Rethinking Marxism 2006 Conference

Amherst, Massachusetts, Oct 26–28, 2006

Rethinking Marxism, a journal of economics, culture & society is pleased to announce its 6th major international conference, to be held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst on 26-28 October, 2006. The conference is entitled Rethinking Marxism 2006.

Rethinking Marxism's five previous international conferences have each attracted between 750 and 1200 participants, and they have included keynote addresses and plenary sessions, formal papers, workshops, art exhibitions, video presentations, activist sessions, and performances. Versions of all of these events are planned for Rethinking Marxism 2006.In keeping with the title, the conference is dedicated to the state of contemporary Marxism and its many current correlates and derivatives. The past few years have been fascinating and momentous for the fortunes of contemporary Marxism, as can be seen in the many theoretical traditions and activist movements that remain, in some way, inspired by and indebted to a wide range of Marxian ideas and strategies. The renewed and continued vitality of Marxian, left, and socialist concepts and practices in current-day Latin America (and elsewhere) is just one indication of the ways in which Marxism remains a source of international inspiration and struggle. In addition, the continued, growing reactions—in the form of diverse anti-globalization movements—to capitalist globalization and its consistent denial of or aversion to economic justice; to the persistence of class exploitation; to worsening labor and environmental conditions; to the continued precarious global position of women; to the economic, social, and personal endangerment and abuse of children; and to the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, draw partly, as well, from rich traditions and current new thinking stemming from Marxism. The loud and uniform international opposition to the U.S. (and its “allies”) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—growing in both anger and outrage at the human and economic costs of the new imperialism—have also been sources for, and have taken from, a plethora of Marxian ideas and strategies. Indeed, the increased tendency to call these wars “imperialist” is an indication that Marxism is proving indispensable for popular thinking and reacting to these international events.

Of course, international events have also presented new challenges and causes for the never-ending rethinking of old and new Marxian concepts. For example, the increasing calls for “democracy” revive older dreams of economic and political justice and rights for all. However, they also bring into relief the great distance between the present aggressive imposition of such ideas, burdened with the realities of continued economic exploitation and social oppression, and the dreams and desires of many who wish for economic and political enfranchisement in all nations. Additionally, many new and old Marxian traditions need to take heed of and think through, as a major “conjunctural” event, the turning away from liberal secularity and its many broken promises and contradictions and the turning toward religious and ethnic ideals and movements. These ideals and movements, at times, promise more “just” and communal forms of living. Yet, at other moments, they are avatars of intolerance and internal—sometimes violent—repression and reaction. And, as another salient concern, the notable dynamic growth of China and India needs to be reviewed in light of these nations’ long and deep historical engagements with communism, socialism, and Marxism. What, if anything, have these engagements contributed to, or, alternatively, obstructed in, the recent forms of growth and the distribution (or not) of their benefits?

We invite—indeed, enthusiastically welcome—any and all who are interested in these and other pressing questions to send in proposals for papers and panels for Rethinking Marxism 2006 (a.k.a. RM06).

STRUCTURE OF THE CONFERENCE

Rethinking Marxism 2006 will be held over three days, beginning on Thursday morning 26 October 2006 and ending on Saturday night 28 October 2006. In addition to three plenary sessions and performance art, there will be concurrent panels and art/cultural events. We invite the submission of pre-organized sessions that follow traditional or non-traditional formats (such as workshops, roundtables, and dialogue among and between presenters and audience). Since contemporary Marxism covers fields from literature to physics and forms of political practice from environmental organizing to opposing global inequality, anyone engaging with Marxism in any discipline or form of activism is encouraged to submit paper and panel proposals. We encourage those working in areas that intersect with Marxism, such as feminism, political economy, cultural and literary studies, queer theory, working-class and labor studies, postcolonial studies, geography and urban studies, psychoanalysis, social and natural sciences, philosophy, and around issues of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, and disability, to submit paper and panel proposals. We welcome video, poetry, performance, and all other modes of presentation and cultural expression. We encourage paper or panel submissions from those working on any and all subjects that take an interest in a world without exploitation and oppression.

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals for papers should include:

* Paper title

* Presenter’s name and contact information (mail, email, phone, fax)

* Brief abstract (no more than 200 words)

Proposals for panels should include:

* Panel title

* Name, contact information, and paper title for each presenter

* Brief abstract (no more than 200 words) explaining the panel’s focus

* Names and contact information for any discussant(s) or respondent(s)

* Title, contact, and address for any sponsoring organization or journal

The appropriate registration fee must accompany all proposal submissions. Unfortunately, any submitted proposal not accompanied by the appropriate preregistration fee cannot be considered. Proposals which are not accepted will have their preregistration fees returned in full. If you are submitting a proposal for an entire panel, please make sure you include the preregistration fee for all members of the panel.

The deadline for proposal submission is 1 August 2006.

The best way to submit a proposal and to pay the preregistration fee is to follow the instructions on the conference website: here.

If you prefer to submit your proposal and pay the preregistration fee by regular mail, please fill out the “mail-in preregistration form” posted on the conference website and send it to:

Vincent Lyon-Callo

Department of Anthropology

Moore Hall

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Please make sure that if you pay the preregistration rate by check, the check is made out to AESA and drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars.

PREREGISTRATION RATES

Full Regular Rate $90 (at Conference $100)

Full Low-Income Rate $40 (at Conference $45)

Two-day Regular Rate $70 (at Conference $80)

Two-day Low-Income Rate $30 (at Conference $35)

One-day Regular Rate $50 (at Conference $60)

One-day Low-Income Rate $20 (at Conference $25)

You may preregister online "http://www.rethinkingmarxism2006.org/registration.html">here, or download a preregistration form here.

LOGISTICS

RM06 will be held on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Detailed information on lodging, travel directions, and childcare will be provided to all conference registrants on the conference website.

PUBLICATIONS

Selected papers, poems, art, and other forms of presentation from RM06 will be published in Rethinking Marxism and/or in a separate edited volume of contributions. Read more about the journal: here.

CONFERENCE WEBSITE

All information pertaining to RM06, including paper and panel submission instructions, preregistration and on-site rates, lodging suggestions, travel directions, possible childcare arrangements, cultural events, the conference program, and much else will be posted on the conference website when details become available. The web address is: here

VENDORS AND ADVERTISEMENTS

Literature tables and display areas are available to groups, vendors, and publishers at reasonable rates. Ad space in the conference program is also available at reasonable rates. All ads must be camera-ready.

SPECIAL CONFERENCE RATE FOR RM SUBSCRIPTION

Registrants for RM06 can receive a special conference rate of $45 on individual subscriptions to Rethinking Marxism. Non-registrants may subscribe online: here.