Marxism in London in 2010

Three possible dates for people's diaries...

1. Marxism 2010, Ideas to Change the World, 1-5 July 2010, Central London [Book by 5 April to save up to 50 percent on entry]:
The global economic crisis has highlighted the bankruptcy of a system that puts profits before the needs of ordinary people. Billions across the planet face hunger, war, poverty, catastrophic climate change and unemployment. But billions are also asking whether a different world is possible, talking about alternatives and fighting back. Marxism 2010 will bring thousands of these people together from across the world to discuss, debate and organise the fightback. Don’t miss it.

Speakers at Marxism 2010 include:
Slavoj Žižek, Sheila Rowbotham, Tariq Ali, Tony Benn asks where next after the election?, New-York based Guardian journalist Gary Younge assesses Obama's first year in power, Hester Eisenstein, Nina Power and Judith Orr debate "the new sexism", Economists Ben Fine, Alfredo Saad-Filho, Joseph Choonara, Guglielmo Carchedi, Costas Lapavitsas and Graham Turner analyse the ongoing economic crisis, John Holloway on his new book, "Crack Capitalism" , Istvan Mészáros discusses alternatives to parliamentarism, Gerry Conlon (wrongly imprisoned as one of the Guildford Four) joins Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg and leading human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce for a panel discussion on civil liberties, Alex Callinicos on his new book, "Bonfire of Illusions", Ghada Karmi, Sami Ramadani and Haifa Zangana take part in a course of meetings on Palestine , Iraq and the Middle East, Panos Garganas brings new from the front line of resistance in Greece, Mark Serwotka, Kevin Courtney and Jeremy Dear join discussions with other trade unionists, Jeremy Corbyn MP participates in a series of meetings on Latin America, Martin Smith (LMHR) and Weyman Bennett (UAF) on the fight against fascism, Die Linke MP in the Bundestag Christine Buchholz speaks on Afghanistan and joins a panel on the radical left, Danny Dorling on "Injustice: why social inequality persists", Steven Rose on "The future of the brain" , An evening of poetry with Michael Rosen, Roy Bailey performs an evening of folk music and also David Edgar on "Theatre, funding and ideology"

2.'Crisis and Critique': Historical Materialism Annual London Conference 2010, Central London, Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th November

Call for Papers
Submission and Abstract Deadline: 1 June 2010
Notwithstanding repeated invocations of the ‘green shoots of recovery’, the effects of the economic crisis that began in 2008 continue to be felt around the world. While some central tenets of the neoliberal project have been called into question, bank bailouts, cuts to public services and attacks on working people's lives demonstrate that the ruling order remains capable of imposing its agenda. Many significant Marxist analyses have already been produced of the origins, forms and prospects of the crisis, and we look forward to furthering these debates at HM London 2010. We also aim to encourage dialogue between the critique of political economy and other modes of criticism – ideological, political, aesthetic, philosophical – central to the Marxist tradition. In the 1930s, Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht projected a journal to be called ‘Crisis and Critique’. In very different times, but in a similar spirit, HM London 2010 aims to serve as a forum for dialogue, interaction and debate between different strands of critical-Marxist theory. Whether their focus is the study of the capitalist mode of production's theoretical and practical foundations, the unmasking of its ideological forms of legitimation or its political negation, we are convinced that a renewed and politically effective Marxism will need to rely on all the resources of critique in the years ahead. Crises produce periods of ideological and political uncertainty. They are moments that put into question established cognitive and disciplinary compartmentalisations, and require a recomposition at the level of both theory and practice. HM London 2010 hopes to contribute to a broader dialogue on the Left aimed at such a recomposition, one of whose prerequisites remains the young Marx’s call for the ‘ruthless criticism of all that exists’.

We are seeking papers that respond to the current crisis from a range of Marxist perspectives, but also submissions that try to think about crisis and critique in their widest ramifications. HM will also consider proposals on themes and topics of interest to critical- Marxist theory not directly linked to the call for papers (we particularly welcome contributions on non-Western Marxism and on empirical enquiries employing Marxist methods). While Historical Materialism is happy to receive proposals for panels, the editorial board reserves the right to change the composition of panels or to reject individual papers from panel proposals. We also expect all participants to attend the whole conference and not simply make ‘cameo’ appearances. We cannot accommodate special requests for specific slots or days, except in highly exceptional circumstances.

Please note that, in order to allow for expected demand, this year the conference will be three and a half days’ long, starting on the Thursday afternoon. Please submit a title and abstract of between 200 and 300 words by registering here by 1 June 2010

Possible themes include: • Crisis and left recomposition • Critique and crisis in the global south • Anti-racist critique • Marxist and non-Marxist theories of crisis • Capitalist and anti-capitalist uses of the crisis • Global dimensions of the crisis • Comparative and historical accounts of capitalist crisis • Ecological and economic crisis • Critical theory today • Finance and the crisis • Neoliberalism and legitimation crisis • Negation and negativity • Feminism and critique • Political imaginaries of crisis and catastrophe • The critique of everyday life (Lefebvre, the situationists etc.) • The idea of critique in Marx, his predecessors and contemporaries • Art criticism, political critique and the critique of political economy • Geography and crisis, geography and the critique of political economy • Right-wing movements and crisis • Critiques of the concept of crisis • New forms of critique in the social and human sciences • Aesthetic critique • Marxist literary and cultural criticism • Reports on recent evolution of former USSR countries and China

3. Chris Harman Memorial Meeting, Saturday 17 April, 5pm
Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh St, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. Email enquiries@swp.org.uk for more details. The Chris Harman Internet Archive continues to grow into a valuable resource of hope for revolutionary socialists.