Dissent at Left Forum 2013
Dissent at Left Forum 2013
Dissent invites you to join us at this year’s Left Forum. We will be hosting or co-hosting four panels, described below. Left Forum will take place at Pace University in New York City from June 7-9. Register here to take part in one of the biggest conferences on the American Left. And you can RSVP for Dissent‘s panels on Facebook.
What Can Environmentalism Do?
Saturday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m.
Schimmel Auditorium
The prospect of environmental crises, including but not limited to climate change, has become a dominant concern on the left. This panel, which anticipates Dissent‘s special Summer 2013 issue on environmentalism, is a broad look at environmental advocacy happening now, plans for the future, and the chances of success. Panelists will address local, national, and international efforts.
Chair: Nick Serpe (Dissent)
Speakers:
Alyssa Battistoni (Jacobin/Yale University)
Charles Callaway (WE ACT for Environmental Justice)
Mark Engler (Foreign Policy In Focus)
Andrew Ross (NYU)
Occupy and the Future of the Left
(co-sponsored by Jacobin, Democratic Left, and Tidal)
Saturday, June 8 at 3:40 p.m.
The panel will analyze Occupy as a “flash” movement of mass disconent against neo-liberal inequality. While all the panelists participated actively in “Occupy,” they will analyze how and why those involved in Occupy must now work to link a movement rooted primarily among young, indebted, college educated youth with the immigrant rights movement and the emerging low-wage justice movement. In short, can the spirit of Occupy (and its contiuing, decentered networks) help contribute to the building of a multi-racial, multi-national class-based anti-corporate movement?
Chair: Chris Maisano (Jacobin/DSA)
Speakers:
Sarah Leonard (Dissent)
Yates McKee (Tidal)
Frances Fox Piven (CUNY Grad Center)
Joe Schwartz (DSA)
Bhaskar Sunkara (Jacobin)
A Basic Income for All?
(co-sponsored by Verso Books)
Sunday, June 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Lecture Hall North
The basic income, an idea which attracted mainstream support in the 1960s, was deemed politically unthinkable after the 1970s. Now it has reemerged as a favorite proposal of many on the left; advocates include socialist feminist Kathi Weeks, Precariat author Guy Standing, liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias, and writers associated with magazines like Jacobin and n+1. Proponents claim that a basic income will strengthen worker power, expand human freedom, and acknowledge the unwaged work women have long performed. This panel will examine the feasibility and desirability of basic income proposals from a number of disciplinary viewpoints, including history, economics, and comparative political science.
Chair: Sarah Leonard (Dissent)
Speakers:
Benjamin Kunkel (n+1)
Lena Lavinas (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro/Princeton University)
Frances Fox Piven (CUNY Grad Center)
Almaz Zelleke (U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network)
What Would/Does a Feminist Labor Movement Look Like?
Sunday, June 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Room E304
A recurring criticism of the women’s movement is that it focuses on middle and upper-class women at the expense of the concerns of working-class women. As frequently as this criticism has been leveled, feminist activists have responded that they have made great strides in addressing issues of economic equity. On this panel, we are interested in exploring actually existing feminist labor movements as well as future possibilities. What forms have institutional alliances between women’s organizations and the labor movement taken? What accounts for their success or failure? What sorts of projects are currently being undertaken? What directions might the movements take?
Chair: Sarah Jaffe
Speakers:
Jennifer Klein (Yale University)
Olivia Leirer (NY Communities for Change)
Nastaran Mohit (NY State Nurses Association)
