One hundred years after the publication of her masterpiece The Accumulation of Capital, Rosa Luxemburg’s ideas have come back in a big way across much of the left. If she were still here, what would Rosa say about contemporary feminist movements, the mass strike and Occupy, our deepening ecological crisis, or other crucial issues of our time?
The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office, in collaboration with Verso Books and The New School, presents: Rosa Remix: New Takes on a Longtime Classic. The event will begin on Friday, August 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the Verso Books office in Downtown Brooklyn, where we will celebrate 100 years of The Accumulation of Capital with fresh analysis from Rick Wolff, Patrick Bond, and Raphaele Chappe, followed by a reception with drinks and light snacks. A new translation of the Complete Works of Rosa Luxemburg: Volume II, which contains The Accumulation of Capital, published by Verso with support from RLS–NYC, will be available for sale.
On Saturday we will move to The New School’s Wollman Hall, where, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., we will hold a series of panels on issues that explore the relevance of Rosa’s works to issues ranging from climate change to war, spontaneity and contemporary social movements, and today’s women’s movement. We will also get a sneak peek at Red Rosa, a forthcoming graphic biography presented by editor Paul Buhle and artist Kate Evans. Amongst the many questions that will be asked over the course of the day, our overarching theme will be whether fresh interpretations of Rosa Luxemburg’s work can help to strengthen the shared struggles of the international left in today’s world.
Friday, August 21
6:00-8:00 p.m. l Reception to follow
Verso Books, 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY
“THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL”: 100 YEARS LATER
Patrick Bond (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
Richard D. Wolff (New School for Social Research)
Raphaële Chappe (Brooklyn Institute for Social Research)
Stefanie Ehmsen (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office)
Saturday, August 22
10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Coffee and lunch will be provided
The New School, 65 West 11th St., Wollman Hall, New York, NY
10:00-11:30 a.m.:
SOCIALISM OR BARBARISM? WAR, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET
Bhaskar Sunkara (Jacobin Magazine)
Helen C. Scott (University of Vermont)
Rory Castle (Swansea University, Wales, UK)
11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m.:
FROM MASS STRIKE TO OCCUPY: THE ELEMENT OF SPONTANEITY
Sandra Rein (University of Alberta, Canada)
Holger Politt (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin)
Ethan Earle (Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office)
He Ping (Wuhan University, China)
Jason Schulman (Lehman College, New York)
2:00-2:45p.m. :
RED ROSA: A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY OF ROSA LUXEMBURG (Verso, forthcoming)
Paul Buhle (“Red Rosa” Editor)
Kate Evans (“Red Rosa” Author and Artist)
3:00-4:30 p.m.:
ROSA LUXEMBURG: A LEGACY FOR FEMINISTS?
Amber Frost (Freelance Writer)
Kate Evans (“Red Rosa” Author and Artist)
Alhelí Alvarado-Díaz (Columbia University)
Nancy Holmstrom (Rutgers University, Newark, emeritus)
4:30-5:00 p.m.:
INSTEAD OF A CONCLUSION: PUBLISHING THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ROSA LUXEMBURG
Peter Hudis (Oakton Community College, Illinois)
Paul Le Blanc (La Roche College, Pennsylvania)
Sponsored by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung–New York Office, Verso Books, and the Global Studies program at The New School.
David Kishik (Emerson College), Dr Zed Adams (New School for Social Research)
Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project, Joe Gould’s Oral History of Our Time, and Joseph Mitchell’s memoir each existed more in their respective author’s imagination than on the written page. In this Friday evening event, David Kishik will discuss the significance of such imaginary literary works for his own Manhattan Project (Stanford, 2015), which draws upon Benjamin, Gould, Mitchell, and others to develop a theory of Manahattan as the capital of the twentieth century. At the event, Kishik will be introduced and interviewed by New School faculty member Zed Adams.
What do the worlds of global finance and nationalist populism have in common? How can we understand the rise of today’s ‘new fascisms’ through the prism of financialization? This one-day workshop brings together scholars from across disciplines to debate these key questions for our understanding of contemporary capitalism. The workshop is part of Public Seminar’s Imaginal Politics initiative and is organised jointly with the Department of Social Science, University College London. The workshop will include three panel discussions and will close with a talk by Judith Butler on ‘Anti-gender ideology and the new fascism’.
10-11.45am – Panel 1 (Wolff Conference Room, D1103)
12.-1.30pm -Panel 2 (Wolff Conference Room, D1103)
Chiara Bottici ( The New School)
4.30-6pm – Closing plenary & discussion (UL104, University Center)
‘The New Fascism of the Anti-Gender Ideology Movement’