The Brecht Forum
including its projects:
The New York Marxist School
The Institute for Popular Education
122 West 27 Street, 10 floor
New York, New York 10001-6281
(212) 242-4201
(212) 741-4563 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail)
*****
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1996 EVENTS
LECTURES, PANELS AND SEMINARS
An asterisk * preceding the title indicates a lecture that is
part of the ongoing series, "U.S. History for Today's World."
Revolutionary Art, Music and Culture
Fred Ho
Thursday, January 25, 8 pm; $6
What is revolutionary art and culture? What makes it
revolutionary? How do we apply dialectical and historical
materialism to understanding, analyzing, and creating music? How
should we view cultural activism today in the United States?
Fred Ho is a Chinese American baritone saxophonist, composer,
leader of the Afro Asian Music Ensemble and the Monkey Orchestra,
multicultural/matriarchical/revolutionary socialist, and
co-editor of the new book _Sounding Off! Music as Subversion/
Resistance/Revolution_.
*****
The UN at 50+: Crisis & Opportunity in the Era of Globalization
A Book Party and Discussion
Phyllis Bennis and Jim Paul
Wednesday, January 31, 8 pm; $6
The United Nations at age fifty embodies much of the chaos of the
"new world order." Wracked by financial crisis and contentious
debates on its future role, the UN remains an important element
of U.S foreign policy, as well as an arena of struggle for
international movements for peace and justice. Hear Pacifica
reporter Phyllis Bennis and Jim Paul, Executive Director of
Global Policy Forum, and celebrate the publication of Bennis' new
book, _Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today's U.N._
*****
Defending Labor and Human Rights: The Gap Campaign Strategy
Ellen Braune and Barbara Briggs
Thursday, February 1, 8 pm; $6
In a landmark agreement with far-reaching implications, the Gap
clothing store chain has submitted to independent monitoring of
labor and human rights standards in its offshore contracting. The
agreement is the result of a remarkable and innovative pressure
campaign led by the National Labor Committee (NLC).
Ellen Braune of New Channels Communications and Barbara Briggs of
the NLC will explain how the campaign worked, why it succeeded
and where they plan to go from here.
*****
The Strike-Wave in France: A First-hand Analysis
Jean-Pierre Page
Tentatively Scheduled: Wednesday, February 7, 8 pm; $6
The wave of strikes that paralyzed France for almost three weeks
in November and December 1995 was the most massive rejection of
"structural adjustment" and the basic tenets of neo-liberalism
yet seen. What were the gains for the French trade union
movement? What are implications for France and European unity?
What are possible international ramifications?
As we go to press, Jean-Pierre Page, the Head of the
International Department of the French General Confederation of
Labor (CGT) is in the process of finalizing his schedule for a
February trip to New York. PLEASE CALL 212 242-4201 TO FIND OUT
IS HIS TALK IS CONFIRMED FOR THIS DATE OR ANOTHER DATE.
*****
[NOTE: The New York Marxist School is pleased to announce a new
discussion series called "Non-Western Marxism." The non-Western
world has produced a vast body of theory whose contribution to
Marxism is largely ignored by the western left. This series will
focus on Marxist traditions and contributions from Africa, Asia,
Latin America, and the Caribbean. The following lecture
inaugurates this new series.]
Mariategui and the Origins of Latin American Marxism
Gerardo Renique
Session 1: Thursday, February 8, 8 pm; $6
Session 2: Wednesday, February 21, 8 pm; $6
Jose Carlos Mariategui, one of the most original and creative
Marxists that Latin America has produced, was an active political
organizer and cultural critic. His writings cover a vast array of
topics from world politics to surrealism, Peruvian history and
Qechua literature. The first session of this two-part discussion
will focus on the works of Mariategui and his particular
socialist vision. The second session will address his polemic and
rupture with the Third International.
Gerardo Renique teaches history at City College and is co-author
of _Peru: Time of Fear_.
*****
* Today's Challenges to the U.S. Constitution
Arthur Kinoy
A one-day seminar: Saturday, February 10, 11 am-4 pm; $10
The current right-wing strategy to build a mass base of support
to undermine and even abandon important elements of the U.S.
Constitution raises critical issues for progressives today. This
seminar with noted Constitutional lawyer and long-time activist
Arthur Kinoy will provide a basic overview of the history and
main features of the Constitution and discuss what approaches the
left can take to safeguard fundamental human and civil rights.
*****
* Dwight Macdonald: American Rebel
Michael Wreszin
Thursday, February 15, 8 pm; $6
"Every man has a right to be stupid on occasion, but comrade
Macdonald abuses it." So spoke Trotsky after one of Macdonald's
attacks on "the old man" for his role in Kronstadt. Writer,
editor, publisher, intellectual street fighter, and intermittent
political activist, Macdonald was a quintessential American
rebel, a native-born dissident individualist, but at various
times a socialist, a Trotskyist, a pacifist, and an anarchist.
Michael Wreszin, professor of History at Queens College, CUNY,
and the CUNY Graduate Center, is the author of _Dwight Macdonald:
A Rebel in Defense of Tradition_.
*****
Racism and the Criminal Justice System
Bruce McM. Wright
Wednesday, February 14, 8 pm; $6
Recent "celebrity" trials have focused public attention on the
pervasive and systemic racism and class bias in the criminal
justice system. Prison construction has become a major growth
industry and the death penalty looms as a "final solution." What
can we do to fight for real justice?
Bruce Wright is a judge, scholar, poet and activist for social
justice.
*****
Objectivity, Causality, and Mysticism in Modern Physics
Derek Lovejoy
Tuesday, February 20, 8 pm; $6
Physicist Derek Lovejoy will discuss recent challenges to the
ideas of objectivity and causality, and the role of ideology in
shaping interpretations of current theories of physics and
cosmology.
Derek Lovejoy served as a technical advisor on solar energy with
the United Nations. He is on the editorial board of _Science &
Society_.
*****
Inflation and Unemployment
Anwar Shaikh
Thursday, February 22, 8 pm; $6
The view of inflation that dominates academic theory and economic
policy in all of the advanced capitalist countries is that
inflation arises when the unemployment rate gets "too low" (below
6.5 percent these days). This talk will explore an alternate view
of inflation which is linked to bank credit, profitability, and
the rate of accumulation.
Anwar Shaikh, who has taught for twenty years at the Graduate
Faculty of the New School for Social Research, is currently
completing a new book, _The Welfare State and the Social Wage: An
International Study_.
*****
Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky on Literature
Annette T. Rubinstein
Wednesday, February 28, 8 pm; $6
Unlike many would-be disciples, the great Marxists were all most
jealous and perceptive guardians of our cultural heritage.
Bertolt Brecht said: "When I read Marx, I first understood my
plays." W.H. Auden said, "There to instruct me was Brecht."
Annette T. Rubinstein is the author of _The Great Tradition in
English Literature: From Shakespeare to Shaw_ and _American
Literature: Root and Flower_.
*****
The Zapatistas and Radical Democracy
June Nash
Thursday, February 29, 8 pm; $6
The Zapatistas have gained concessions from the Mexican
government that are reframing the concept of democracy to include
cultural autonomy in indigenous communities, restructuring of
electoral procedures, and full participation in government trade
agreements and development programs affecting their lives. June
Nash, who is traveling to Chiapas in January, will report on the
implementation of these agreements and discuss their far-reaching
implications.
Nash, a professor of anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center,
has worked for many years with peasants in Chiapas.
*****
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
An asterisk * preceding the title indicates a class that is
part of the ongoing series, "U.S. History for Today's World."
Political Poetry: Shakespeare, Shelley, Auden, Brecht, Neruda,
Hughes, and others
Annette T. Rubinstein
Thursdays, 7-9 pm; 5 sessions beginning February 1; $35
Everyone has enjoyed picket line verse, but many know little of
the significant work by great poets "whose strict and adult pens
make action urgent and its nature clear." We will reclaim some of
this heritage, reading and discussing many of its treasures
together.
Classes will be held at the home of Dr. Annette T. Rubinstein, a
long-time political activist and literary critic. Her two major
books are _American Literature: Root and Flower_ and _The Great
Tradition in English Literature: From Shakespeare to Shaw_. NOTE:
Pre-registration for this class is recommended.
*****
Adorno, Aesthetics
Michael Brinitzer
Thursdays, 6-8 pm; 5 sessions beginning February 1; $35
In the age of an all-pervasive culture industry, the only
philosophical role left for critical theory is to clarify the
truth of radical esoteric art with an emancipatory agenda. Based
on a broad interdisciplinary search into societal modernity,
Adorno endorses the utopian negativity of the modernist
avant-garde (Beckett, Proust, Kafka, Berg, and Mahler) as an
aesthetics of redemption in the face of totalizing delusion.
Michael Brinitzer, a practicing architect, teaches "Ideologies of
Space" at Pratt Institute.
*****
* Democratic Struggles in the U.S. 1900-1920
Marvin Gettleman
Tuesdays, 6-8 pm; 8 sessions beginning February 6; $35
This course examines the relevance of struggles of "The
Progressive Era" to those of our time. The period between the
presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson saw the
birth of U.S. imperialism; the consolidation of monopoly
capitalism; the transformation of U.S. Constitutional Law into
the open servant of this capitalism; the triumph of Jim Crow; and
the elaboration of class-collaborationist trade unionism. Yet
this was also the time of the birth of modern African American
militancy; the Wobblies; U.S. socialism and communism; modern
feminism; and other democratic trends in culture, education, and
politics.
Gettleman is an editor of the Marxist quarterly, _Science and
Society_. In 1965 he published the best-selling _Vietnam:
History, Documents and Opinions_. He has written and edited books
on U.S. radicalism, working class history and
cultural-intellectual developments, as well as on Central America
and the Middle East.
*****
* Black Involvement in the U.S. Left: Ideological Conflicts and
Resolutions
Yusef Nuruddin
Wednesdays, 6-8 pm; 4 sessions beginning February 7; $25
This course will examine African American involvement in, and
contribution to, the socialist project from the perspective of
both historical and contemporary movements. Particular attention
will be focused on conflicts and tensions between socialist
ideology and black nationalist ideology, and the synthesis which
has been variously described as left nationalist, progressive
nationalist or revolutionary nationalist ideology.
Yusef Nuruddin, a sociologist/social psychologist, has taught at
Medgar Evers College and the John Jay College of Criminal
Justice.
*****
Organizing with Video and Public Access Television
Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Friday, February 16, 7 pm; $6
This seminar will present the idea of using public access
television for outreach, education, and grassroots organizing.
Manhattan Neighborhood Network provides non-commercial,
uncensored channels as well as video production equipment and
training free of charge to individuals and non-profit groups in
Manhattan. Representatives from the outreach and education staff
of MNN will screen a variety of videos produced through MNN.
*****
Navigating the Internet
Louis Proyect
A one-day workshop: Saturday, February 17, 11 am-3 pm; $35
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.
Louis Proyect, a systems integrator at Columbia University, is a
former president of TECNICA, which sent technicians to work with
the Sandinistas and the ANC.
*****
Introduction to Forum Theater
The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory
Friday, February 23, 6-9 pm, and Saturday, February 24, 10 am-4
pm; $50
Exercises, games and improvised scene work developed by Brazilian
director, popular educator and Worker's Party (PT) activist
Augusto Boal. Boal's innovative approach to public forums
emphasizes physical dialogues, non-verbal imagery, consensus
building and problem-solving processes. Preparatory games explore
relations of power and group solutions to concrete problems
raised by participants, transforming spectators into
"spect-actors"--protagonists of the theatrical action. The aim of
the forum is not to find an ideal solution, but to invent new
ways of confronting oppression. Workshops are limited to twenty-
five people. Pre-registration is required.
*****
SPANISH CLASSES
Beginning Spanish
Werner Stadler
Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm; 8 weeks beginning February
5; tuition $320
Intermediate Spanish
Angela Betelu
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm; 8 weeks beginning February 6; tuition
$160
Advanced Spanish
Angela Betelu
Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm; 8 weeks beginning February 5; tuition $160
Angela Betelu and Werner Stadler are native speakers with
extensive teaching experience. Small classes emphasize
participation and conversation, without neglecting grammar. Pre-
registration is advised.
*****
OTHER EVENTS
Portents: Multiple Visions, Warnings, and Comments
an art exhibition opening Wednesday, January 24, 5:30 pm; free
Artists include Constant, Engels, Troy Jean Jacque, Bruce James
Ludens, Patty Lee Parmalee, Stephanie Sakellaris, Deborah
Simpkins, Werner Stadler, and Jeremy Taylor
*****
Movie/Discussion Night
"Walker"
Tuesday, February 13, 8 pm; $5
co-sponsored with the Chelsea-El Jicaral Sister City Project
We will view and discuss "Walker," Alex Cox's disastrous?
fascinating? 1987 movie about William Walker, the soldier of
fortune who took over Nicaragua in the 1850, starring Ed Harris
and Marlee Matlin.
Discussion leaders: Patty Lee Parmalee and Danny Luce. Popcorn
and beer available!
*****
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expenses. We need your donations to keep our doors open. And, no
one is ever turned away for inability to pay.
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and panels, workshops, and classes (excluding language classes),
and a 50 percent discount on special events.
*****
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The Brecht Forum
122 West 27 Street, 10 floor
New York, New York 10001-6281
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*****
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*****
On whom does it depend whether oppression remains? On us.
On whom does it depend whether it is crushed? Likewise on us.
--Bertolt Brecht, _In Praise of Dialectics_
The Brecht Forum is a place for people who are working for
fundamental social change and a new culture that puts human needs
first. Our offerings range from classes, forum, and panel
discussions, to language instruction, art exhibits, bi-lingual
poetry readings, and participatory theater workshops.
The Brecht Forum, now in its twentieth year, is an independent
institution of the left and is not affiliated with any other
organization or political party. We receive no funding from
universities, corporations, or government agencies. Fees and
tuition cover only part of our costs; the bulk of our funding
comes from donations from a widespread community of dedicated
supporters.
The Brecht Forum's work is organized through projects that
include:
***The New York Marxist School
Attempts to resolve the problems that plague everyday life and
even threaten survival on this planet--from poverty,
discrimination, disease, and alienation to war, economic crisis,
and ecological devastation--bring people face to face with
difficult questions: Can society really be changed for the
better? What kind of changes would be needed? Who could bring
about such changes?
The New York Marxist School uses Marx's uniquely valuable
contributions, along with others within and outside Marxist
tradition, to study conditions today and possibilities for
building an emancipatory society--beyond capitalism.
***The Institute for Popular Education
The Institute for Popular Education was founded in 1992 to build
on popular education traditions developed in Latin America--
particularly the work or Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal. The
Institute's programs address critical pedagogy: a critique of
domination and a commitment to challenge inequality and
injustice.
***Arts at The Brecht
The Brecht Forum invites proposals for visual arts exhibits
pertaining to topics of political and cultural interest. We have
limited resources and curators or exhibitors should be prepared
to "produce" the show themselves. Please send documentation
(slides, photographs, photocopies, etc., along with a SASE) and
other supporting materials.
//30
