Centre - join the debate!

This event presents an inside-out examination of both the idea of corruption
by power and Ricardo Blaug’s book itself. As we draw out the book’s ideas
from their medium through discussions, theatre, art and writing, Dr. Blaug’s
participation throughout the week also represents a unique opportunity to
question an author as they elucidate their arguments.

Throughout the week if:book’s Portable Bookshop will be selling a range of
titles including a pamphlet by Dr. Blaug written for the event. Visual
explorations of power and corruption will be spread across the walls, while
films will be projected in the hall.

If you are interested in any part of this event visit
http://roundhousejournal.org/how-power-corrupts/

Email roundhousejournal at gmail.com
twitter: @roundhousejrnl @ifbook

All events are free, except where indicated. However, places are limited, so
please book ahead.

Tuesday 10thMAY,

POWER & HUBRIS

6.30pm: Lord David Owen and Dr Ricardo Blaug on political power and the
corruption of citizenry.

Having served as Foreign Secretary, founded the SDP, and negotiated for
peace in the former Yugoslavia, Lord Owen is a major political figure. Once
a practicing neurologist, in 2008 he published In Sickness and In Power,
which coined the term ‘hubris syndrome’. A revised and updated paperback
edition is due out shortly.

Dr Ricardo Blaug, author of How Power Corrupts, is Reader in Democracy and
Political Theory at the University of Westminster. Dr. Blaug has also worked
as a psychiatric social worker and a public manager.

Tickets £5.00 / £3.00 concs

Wednesday 11th

POWER DYNAMICS
11.30 am : Drama Workshop
The Free Word hosts a drama workshop using physical techniques to explore
corruption, power dynamics and censorship led by TripWires - places limited

ONLINE DELIBERATION
3.00 pm : Panel discussion
featuring Professor David Graeber (Goldsmiths), Tim Hardy (Sukey), Dr
Ricardo Blaug (Westminster)
Existing internet fora suffer hierarchy and corruption by power: who can be
most scathing, who can post most frequently, who has had their blog
referenced by mainstream media. The panel will consider: How can we
challenge online power dynamics? What structures online forums and how can
they be made accessible? How can deliberative and consensual ways of
organsing practised online spread to institutions?

Thursday 12th
DROP-IN SESSIONS AT THE POWER CLINIC
11am – 5pm : Come to the Free Word and share stories, anecdotes and
reflections, listen to poets, view art work and add to the ongoing
conversation.

CHRONICLES OF PROTEST
2.30pm : Film showing
a film by Michael Chanan, video blogger for the New Statemen and documentary
film maker, about the movement against government spending cutsin the
universities and beyondwith students, activists and citizens of the real big
society

HOW POWER CORRUPTS
6.30pm : DR RICARDO BLAUG
Most agree with Lord Acton that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts
absolutely. It seems to apply to history’s cruel dictators, perhaps also to
the behaviour of contemporary political and economic elites and even across
the hierarchic organisations of our everyday lives. Yet few have looked
closely at the mechanisms through which power corrupts, and how those
afflicted remain unaware of their condition. A provocative exploration of
the usually hidden, and little understood, psychological politics of
organisations.

Friday 13th
IFSOFLO FRIDAY
Two roundtable events for literature organizations and all those interested
in the future of the word – free but places are limited

THE FUTURE OF ACADEMIC PUBLISHING
An invited audience will discuss where academic publishing is today and to
what extent it is in crisis. We will ask: What is the impact of the
publishing process on the academic author? To what extent do publishing
platforms dictate research priorities? What role should publishing play in
unlocking academic knowledge? Is internet-enabled accessibility something to
be celebrated or guarded against?

THE POWER OF LOCAL
This event will bring together community activists and literature
organisations. Does the Big Society mean stripping away bureaucratic
impediments to communities’ creativity and self-determination, or leaving
the disadvantaged to sink or swim? How does it relate to libertarian
community politics – and what opportunities do social media provide to
disrupt power relations and create radical new forms of community
publishing, that span the distance between the local and the global?

TO BOOK GO TO WWW.FREEWORDONLINE.COM <http://www.freewordonline.com/>

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO JOIN THE DEBATE GO TO
WWW.ROUNDHOUSEJOURNAL.ORG<http://www.roundhousejournal.org/>AND
WWW.IFSOFLO.NING.COM <http://www.ifsoflo.ning.com/>

On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 8:37 AM, Joss Winn <joss at josswinn.org> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Just a reminder that there is a meeting tonight from 6-8pm in the Mint
> Lane building. The meeting is principally to undertake a careful reading
> of the constitution and business model, so that it can be sent to the
> LCDA for final checks before we sign it at our next meeting on May 3rd.
>
> If possible, please print the documents if you are attending the meeting
> tonight.
>
>
> 1. Draft Constitution:
>
> https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/ssc/attachments/20110226/2b71d615/attachment-0001.doc
>
> 2. Draft Business Plan:
>
> https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/ssc/attachments/20110228/12d17b0d/attachment-0001.doc
>
> 3. Please provide comments on the letter of invitation:
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E2Bcb_vS2Ulu6uK4nhLvArds7sjD83EukgjmF9_duso/edit?hl=en_GB&authkey=COq-u7cN
>
> 4. Please provide comments on the FAQ, which will go on the website:
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OK6Cikt7n73yEUb-2CEDmutc4wJ_GFPrsolKBXwz5mQ/edit?hl=en_GB&authkey=CObno-MH
>
> 5. Please contribute names of people who you would like to be invited to
> join the SSC.  This is essential to our business plan and the
> sustainability of the SSC. You can edit the document directly. First
> name and Last name are all that's required unless you have more
> information at hand.
>
>
> https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnDuUd71vXr4dGc3Wl9IaFZuUUh6VHg2Vk83SUo1Y0E&hl=en_GB&authkey=CNPW2uEL
>
> If you'd like to add anything else to the Agenda, please let me know.
>
> Cheers
> Joss
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> SSC mailing list
> SSC at lists.aktivix.org
> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/ssc
>
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