Dear Colleague,
Attached is a letter inviting Political Economy Graduate Students to the
URPE summer conference. If you have any graduate students that might be
interested in attending the summer conference could you foward the
letter to them.
Fred Lee
April 12, 2002
Dear Political Economy Graduate Student:
On behalf of the Steering Committee of the Union for Radical
Political Economics (URPE), I am writing to invite you to attend our
summer conference, taking place this year from Saturday August 17
through Tuesday, August 20 in Bantam, Connecticut, about 90 miles
outside of New York City (and about 70 miles from Amherst). I'm
e-mailing this invitation directly to you and your fellow students in
the major graduate programs in political economy because one of our key
aims in designing this year's conference is to elicit and address your
concerns as part of the rising generation of political economists on the
left.
In case you're not already a member, I'll note that URPE, founded
in 1968 and having about 400 current members, is the chief U.S.
professional organization of leftist economists, and the major such
association sponsoring research sessions at the annual Allied Social
Sciences Association convention. We publish the Review of Radical
Political Economics (RRPE), one of the leading journals of leftist
economic scholarship. In addition to publishing RRPE, sponsoring
sessions at the ASSA meetings, and holding an annual summer conference,
we put out occasional books of readings on topics in political economy,
oversee a speaker's and informational outreach bureau called the Economy
Connection, publish a quarterly newsletter to promote networking and
report on matters of political economic interest, and generally work to
promote the cause of workers and the disenfranchised the world over.
In keeping with that mission, the theme of this year's summer
conference is "Challenging Global Capitalism: An Invitation to Develop
Strategies of Opposition." The "invitation" mentioned in the theme is
to everyone working toward fundamental social change to promote equality
and empowerment for the world's peoples. We are structuring this year's
conference differently than in the past so as to encourage an active
dialogue among the individuals and groups devoted to this cause. In
addition to current URPE members and political economy graduate
students, we are inviting a number of activist organizations and leftist
think tanks working on the front lines against the destructive forces of
globalizing capitalism. The conference itinerary will be set up to
maximize the opportunities for sharing views and ideas.
Why you, and why now? There are several reasons why you should
consider attending this year's summer conference and becoming an URPE
member if you have not already done so. First, the conference will
provide you with an opportunity to meet and forge connections with other
like-minded graduate students and with people addressing real-world
concerns that will provide the substance for your future work. Second,
the conference generally attracts many current URPE members who belong
to the academic departments and political organizations that may be your
future employers and professional contacts. It's not too early to start
establishing these relations. Third, if you are currently working on
your dissertation, we invite you to present your work in an evening
plenary session devoted specifically to this purpose. Students who've
presented their work in past conferences have gotten useful suggestions
from colleagues working on similar topics.
Finally, as a studen
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
