"Blanchot, the Obscure"

A conference on the French critic and author Maurice Blanchot
Organized by the journal Colloquy
under the auspices of
The Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
and The School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash
University
and Alliance Française Melbourne

Dates: 19-20 August 2004

Confirmed Keynote Speakers: Kevin Hart

Despite the enormous influence of his work, for many Maurice Blanchot
remains an obscure figure. His fiction is regarded by some as
impenetrable, his critical comments gnomic. His reclusive habits shroud
decisive events of his life, most notably his brush with death during
the occupation of France. For others, Blanchot's work is anything but
obscure, his reticence to reveal the details of his life being only a
proper extension of his lucid, critical thought.
Nevertheless, the adjective ‘obscure’ can function as a lens onto a
series of ideas appearing throughout Blanchot's writings. The mysterious
and the enigmatic feature prominently in terms of the il y a, death,
désoeuvrement, the event, the gaze, the negative, the neutral, madness.
Perhaps what remains most obscure is the work of writing itself, both in
practice and in theory. The obscurity of the work of writing brings to
the fore the relation between fiction and philosophy.

hydrarchist writes

"Wealth by Copyleft:

Creativity in the Digital Age"

3. Oekonux Conference


Vienna, Austria, May 20-23, 2004

Department of Philosophy at Vienna University

Project Oekonux

In Project Oekonux and in the neighboring Open Theory different people with different opinions and different methods study the economic and political forms of Free Software.

An important question is, whether the principles of the development of Free Software (without exchange in the core, self-organized, common and unlimited participation in the production knowledge) may be the foundation of a new economy which is no longer based on the dogma of economic scarcity. New economy may also mean the basis for a new form of society. So Oekonux is not only concerned with Free Software but with the relation of Free Software and transformation of society. From the far ranging Oekonux debate new views on past transformation processes of society and a completely new theory of transformation of society emerge -- e.g. the germ form hypothesis.

hydrarchist writes:

"Free Bitflows:

Cultures of Access and Politics of Dissemination"
Vienna, Austria, June, 2004

| * Conference

| * Workshops

| * Exhibition

| * Residency

In early June 2004 a digital-culture event will be held in Vienna to examine
the theories and practices for making new cultures of access viable.

hydrarchist writes:
The Hipatia Manifesto

Free knowledge, in action for the peoples of the world

We propose the creation of a world-wide, popular, democratic organization
to promote the adoption of public policies combined with human and social
behaviour that favour the free availability and sustainability of, and
social access to, technology and knowledge; their use for the common
good; and the viability of the economic model which creates them, in
terms of the equality and inclusion of all human beings and all peoples of the
world.

"Culturepoles: City Spaces, Urban Politics & Metropolitan Theory"

Second Annual Canadian Association of Cultural Studies Conference

Hamilton, Canada, February 13-15, 2004

Join scholars, cultural workers and activists from across Canada and
around the world in wide-ranging discussions of culture and the
contemporary global city, including issues such as ethnicity, race and
the city; the suburbs; cultural practices in and against the city;
urban activisms; visual and soundscapes of the city; and the politics
of infrastructure.

“Looking Back on Marx/Moving Forward with Marxism:
Marxism and Communication Studies in the 21st Century”

National Communication Association (NCA) Preconvention Seminar Conference. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Chicago Hilton Towers, Chicago, IL

Marxism’s relationship to communication as a discipline has long been marked by a profound ambivalence. On the one hand, notions derived from Marxist theory -­“ideology,” “hegemony”, “reification”, “commodification,” “social class,”“dialectics” etc.-- are regularly deployed in the pages of the NCA’s journals and are foundational for entire subfields such as cultural studies. Moreover, a growing number of communication scholars explicitly identify themselves as Marxists or at least see their work as indebted to the Marxist legacy. On the other hand, extended, informed discussions of Marxist theory and the unique insights it affords are all but invisible at NCA’s annual meeting and in its publications. And a glance at most rhetoric and mass communications textbooks reveals that the approach receives little or no attention in most undergraduate courses.

LonCayeway@Yahoo.com writes "Subject: The Chiapas Media Project - Song of the Earth

The Chiapas Media Project (CMP) is searching for university, religious and community-based sponsors to host screenings on their 8th annual spring tour April-May 2004. The tour will feature new videos produced by indigenous video makers from the states of Chiapas and Guerrero, Mexico.

Northeast Gathering for Autonomy

Hartford, Connecticut, Feb. 28-29, 2004

In response to the recent "Draft Proposal for a Continental Network,"
we're calling for a gathering with the purpuse of creating a network of
groups, organizations, and individuals who believe in Self-Determination,
Equality, Decentralized Organizing, Direct Democracy and Autonomy, and who
oppose and fight White Supremacy, Patriarchy, Heterosexism, Oppression and
Exploitation in all its forms.

NortheastAutonomy

Agenda and discussion will be plenary. This network will be whatever YOU
make it. Please send representatives from your groups, representing
whatever number of people you're comfortable with, just for space's sake.
However, full groups and individual nonrepresentatives are welcomed as
well. Come to Hartford with ideas for projects and such that can be
discussed and pursued at the gathering.

University of Hartford

West Hartford, CT

Gengras Student Union

February 28-29, 2004

solidarity,

m(A)tt

860-416-4575

Email: circleAmatt@riseup.net

Bl(A)ck Tea Society Plans Boston DNC Consulta

Greetings from the Bl(A)ck Tea Society,

Here in Boston, plans are well underway to support folks who will be coming into town to resist the DNC in July. This is our first update, and while we have a lot going on in terms of planning, this first newsletter focuses on the consulta coming up in February. Stay tuned for further updates by subscribing to our low-traffic, announcement-only list by sending an email to DNC2004-subscribe@lists.riseup.net And don't forget to check out our website for updates (www.blackteasociety.org). If you want to contact us directly, please direct correspondence to nodnc04@hush.com

Pacific Center for Technology and Culture Opens, Vancouver

We are pleased to announce the opening of the Pacific Centre for
Technology and Culture. Located at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the
Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture (PACTAC) is conceived as a
unique interdisciplinary institute for researching and teaching
issues related to the impact of technological change on culture,
politics and society. Simultaneously a centre of global intellectual
exchange and an innovative and collaborative site for exploring the
digital future, PACTAC approaches the question of technology from
perspectives which are interdisciplinary in scope, critical in
sensibility, and creative, experimental and immersive in method.