[URBANTH-L]CFP: Rethinking Marxism 2006

[Angela Jancius]

 From: Vin Lyon-Callo <slyoncallo at yahoo.com>

Some of you might be interested in this forthcoming conference I am helping
to organize.  If you have any questions or interest in the conference,
please let me know.  Thanks.

Vin Lyon-Callo
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
Western Michigan University

Call For Papers
Rethinking Marxism 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 5 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-globalizations 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:

www.rethinkingmarxism2006.org

If you prefer to submit your proposal and pay the preregistration fee by
regular mail,
please fill out the preregistration form below 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)

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.

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:
www.rethinkingmarxism2006.org.

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. Please see our website for instructions
on
how to subscribe.

PREREGISTRATION FORM

Please use a separate registration form for each registrant or participant
NAME
ADDRESS (Street, City)
STATE, ZIP, COUNTRY
E-MAIL TELEPHONE
PREREGISTRATION RATES (select one):
______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)

Make an additional voluntary contribution to the conference.

Please accept my payment of: __________ as a tax-deductible charitable
contribution to
AESA: publishers of RETHINKING MARXISM and organizers of Rethinking
Marxism 2006

______$ TOTAL
______Enclosed is my check made payable to AESA and drawn on a U.S. bank.
______Please charge my Visa or MasterCard:

Card No:

Expiration Date:

Signature:

______Please check here if submitting a proposal for a paper or a panel, and
please be sure to
follow the suggested guidelines for Proposal Submission available on the
website
[www.rethinkingmarxism2006.org]. The appropriate preregistration fee must
accompany all
proposal submissions. Unfortunately, any submitted proposal not accompanied
by the
appropriate preregistration fee cannot be considered.

Please mail your payment along with this form to:

Vincent Lyon-Callo
Department of Anthropology, Moore Hall
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008
RETHINKING MARXISM's 6th International Conference
Rethinking Marxism 2006