Oxford Radical Forum

http://oxfordradicalforum.wordpress.com/

OXFORD RADICAL FORUM 2010!

Comrades and travellers,

We are excited to announce the current programme for the Oxford Radical Forum 2010, which will be taking place Friday – Sunday, 5 – 7 March.

Once again Wadham College will play host to a broad range of critical debates and discussions on the radical left, with leading speakers, commentars, activists and academics. As always the event is entirely FREEand we are also pleased to announce a Forum dinner on the Friday night, and an evening social on the Saturday night.

We hope to see many of you at Wadham over the course of the Forum and hope that you will join us in making this another successful and fruitful event.

oxfordradicalforum@googlemail.com

Getting to Wadham College: http://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/images/files/wadhmaprev.pdf

<< We view re-energising popular discussion and action on the left a necessity. Our belief in the need for an event in Oxford bringing together progressive politics stems both from a conviction in the continued and critical relevancy of Marxist and leftist ideas and theory and from the sad and persistent weakness of focused or organised progressive political organisation locally and nationally, despite such pressing conditions of political and economic crisis, and despite the very many who would under more favourable circumstances participate in such interventions. Therefore we are hosting again this forum which will continue to address these issues and draw in individuals from the two universities in Oxford, the city and beyond to consider critically ideas about social progress and transformation. Ultimately ORF seeks to contribute to a critical culture of left debate, theory and action, as well as to cement political and intellectual links between individuals and groups who will have a basis upon which to work in the future. >>

CURRENT TIMETABLE

(NB: All venues will be around the Ho Chi Minh Quad in Wadham College. The exact room will be clearly inidcated on the day.)

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FRI

2:30 – 3:45

:: DIRECT ACTION WORKSHOP

With the ‘Seeds For Change’ collective.

4:30 – 6:00

:: ENGLAND’S POSTIMPERIAL MELANCHOLIA

Paul Gilroy (author, There Aint no Black in the Union Jack; Anthony Giddens Prof., London School of Economics).

6:45 – 8:15

:: THE BLACK AND THE RED: MARXISM & ANARCHISM TODAY

Paul Blackledge (author, Reflections on the Marxist Theory of History; Leeds Metropolitan University); Ruth Kinna (author, William Morris: The Art of Socialism; editor, Anarchist Studies; Loughborough University).

8:30-…

:: FORUM DINNER

All Forum attendees welcome…

Details of this years Oxford Radical Forum 2009

http://oxfordradicalforum.wordpress.com/::

OXFORD RADICAL FORUM – 2009 :::: WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD :::: 6 – 8 MARCH ::

The second Oxford Radical Forum will be taking place from Friday to Sunday, 6 -8 March, 2009, in Wadham College, Oxford. Building on the success of last year's conference, and a conviction in the continued necessity of leftist theory and politics, the weekend will see some of the brightest and most engaged people from the radical left coming to Oxford in order to contribute towards the reconstruction of an alternative, critical politics – a politics that stands for a real transformation of society in favour of social justice and equality and against war and poverty. We invite you all to join and participate in open and challenging debates in talks, workshops and seminars on war and imperialism, women's liberation, socialism and ecology and many other issues, with some of the key thinkers and activists of our day.There will also be bookstalls and daily socials (including a dinner and a clubnight) over the weekend, making the event a unique opportunity to bring together not just the left in Oxford (and beyond!) but also all those who are interested in seriously discussing profound political questions in an open and critical atmosphere.

The action will be centred around Wadham College's 'Ho Chi Minh Quad' from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. All talks and debates will be free of charge and no registration is necessary, though we welcome people to show their interest on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/editevent.php?info&eid=52663902886#/event.php?eid=52663902886

A choice selection of confirmed sessions include:::
ALEX CALLINICOS on Imperialism Today – What it is and how we resist itAlex Callinicos is Professor of European Studies at Kings College London and author of many acclaimed books on social and political theory, as well as being involved in the European and World Social Forums, and the British anti-war movement.::

DEBORAH CAMERON on 'The Myths of Mars and Venus'Deborah Cameron's popularly received book, 'The Myths of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Another Language?', explodes popular misconceptions about the differences between men and women.::

EYAL WEIZMAN on Israel's Architecture of OccupationIsraeli architect Eyal Weizman (Goldsmiths College) analyses the nature of the Israeli use of architecture and space in that state's ongoing oppression of the Palestinians, while criticising the silence of his own profession.::

DEREK WALL on the Red and the GreenProspective MEP candidate for the Green Party and leading figure in Green Left, the Green Party's eco-socialist, anti-capitalist faction, will be discussing the necessary interrelationship between ecology and socialism.::

ALBERTO TOSCANO on Italy, politics and the Right todayPolitical philosophy researcher at Goldsmiths, Alberto Toscano will be talking about the contradictory and ambiguous political situation in Italy, particulary considering the rise of the far right.... and many more!We will be sending out a confirmed timetable within the next few days.

With all best wishes from the Organising Committee of the OXFORD RADICAL FORUM - we hope to see as many of you as possible, 6 - 8 March.[PS! Could all those willing to help promote the event in Oxford please get in touch on http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=oxfordradicalforum@googlemail.com!]

Oxford Radical Forum

Between 29th February and 2nd March students at Wadham College are organising Oxford's first Radical Forum; a three-day outburst of political debate, encompassing speakers, workshops, films, bookstalls and magic.

Subjects will include Palestine, Marxism, women's reproductive rights, environmentalism, political theatre and queer art.

The programme features a number of leading Respect speakers, for more information see: http://www.oxfordradicalforum.com/

:Programme

FRIDAY
14.00:Plane Stupid Workshop on Direct Action
Venue: OLD REFECTORY

16.00:Abortion Rights Workshop on the Threat to Women's Reproductive Rights
Venue: OLD REFECTORY

18:00:Yassamine Mather on the Women's Movement and Shia Islam
Venue: OLD SEMINAR ROOM

20.00:DEBATE with Lindsey German, Finn McKay, Judith Orr and Sofie Buckland: Socialist or Radical Feminism?
Venue: MOSER THEATRE

SATURDAY

11.00:Jerry Cohen on what Happened to the Working Classes
Venue: OKINAGA ROOM

14.00:Paul Jakubovic on the Problem with Dialectics
Venue: OKINAGA ROOM

16.00:Ilan Pappe on the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Venue: MOSER THEATRE

18:00:Ian Saville performing Socialist Magic Tricks
Venue: MOSER THEATRE

20.00:DEBATE with Alex Callinicos, Gilbert Achcar, Peter Tatchell and TBC: Where Now for the Left?
Venue: MOSER THEATRE

SUNDAY

11.00:Kwame Kwei-Armah on Race and Playwriting in Britain today
Venue: MOSER THEATRE

14.00:Chris Cramer on the Relationship between Conflict and Capitalism
Venue: OKINAGA ROOM

16.00:Bernard O'Donoghue on Poetry and Politics
Venue: OKINAGA ROOM

18:00:Marc Mulholland on Marxism and history
Venue: OKINAGA ROOM

20.00:DEBATE with Peter Hitchens, Paul Blackledge, Chris Harman and TBC: Is Marxism still Necessary to Understand and Change the World?
Venue: MOSER THEATRE