Reflective gathering for activists and those on the peripheri of the academy

TIME TO REFLECT:
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 http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com/index.php?wiki=FirstKnowledgeLab

Making Global Civil Society: Grassroots Practice and Academic Theory of Globalisation from Below.
A weekend gathering for collective reflection amongst activists and academics. November 4, 5 & 6 - 2005.
Lancaster University, North West England.

See the more or less full programme here:
 http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com/index.php?wiki=SeminarWorkshops

The aim of the gathering is to discuss key aspects of the historical development of the capitalist economy that drives globalisation from above - such as enclosures, (precarious) labour, structural violence, colonialism, and their justifying cultural imagery – and to make visible alternative architectures of social organisation emerging through the processes of globalisation from below, that is, through grassroots movements cooperating to create a global civil society based on human rights and mutual aid, and to restore the (intellectual) commons, in the street, on the land, and in cyberspace.

We are particularly interested in contributions that relate people's experiences of, perspectives on, motivations for, and frustrations with their involvement in grassroots movements. The idea is to bring together first-hand accounts of the successes and failures of social, cultural and political projects and experiments with theoretical elaborations by academics trying to understand the reality of globalisation and the connections between its manifestations from above and below. By opening up a space for collective engaged reflection, we hope to create an atmosphere in which practice can inform theory and where theoretical academic perspectives can facilitate a reflection on activist practices.

If you are engaged in any form of social, political, or cultural activism and have a story to tell, issues to explore, or anything else you would like to share in this forum, then get in touch and suggest a contribution or presentation.

While we prioritize contributions by grassroots collectives and on-going projects, we welcome academic presentations in areas relevant to social movements, such as:

*conceptions of global civil society, counter-public sphere and counter-hegemonic movements
*the dynamics of enclosing knowledge and genetic material
*history and change of precarious labour
*resisting enclosures, resisting precarity, constructing alternatives
*transformations of colonialism: biocolonialism, TRIPs and structural adjustment
*networked databases, biometrics, and border control
*subversive and transhuman uses of technology
*reclaiming/liberating urban spaces and rural land
*sexual politics, discourse, and resistance
*radical media and art collectives
*self-organisation and consensus processes conceptually
*non-central, non-hierarchical networks and governance; network-centric thinking
*human rights as community building, form of resistance, and as global vision of movements

Participation is limited to a hundred people. A LIMITED NUMBER OF TRAVEL GRANTS AND FREE ACCOMODATION FOR UNFUNDED OR LOW-PAID PARTICIPANTS ARE AVAILABLE - CONTACT US NOW.
SEND SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND PAPERS (MAX. 1 PAGE) BY AUGUST 19 TO: n.moeller at lancaster.ac.uk
Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan) Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner:
Volunteers/unpaid activists: Free
Unfunded students: Donation
Funded students, Lancaster academics: £20 (additional donation welcome!)
Representatives of smaller NGOs: £35 (negotiable)
Representatives of bigger NGOs: £65
Academics: £65