What was the German Revolution of 1918-19? (Houston)

What was the German Revolution of 1918-19? (Houston)

 April 19, 2019  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held April 19, 2019 at the University of Houston. Speakers: nard Sampson (CPUSA) Ryan Booker (Socialist Alternative) Duy Nguyen (Assistant Professor of World Cultures and Literatures, UH) Danny Jacobs (Platypus Affiliated Society, Houston) Panel Description: “The conquest of the governmental power by an hitherto oppressed class, in other words, a political revolution, is accordingly the essential characteristic of social revolution in this narrow sense, in contrast with social reform. [Read More]

Democracy and the Left (Sheffield)

Democracy and the Left (Sheffield)

 April 12, 2019  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held at the University of Sheffield on April 12, 2019. Description: From Brexit and the French yellow-vests to the AfD in Germany, the present centre of political attention is the crisis being expressed through democratic politics both within the nation-state and at the level of the EU. How should the Left understand and relate to this crisis? More broadly speaking, what is the history informing the demands for greater democracy today, and how does the Left adequately promote - or not - the cause of popular empowerment? [Read More]

What Does Climate Change? - New York

What Does Climate Change? - New York

 April 11, 2019  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held at Columbia University on April 11, 2019. The discussion was moderated by Erin Hagood.

Panelists:

  • Dan Driscoll, Direct Outreach Coordinator for Columbia’s Housing Equity Project

  • Andy Gittlitz, writer for the New Inquiry and the New York Times

  • Jennifer Wenzel, Associate Professor in English and Comparative Literature, and Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, at Columbia University

  • Frederico of the Revolution Club

The Crisis of Neoliberalism in the EU (Platypus 2019 International Convention)

The Crisis of Neoliberalism in the EU (Platypus 2019 International Convention)

 April 5, 2019  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held April 5th at the University of Chicago, as part of the 11th Annual Platypus International Convention. Speakers: Victor Cova, Aarhus University (Aarhus) Andreas Wintersperger, University of Vienna (Vienna) Jan Schroeder, Goethe University (Frankfurt) Panos Didachos, Panteion University (Athens) Padraig Maguire, Goldsmiths University (London) Description: What is the mean EU for the Left today? Does the Left believe the EU should be overcome on the basis of the EU itself, or against the EU? [Read More]

What is the role of media for the Left? (Houston)

What is the role of media for the Left? (Houston)

 April 1, 2019  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held April 1, 2019, at the University of Houston. Moderated by Danny Jacobs. Panelists: David Barsamian (Alternative Radio) Secunda Joseph (Host of Imagine A World on All Real Radio + Smart Media Director) Egberto Willies (Politics Done Right) Michael Woodson (LivingArt) Description: \“Fake news\” and \“alternative facts\” became popular terms during the 2016 press. Snopes and PolitiFact notwithstanding, 2016 was not the first time in history that the news media has been criticized for playing a part in distracting, distorting, and misdirecting public political opinion. [Read More]

Opening plenary: 30 Years of 1989: The end of history? (Platypus 2019 International Convention)

 January 1, 0001  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Held April 4th, 2019 at the University of Chicago, as part of the 11th Annual International Conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society. Speakers: John Abbott, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Chicago Robert Bird, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature, University of Chicago John Bachtell, Chairman of the Communist Party USA Patrick M. Quinn, founding member of Solidarity Earl Silbar, Students for a Democratic Society (Chicago 1968), member of Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice Description: [Read More]