eighth historical materialism annual conference

Spaces of Capital, Moments of Struggle

The ongoing popular uprisings in the Arab world, alongside intimations of a resurgence in workers' struggles against 'austerity' in the North and myriad forms of resistance against exploitation and dispossession across the globe make it imperative for Marxists and leftists to reflect critically on the meaning of
collective anticapitalist action in the present.
Over the past decade, many Marxist concepts and debates have come in from the cold. The anticapitalist movement generated a widely circulating
critique of capitalist modes of international 'development'. More recently, the economic crisis that began in 2008 has led to mainstream-recognition of Marx as an analyst of capital.
The eighth annual Historical Materialism conference will strive to take stock of these shifts in the intellectual landscape of the Left in the context of the
social and political struggles of the present.

Comuna under construction is shown in Kraków/Poland as part of Oliver Ressler's exhibition:

Is another world still possible?
Curated by Francesca Guerisoli and Stefano Taccone

The Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Casa de Arte y Cultura "Calles y Sueños" presents

Comuna under construction (94 min., 2011), a film about local self government in Venezuela by Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler
Followed by discussion in English/Spanish in presence of the co-director Dario Azzellini.

And book presentation "El negocio de la guerra" about Private Military Contractors an paramilitaries around the globe.

Comuna under construction, by Oliver Ressler & Dario Azzellini, pp. 124-129

in:

Historical Materialism Annual Conference 2010

"crisis and critique"

soas and ulu, 11-14 november

FRIDAY 12.11.2010, 11.30-13.15, G 50

Workers Self-Management and Alternative Work Organisation I

Chair: Jeffery R. Webber
Sheila Cohen – TBA
Alan Tuckman – Workplace Occupation: Lessons from Britain in the 1970s
Immanuel Ness – Migrant Labourer Direct Action in the US: Workersʼ Control Through Factory Occupations (2005-2010)
Maurizio Atzeni (discussant)

FRIDAY, 12.11.2010, 14.15-16.00, G 51

A screening of a film by Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler about local self-administration in Venezuela. The film follows the developments of community councils in Caracas' poor districts and in the countryside

Film screening as part of the exhibition WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?

24 September - 30 October, 2010

Intra-Disciplinary Seminar: Film and discussion with O. Ressler

Recent video work addressing issues of political and documentary representation, often overlooked by mainstream media. Focused on sites of conflict and resistance--the Colombian armed conflict, postwar Afghanistan--as well as the politics of transparency and representation--the Palestinian refuge camp, the Consejo Comunal.

The series includes films by Bodil Furu and Beate Petersen (Norway), Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler (Venezuela/Austria), Reza Haeri (Iran), Carlos Motta (Colombia/U.S.), and the Otolith Group (U.K.).

What are the reference points for contemporary art in a global economy that creates enormous wealth as well as widening inequality. Our opening conference explores the many strategies artists use to reveal the processes and human consequences of the globalised market economy. Introduced by the exhibition’s co-curator T.J. Demos – writer, curator and lecturer at University College, London – the conference includes artists George Osodi, Ursula Biemann, Dario Azzellini, Oliver Ressler and Bureau d’Études.