The Brecht Forum/New York Marxist School 122 West 27 Street, 10 floor New York, New York 10001 (212) 242-4201 (212) 741-4563 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail) The Brecht Forum/New York Marxist School April 1995 Schedule of Events Lectures and Discussions: Monday, April 3, 7:30 pm ($6) -Socialist Dialogue: Discussions with the Editors of Left Journals -_Rethinking Marxism_ This ongoing series will pose several questions to the editors of left publications: What is their conceptual framework for discussing the prospects for socialism? How do they understand their role? What are the key issues they seek to address and how do they approach them? Wednesday, April 5, 6:30 pm ($10) -Between Volcanoes and Square Wheels: A Conversation on Strategies to Confront the Neoliberal Agenda -Carlos Vilas, Boris Kagarlitsky, Alexander Buzgalin, and others TBA -cosponsored with Monthly Review Press Join us in a discussion with international visitors to the Socialist Scholars Conference and celebrate the recent publication by Monthly Review Press of Carlos Vilas' _Between Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Market, State and the Revolutions in Central America_, Boris Kagarlitsky's _Square Wheels: How Russian Democracy Got Derailed_ and _The Mirage of Modernization_, and Alexander Buzgalin's _Bloody October in Moscow: Political Repression in the Name of Reform_. Wednesday, April 12, 7:30 pm ($6) -Today's News: The Other Point of View -Ellen Braune and Steve Rendall Hosts Ellen Braune, Director of New Channels Communications, and Steve Rendall, Senior Analysts at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), will be inviting independent and mainstream journalists and others to join them to discuss breaking news and current events. This is part of a series of discussions that provide an informal and participatory venue for the progressive community to analyze key issues, critique media coverage, and identify ways to inject alternative perspectives into the mainstream discourse. Tuesday, April 18, 7 pm ($6) -The Gingrich Agenda: Nostalgia for a Past That Never Was -George Bernstein Bernstein will look at the relationship of political ideologies to the history of educational practices in the U.S. school system, covering such issues as racial integration, language, religion, and immigration. His talk will focus on the Gingrich agenda as a form of neo- conservative and reactionary nostalgia that threatens the very foundations of justice and equality. George Bernstein teaches the history and philosophy of education at Montclair State College in New Jersey. Wednesday, April 19, 8 pm ($6) -It's after "Post": Global Transformation, Marx's Theory, and Today's Politics -Bill Tabb Isn't it time to stop dwelling on what's over? Yes, many old forms are no longer relevant. New structures _have_ emerged that are shaping the "new world order." Bill Tabb, author of _The Post-war Japanese System: Cultural Economy and Economic Transformation_ (Oxford University Press, 1995), will argue that we've entered a new era in which the abuses of the capitalist system will be more difficult to mask and will offer an analysis of the current economic restructuring and class composition. Thursday, April 20, 7:30 pm ($6) -The Muddle of the Middle Class: New York Social Workers and the Politics of Identity -Daniel Walkowitz The globalization of capital, "down-sizing" and "restructuring" of the late twentieth century have fundamentally reorganized the occupational structure of social service and reshaped the identity of social workers. This history of social worker identity provides a window on the more general politics of class and work. As "otherness" is defined as black and female in post-war consumer culture, the language of class becomes a way of _not_ talking about class, effectively disabling peoples' ability to respond to the economic reorganization of work. Friday, April 21, 7 pm ($6) -Workers' Cooperatives: A Trap or an Opportunity for Socialists? -Betsy Bowman, Bob Stone, and Len Krimerman Can we start building socialism now? Existing integrated co-op sectors of national economies are defenses against racist and sexist credit policies and capital flight. Co- op networks in the Basque country, Japan, Italy, and the Canadian maritime provinces constitute an ecologically sustainable counter-hegemony to transnational corporations. Betsy Bowman advises Russia's Party of Labor on self- management. Bob Stone teaches philosophy at C.W. Post College. Len Krimerman, a sixties-style Marxist- anarchist, is co-author of _When Workers Decide_. All three are staffers on _Grassroots Economic Organizing Newsletter_, but don't expect them to agree. Tuesday, April 25, 7 pm ($6) -Who Makes History? -Bret Eynon This participatory forum will examine the importance of social history for an understanding of America's past and present. Materials from the American Social History Project will be used to explain and explore the contending interpretations of immigrant and radical history in New York and the United States. Bret Eynon is Education Director of the American Social History Project. Classes and Workshops: -Beginning Spanish (Mondays and Wednesdays beginning April 3, 5:30-7:30 pm; 8 weeks, 16 sessions; $320) -Intermediate Spanish (Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning April 4, 5:30-7:30 pm; 8 weeks, 16 sessions; $320) -taught by Angela Betelu Angela Betelu is a native speaker with extensive teaching experience. Classes are small and emphasize participation without neglecting grammar. For registration information, write to or call The Brecht Forum. -Political Economy Workshop -Paul Cooney -alternate Wednesdays, 6-8 pm; ongoing registration; $45 per 4 sessions This workshop uses a Marxist approach to explore such topics as: the implications of NAFTA and "free" trade, the political economy of New York City, and the IMF and Third World debt. Newcomers are welcome to join this ongoing group. A background in the study of _Capital_ or political economy is recommended. The group meets every two weeks for presentations and discussions. Political economist Paul Cooney coordinates this workshop. Saturday, April 22, 11 am-3 pm ($35) -Navigating the Internet -Louis Proyect This workshop will combine a demonstration of the Internet system with a discussion of the political and cultural implications of the "Information Highway." Students will observe key Internet features, including user lists, electronic publications, and Internet tool kit. Class size is limited and advance registration is required. Louis Proyect, a systems integrator at Columbia University, is a former president of TECNICA, which sent technicians to work with the Sandinistas and the African National Congress. Special Event: Saturday, April 1, 9 am-6 pm -Out from under the Bell Curve: A Teach-in on Confronting Right-wing Ideology and Social Policy -at PS 41, Sixth Avenue and Eleventh Street, Manhattan What is the ideology that underpins the "Contract on America" and Giuliani's "Reality Therapy"? What is behind the massive gutting of educational and social programs that is dramatically reshaping the lives of New Yorkers? Why is all of this happening now? This on-day teach-in will use Murray and Hernstein's much-debated book as a case-in-point. It will bring together activists and analysts to look at: --how _The Bell Curve_ supports particular political, social, and economic agendas; --how it provides deceptive explanations for widening class, race, gender, and ethnic divisions; and --how it erodes basic democratic values. Panels and workshops will take apart the ideology embodied in _The Bell Curve_, and discuss how it works and strategies to combat it. Keynote speakers include: --Stephen Jay Gould, Professor of Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University; author of _The Mismeasure of Man_ and _Ever Since Darwin_ --Tony Mazzochi, Presidential Assistant, Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW), AFL-CIO --Charmaine Bailey, student, Bronx Community College --Linda Burnham, Director, Women of Color Resource Center and an editor of _CrossRoads_ magazine --Richie Perez, Vice President, National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights Workshops will focus on racism, pseudoscience, the Contract on America, the religious right, public education, student activism, unemployment, criminal justice, immigration, environmental racism, the media, popular education Registration: $12 for pre-registration; $15 at the door; $5 for students and low-income (pre-registered and at door) Sponsoring organizations: The Brecht Forum (initiator), Center for Constitutional Rights, Council for Responsible Genetics, Educators for Social Responsibility, Health Care: We Gotta Have It!, Genes and Gender Collective, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, The Learning Alliance, National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, Network of Black Organizers (NOBO), New Channels Communications, New York Committees of Correspondence, People About Changing Education (PACE) For more information, or to register, write to or call The Brecht Forum. Socialist Scholars Conference: "Beyond the Fragments: Building a Viable Left" is the theme of this years Socialist Scholars Conference to be held April 7, 8, and 9 at Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street, New York City. The Brecht Forum/New York Marxist School is a sponsor and participant. Look for our forum and workshops in the Conference program. Pre-registration fees are $30 ($20 students/senior citizens) and must be received by March 31. To register, or to receive more information write to: Socialist Scholars Conference, Department of Sociology/CUNY Graduate Center Room 800, 33 West 42 Street, New York, New York 10036, or call the Conference at (212) 642-2826. *** All Brecht Forum lectures and seminars are available on audiotape. Write or call for a complete catalogue listing all available tapes. Prices are $7 for lecture tapes (single cassette) and $20 for seminar tapes (usually three or more cassettes). To order, make checks payable to *The Brecht Forum* and send to 122 West 27 Street, 10 floor, New York, New York 10001. Please enclose an additional $1 per order to cover the cost of postage. For orders outside the U.S., send an international money order or bank check payable in U.S. funds and enclose an additional US$5 for air postage. Selected Brecht Forum events are available on videotape from Turning the Tide, PO Box 631, Wilton, New Hampshire 03086. Contact TTT directly for a catalog or ordering information. *** The Brecht Forum is an independent institution of the left, not affiliated with any party or other organization. Our funding comes primarily from donations from supporters around the world, and from lecture, seminar, and class fees. Please note that tuition and fees only partially cover expenses. We need your donations to keep our doors open. And, no one is turned away for inability to pay. //end
