Real Utopias and Anti-capitalism

press release: On the last weekend of the semester - April 28-29 - The Havens Center is organizing a two-day workshop on Real Utopias and Anti-capitalism at the Goodman Community Center in Madison. Students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin and interested people from the community are welcome to come. You do not need to give a presentation to participate in this event - come to anything that interests you.

The workshop will have three different kinds of sessions:

1. Research project presentations by graduate students in the Sociology Department Real Utopias Seminar. This will be organized like an academic conference to give students practice in presenting punchy talks for a professional meeting. These discussions will take place on Saturday, April 28.
2. Strategies of Anti-capitalism for the 21st century. There will be one two-hour session on Sunday to explore the problem of alternative strategies for transcending capitalism in 21st century conditions. This will be based on a book manuscript by Erik Olin Wright, How to be an Anticapitalist for the 21st Century.
3. Other presentations & topical discussions. On Sunday, there will also be time (4-6 hours altogether) for additional discussions and presentations by other people at the workshop on any topics connected to social justice, social change, and alternative futures. 

Any format is possible: standard presentations of a paper; a short Introduction to a topic for discussion; a panel on some theme. The presentations can be very informal; the idea is to open-up space for dialogue on ideas and issues of interest to participants.

Anyone interested in giving a presentation on any topic should contact Erik at eowright@wisc.edu

Free and open to all. The cost will be roughly $25 to cover lunch for the two days of the conference.

The workshop will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, and end at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 29.

In addition to the academic sessions, the retreat will also include a potluck and party Saturday evening from 7-10ish - with music-making, dancing, singing, general carousing. Spouses/partners and friends and anyone else are welcome to come to the party and any of the events. If you play a musical instrument, please bring it along for a free-for-all jam session & sing-along.