Socialism 2010 Conferences: Chicago June 17-20 and Oakland July 1-4

[OriginalGumby]

Socialism 2010: Ideas for Changing the World

http://www.socialismconference.org/

With the economy in shambles and with wars and occupations continuing, the challenge to change these conditions confronts us all. More than a year ago, millions placed their hopes in Barack Obama and the Democrats to solve these problems. But after months of broken promises and concessions to conservatives, jobs are scarce, the banks are unregulated, and full equality for LGBT people remains elusive.

Socialism 2010—to be held in both Chicago and Oakland—will provide an unparalleled opportunity for new and veteran activists and scholars to explore questions about how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it.

Last year, more than 1,800 people turned out to explore the history of struggles of ordinary people, to learn about radical figures who led social movements and to debate theoretical questions that can help us change the world.

Join us for more than 100 talks on issues such as: What is the Real Marxist Tradition?, Race in the Obama Era, Capitalism, Climate Change, and the Future of Humanity, Abortion and Women’s Liberation, and Building a New Left in the Obama Era.

Don’t miss the chance to meet, talk and socialize with hundreds of others like you who want to build an alternative to a system of greed, racism, war and oppression.

Check out the website for a promo video, information about speakers and talks, and to register.
http://www.socialismconference.org/

[x371322]

I like the promo video. Wish I could attend.

[OriginalGumby]

List of talks for the Chicago conference are on the website now.

[OriginalGumby]

Check out this list of branches that you can contact to figure out rides to the conference with and see if there is any fund raising to provide financial assistance.
http://www.internationalsocialist.org/branches.html

[black magick hustla]

lol at the hilton hotel suggestion. ask around for cheap hostels and shit. 120 dollars per night is outrageous

[OriginalGumby]

Well we have more than one person per room usually... so it's not that expensive and we do fundraising and stuff.

The deal is that the conference is at that hotel in downtown Chicago and it's better for the conference attendees to be staying together at the same place. It makes for a great time actually. Of course you can stay where ever you want.

Yea its the Hilton, I wondered about that too. It is unionized and it is a good location compared to last year.

[OriginalGumby]

Here are audio files of the talks from last years conference. There are quite a few of them.
http://www.nycsocialist.org/2008/05/audio-archive.html

[OriginalGumby]

The list of talks for the Oakland conference are up now.

And here are the facebook events for the two conferences
Chicago
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120893374594297&ref=ts
Oakland
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102166299827539&ref=ts

General Fan Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socialism-Conference/157862512923?ref=ts

[which doctor]

Will there be an open bar?

[theblackmask]

Will there be an open bar?

For $80 there better be...I know things are more expensive this year because of the venue change, but damn.

[OriginalGumby]

The price is required to afford a venue capable of holding 1000 or more people, speakers traveling and housing, etc. These are just the facts of capitalism. We do fund raising to make it more affordable. If you are interested in coming but finances are an issue(as they are for many) contact the nearest branch of the ISO.

Unfortunately no there is no open bar but there is free child-care that is paid with the registration fee. But hell, if you come I'll buy you a drink comrade. :)

[OriginalGumby]

The Oakland talk list is now up.
Early bird registration of $80 ends May 15th.

[black magick hustla]

65 dollars for three nights of drug fueled electronic music in detroit or 80 dollars for this hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[OriginalGumby]

Perhaps we have different priorities.

[Jimmie Higgins]

65 dollars for three nights of drug fueled electronic music in detroit or 80 dollars for this hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmI'll take you to a $5 show of drug-fueled garage rock at the Eagle Tavern in San Francisco after the conference. Oh wait - wrong conference.

It is expensive to put on something this big though and we try and make that not an issue as much as we can - in fact part of the reason we started having multiple conferences was so that folks don't have to shell out $400 for a plane ticket along with all the housing expenses. When it was only in Chicago I would usually stay in a hostile or stay on people's couches because the plane cost always broke me.



The deal is that the conference is at that hotel in downtown ChicagoSo much better than out in the boonies near O'Hare! That hotel charged me $5 for an apple and the nearest place that wasn't a hotel was a MacDonalds about 1 mile up the road.:lol:

The awesome thing was that there was an evangelical conference that overlapped with Socialism one year and so there were like 100 right-wing Christians constantly surrounded by 1000 revolutionary socialists 24 hours a day! Hopefully the conservatives were from small towns and when they got back and people asked them what they thought of Chicago they said something like this: "It was ok, but everyone is a socialist there! I couldn't even buy a $5 apple without having to stand in line next to people discussing some strike-wave in the 1930s or Palestinian liberation!"

But seriously, if people can make it, I recommend it both as a member of the ISO and just as a radical in general - I've gotten a lot out of conferences by other groups too, but even if you don't agree with the ISO, this conference is worth it because you'll have an opportunity to talk with many radicals all over the country as well as non-ISO members and radicals involved in struggles outside the country. I have been able to meet Sam Farber, and see Juan Carlos and Mike Davis and talk with people from movements in Palestine and Venezuela and so on. The big name speakers are usually good, but for me, it's hearing from people involved in various local struggles that's where it's at and something I haven't been able to get from other conferences in the US or regular ISO events.

Besides, in Oakland it's July 4th weekend - it's the antidote to the tea-party conferences. Maybe this year we should invite Fox News to come and listen to what America's "Socialist overloads" (with a conference bigger in numbers than the tea-party conference) have to say.:tt2:

[OriginalGumby]

Just to let folks know: The early bird rate of $80 for conference registration ends on the 15th of May. At that point it goes to the normal rate of $90. If you were thinking about coming now is the time to seal the deal.

[KC]

I think my criticism of Socialism last year still holds, for the most part.



It is expensive to put on something this big though and we try and make that not an issue as much as we can

Then why rent out The Palmer House for this? I'm absolutely 100% positive you could have found a more affordable place than a luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago.

http://www1.hilton.com/ts/en_US/hotels/content/CHIPHHH/media/images/photo_gallery/CHIPHHH_The_Palmer_House_Hilton_gallery_welcome.jp g

I might attend but if I do I'm probably just going to drive down for a weekend and stay at a friend's. That's if I can scrape together the money and don't have to work that Saturday.

[OriginalGumby]

I think my criticism of Socialism last year still holds, for the most part.



Then why rent out The Palmer House for this? I'm absolutely 100% positive you could have found a more affordable place than a luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago.



We have moved downtown this year from our usual spot by ohare which is really in the middle of no where and was a really long commute for residents of chicago. Moving downtown was possible because the recession has lowered the price for holding conferences. Yea I know that place is ritzy but I looked for places that meet the requirements for the conference attendance and structure. I encourage other folks who seen to think that the ISO would so lazily pick an expensive place when there were other more affordable options to show me a venue that would work. How many other hotels in downtown Chicago can host a thousand person conference? Are schools willing to do this? If you have this information please share it. The reality is that big kick ass conferences require big venues.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Then why rent out The Palmer House for this? I'm absolutely 100% positive you could have found a more affordable place than a luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago.Again, from my expereinces traveling to Chicago, the one year previous year we had it in downtown Chi (compared to being stranded at an O'Hare Hotel) was much better for guests so I'm happy for comrades out there that they were able to find something more central to the city and unionized.

Yes, the ISO is purposefully trying to find expensive places... like this hotel in Oakland. Just look at the cars in their homepage photo - obviously no workers ever stay here, you'd have to be a celebrity to go to a conference at the Oakland downtown Mariott:

http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/o/oakdt/oakdt_home_leftimage.jpg

Sure we could have picked a luxury Hotel in downtown SF for $400 a night, but we really wanted to screw activists by finding the least expensive unionized hotel with meeting spaces we could.

It's 1/2 the price of the Labor Notes conference for the same amount of time and $30 more than the PSL conference for the same amount of time, so I think that it is reasonable and people can always just pay $5 for one session if they are only interested in hearing one speaker.

[OriginalGumby]

Actually I don't think PSL conferences are 4 days. The national conference on their site is 2 days.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

I want to go to Chicago, but I have my doubts. Hopefully it works out.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I want to go to Chicago and see a taping of Chica-go-go. Maybe comrades at the conference should all make a trip down to the studio so they can be dancers on the show.:lol:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/421401102_a98db74204.jpg

[burnmyremains]

The only thing stopping me from attending is the prices

[OriginalGumby]

I understand the concern. We do local fundraising to offset the cost. We ask that you pay what you can and help us raise more money to provide for others. I would contact ISO branches in your area.

This site has the info on that as well as our publications and such
http://www.internationalsocialist.org/

[OriginalGumby]

New promo video with speakers and sessions and general awesomeness.
http://vimeo.com/11872195

[Q]

Martin Smith of the SWP UK was also present. He explained that he arrived outside the venue, the doors were open, he walked in but got on the wrong floor.

;)

(For our less quick to grasp comrades; it is a reference to this (http://www.revleft.com/vb/socialist-workers-party-t135829/index.html?p=1754945#post1754945))

[OriginalGumby]

Chicago Schedule


June 17, 8:00pm - 9:30pm



Tortured confessions
(American Injustice)
Kevin Coval and Young Chicago Authors present an Evening of Spoken Word
(Culture and Resistance )
Who are the Taliban?
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Before Classes: Our Egalitarian Past
(Marx and Marxism)
Populism: Left and Right
(U.S. Politics)


June 18, 9:30am - 11:00am



Jackson Pollack And The Artists Of The Cold War
(Culture and Resistance )
Sexuality and Capitalism
(Culture and Resistance )
Marx on the Future Socialist Society
(Marx and Marxism)
The Two Souls Of Centralism: The Comintern, 1919-1923
(Marx and Marxism)
Lenin’s Left-Wing Communism and Revolutionary Impatience
(Marxist Classics)
Israel: Colonial Settler State
(Middle East)
The Utopian Socialists
(Radical Traditions)
Antonio Gramsci: Life of A Revolutionary
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
Is the U.S. Becoming a Tea Party Nation?
(U.S. Politics)
Abortion and Women’s Liberation
(Women's Liberation)


June 18, 11:30am - 1:00pm



Imperialism and Resistance in Haiti
(A World in Struggle )
The Politics of Food: Why You Can't Consume Your Way Out of the Crisis
(Culture and Resistance )
From Vanguard to Avant Garde: Culture in the Russian Revolution
(Culture and Resistance )
What is Keynesianism?
(Economics)
Arizona and the Fight for Immigrant Rights
(Immigrants and Immigration)
The ABCs of Marxism
(Introduction to Marxism)
What Do Socialists Say About Democracy?
(Questions for Socialists)
Radical Pacifism
(Radical Traditions)
The Tragedy of the Chinese Revolution
(Revolutionary Rehearsals)
The Origin of Women’s Oppression
(Women's Liberation)


June 18, 2:00pm - 3:30pm



NGOs: The Revolution Will Not be Funded
(A World in Struggle )
Capitalism and Slavery
(Black History and Politics)
Why Capitalism Fails
(Economics)
Capitalism, Climate Change, and the Future of Humanity
(Environment and Science)
What is Alienation?
(Introduction to Marxism)
We Must Dream': Echoes Of What Is To Be Done In Lenin's Later Career
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
Trotsky’s Permanent Revolution
(Marxist Classics)
Is Violence Necessary to Change Society?
(Questions for Socialists)
Housing is a Right: Fighting Evictions Today
(U.S. Politics)
The Rise and Fall of the IWW
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 18, 4:00pm - 5:30pm



The Music Of Liberation and the Liberation Of Music
(Culture and Resistance )
The Malthus Myth: Population, Poverty, and Global Warming
(Environment and Science)
Why Are LGBT People Oppressed?
(Gender and Sexuality )
Lenin’s Theory of the Vanguard Party
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
From Marx To Lenin: Self-Determination And National Liberation
(Marxist Classics)
How Can Palestinian Liberation be Achieved?
(Middle East)
Do All Revolutions End in Tyranny?
(Questions for Socialists)
Anarchism: Theory and Practice
(Radical Traditions)
1989: The Anti-Stalinist Revolts & Their Legacy
(Revolutionary Rehearsals)
Obama And Black Politics Today
(U.S. Politics)


June 18, 6:30pm - 7:30pm



A showing of the documentary "Workers' Republic"
(Culture and Resistance )


June 18, 7:30pm - 9:00pm



A World in Crisis and the Challenge of the Left
(A World in Struggle )


June 19, 9:30am - 11:00am



The Communist Party in the 1930s: From Third Period to Popular Front
(History of U.S. Radicalism)
U.S. Intervention and the Myth of American Benevolence
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Introduction to Marx’s Capital
(Introduction to Marxism)
A People’s History of the Russian Revolution
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
Iran Since the Green Revolt
(Middle East)
Social Democracy and Reformism
(Radical Traditions)
Third-Worldism and the Revolutionary Politics of Franz Fanon
(Radical Traditions)
Why are the Democrats so Lame?
(U.S. Politics)
The State Of The States: The Budget Crisis and the Fightback
(U.S. Politics)
Rebuilding a Fighting Labor Movement
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 19, 11:30am - 1:00pm



Arab Views of the Holocaust
(A World in Struggle )
Crisis and Reponse in Greece
(A World in Struggle )
The Changing Balance of World Power: Is China Eclipsing the United States?
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
What do Marxists Mean by Class?
(Marx and Marxism)
Marx and Engels on the Revolutions of 1848
(Marxist Classics)
Fascism: What it is and How to Fight it
(Marxist Classics)
Introduction to the International Socialist Organization
(Politics of International Socialism)
The German Revolution, 1918–1923
(Revolutionary Rehearsals)
The Mexican Revolution
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
The Obama Administration: Liberalism in Power?
(U.S. Politics)


June 19, 1:00pm - 2:00pm



Road to Detroit: Organizing for the U.S. Social Forum
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 19, 2:00pm - 3:30pm



France's New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA)
(A World in Struggle )
Rebelling Against Racism: The Black Power Revolt of the 1960s
(Black History and Politics)
Youths Organizing for Immigrants' Justice
(Immigrants and Immigration)
Obama at War
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Marxism and the Dialectic
(Introduction to Marxism)
What Do Socialists Say About the State?
(Questions for Socialists)
Marxism and Political Islam
(Religion)
The Crisis in Public School Education
(U.S. Politics)
The Future Of Health Care
(U.S. Politics)
How Can We Stop Violence Against Women?
(Women's Liberation)


June 19, 4:00pm - 5:30pm



The Liberation of Alcatraz
(American Injustice)
Debt, Default, and Austerity: Is a Second Recession Coming?
(Economics)
Green Gone Wrong
(Environment and Science)
Capitalism, Borders, and Migration
(Immigrants and Immigration)
Pakistan in Crisis
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Central America
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
U.S. Intervention In Latin America Today
(Latin America)
The Politics of International Socialism
(Politics of International Socialism)
How Corporations Destroyed American Democracy
(U.S. Politics)
The 1930s: From Unemployed Councils to Sit-Down Strikes
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 19, 7:30pm - 9:00pm



The Rise of the Right in Europe
(A World in Struggle )
Here Come Los Suns: Sports and Resistance to Arizona's SB 1070
(Culture and Resistance )
An Evening With Wallace Shawn Reading from his new book Essays
(Culture and Resistance )
Sex Wars: From McCarthyism to Prop 8
(Gender and Sexuality )
Death In The Haymarket
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 20, 10:00am - 11:15am



Striking Against Austerity In Puerto Rico
(A World in Struggle )
Lessons of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
(Black History and Politics)
John Coltrane: Jazz, racism, and resistance
(Culture and Resistance )
Lenin, Bukharin, and Luxemburg on Imperialism
(Marxist Classics)
People’s History of the French Revolution
(People's Histories)
Is Human Nature a Barrier to Socialism?
(Questions for Socialists)
The Meek and the Militant: Marxism and Religion
(Religion)
Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
The Eugene Debs Rebellion: The 1894 Pullman Strike
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)
Crisis in the UAW: The Restructuring of the Auto Industry
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 20, 11:45am - 1:00pm



Chile: From Allende To Piñero
(A World in Struggle )
The New Imperialism in Africa
(A World in Struggle )
Marxism and Oppression
(Black History and Politics)
Catch a Fire: The Life and Music of Bob Marley
(Culture and Resistance )
The Mutating Crisis of Global Capitalism
(Economics)
Student Radicalism in the 1930s
(History of U.S. Radicalism)
Is Marxism a Science?
(Marx and Marxism)
Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution
(Marxist Classics)
Trotsky’s Struggle Against Stalin
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
Black Soldiers' Resistance In The Vietnam War
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


June 20, 2:00pm - 3:00pm



Building the Left in the Age of Obama
(Rally)

[OriginalGumby]

Oakland Schedule


July 1, 7:00pm - 9:00pm



Legal Lynching In America
(Black History and Politics)
Sex Wars: From McCarthyism to Prop 8
(Gender and Sexuality )
California: The Coming Revolt
(U.S. Politics)


July 2, 9:30am - 11:00am



The Future of Health Care
(Health Care)
Marxism and Religion
(Marx and Marxism)
Introduction to Marx’s Capital
(Marx and Marxism)
Is Violence Necessary to Change Society?
(Questions for Socialists)
Why are the Democrats So Lame?
(U.S. Politics)


July 2, 11:30am - 1:00pm



Is the Great Recession Over?
(Economics)
Capitalism, Borders and Migration
(Immigrants and Immigration)
How Can Palestinian Liberation be Won?
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Left-wing Communism: The Politics of Impatience
(Questions for Socialists)
Abortion and Women’s Liberation
(Women's Liberation)


July 2, 1:00pm - 2:00pm



Lessons from 1934 General Strike Slide Show
(History of U.S. Radicalism)
Report Back from the U.S. Social Forum
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


July 2, 2:00pm - 3:30pm



American Indian Resistance
(American Indians)
The Black Power Revolt of the 1960’s
(Black History and Politics)
Lenin’s Theory of the Vanguard Party
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
Zapata and the Mexican Revolution
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
The Future of the Tea Party Movement
(U.S. Politics)


July 2, 4:00pm - 5:30pm



Green Gone Wrong: How Our Economy Is Undermining the Environmental Revolution
(Environment and Science)
The Truth About Afghanistan
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Will China Eclipse the US?
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)
Rosa Luxemburg’s Reform or Revolution
(Marxist Classics)
Toussaint L’Overture and the Haitian Revolution
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)


July 2, 6:00pm - 7:00pm



A showing of the documentary "Workers' Republic"
(Culture and Resistance )


July 2, 7:00pm - 9:00pm



Rebuilding the Left in the Obama Era
(U.S. Politics)


July 3, 9:30am - 11:00am



A People’s History of the Russian Revolution
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
From the Third Period to the Popular Front
(Marx and Marxism)
Is Human Nature a Barrier to Socialism?
(Questions for Socialists)
Trotsky’s Struggle Against Stalinism
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)
The Roots of Women’s Oppression
(Women's Liberation)


July 3, 11:30am - 1:00pm



Capitalism and Crime
(American Injustice)
How Capitalism Makes Us Sick
(Health Care)
The Role of Women in the Russian Revolution
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
What Would Socialism Be Like?
(Questions for Socialists)
The Rise and Fall of the IWW
(Radical Traditions)


July 3, 1:00pm - 2:00pm



Social Media and Political Organizing
(Environment and Science)
Introduction to the ISO
(The International Socialist Organization)


July 3, 2:00pm - 3:30pm



What is a Progressive Vision of Education?
(Culture and Resistance )
Is Meat Murder? Nature and Humanity
(Environment and Science)
Capitalism, Climate and the Future of Humanity
(Environment and Science)
History of Transgender Resistance
(Gender and Sexuality )
Shock Doctrine: Imperialism and Resistance in Haiti
(Imperialism and anti-Imperialism)


July 3, 4:00pm - 5:30pm



Education and Liberation: Toward a Marxist Pedagogy
(Culture and Resistance )
Clean Coal and Other Myths
(Environment and Science)
Why Capitalism Fails
(Marx and Marxism)
How Corporations Destroyed American Democracy
(U.S. Politics)
Students and Resistance in the U.S.
(U.S. Politics)


July 3, 7:00pm - 9:00pm



An Evening With Wallace Shawn Reading from his new book Essays
(Culture and Resistance )
Here Come Los Suns: Sports and Resistance to Arizona's SB 1070
(Culture and Resistance )
Class Struggle Unionism: Can it be revived?
(Working Class Radicalism in the U.S.)


July 4, 9:30am - 11:00am



How Does Art Relate to Class?
(Culture and Resistance )
The Politics of International Socialism
(Marx and Marxism)
Anarchism: Theory and Practice
(Radical Traditions)
The Tragedy of the German Revolution
(Revolutions and Revolutionaries)


July 4, 11:30am - 1:00pm



What is an Artist's Role in Resistance?
(Culture and Resistance )
The Third International
(Lenin, Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution)
Capitalism and the Roots of Racism
(Marx and Marxism)


July 4, 2:00pm - 3:30pm



Building a Socialist Movement in the United States
(Questions for Socialists)

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

I'm going down to chicago for the pride parade.