St. Francis College, Brooklyn NY, April 8, 2017
The Conference will bring together the theoretical perspectives of radical political economics and the organizational experiences of those engaged in struggle on the many crucial issues confronting us today. It will, we hope, contribute to the development of an agenda that can guide all of us in the difficult years ahead.
Structure of Conference (estimated attendance: 100 – 150)
10 – 11 Plenary (Two or three speakers addressing overall theme of conference)
11 – 1 Workshops (see below)
1 – 2:15 Lunch
2:15 – 4:15 Workshops (see below)
4:30 – 5:30 Closing session: reports from all workshops, with focus on where we go from here)
5:30 – 7 Cocktail party
Suggested Registration Fee
Early registration: $30 per person; $15 for students.
Late registration (after March 18): $35 per person, $20 for students.
Note: All participants may choose to pay more or less depending on their individual circumstances. Registration fee includes cocktail party. (Alcohol will be served only to those aged 21 or over.)
Since space for workshops is limited, participants will be asked to sign up for specific workshops – those who register early will be given preference when attendance reaches rooms’ full capacity.
Online registration is here.
The registration form can be viewed and downloaded here.
Workshops
Each workshop will include presentations on both the contribution of radical political economics to an understanding of the issues, and the current political activity relating to these. Approximately half of the two-hour period will be available for contribution from workshop participants. Each workshop will conclude with a collective summary of areas of agreement and disagreement and the nomination of one or two people to present this summary at the closing session of the conference. (URPE plans to record this final session and make it available on the URPE web-site.)
The following is a preliminary listing of possible workshops topics:
Trump’s fiscal policy (tax policy and infrastructure spending)
Income distribution: wages vs. profits
The Fight for $15 and other labor issues
Workplace organization – unions today
Immigration and global capitalism
Community organization and cooperatives
Health care after Obamacare
Student debt and the state of higher education
Households and the care economy
Black Lives Matter
Climate change and the environment
It is assumed that all workshops will recognize the class, gender, and racial/ethnic dimensions of issues.
All URPE members, friends of URPE, and those whose work (not limited to that in educational institutions) involves the development and presentation of radical political economic theory, are invited to contribute to the presentation of radical political economic theory. The conference organizers also ask for help in soliciting input to the workshops from the activists whose work provides us with direction for our collective struggle.
Please register your interest in this conference, including nominations (or self-nominations) for workshop participants with: urpe@urpe.org. This will contribute to the organization of the conference and ensure that you will receive updates on conference plans as they develop.