Anti-Fascism in the 21st Century

HOFSTRA CULTURAL CENTER presents a symposium

ANTI-FASCISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY November 2 and 3, 2022 On October 28, 1922, armed fascists converged on Rome and paved the way for the establishment of a dictatorship led by Benito Mussolini, which would dominate Italy for the next 20 years. The March on Rome marked the birth of an Italian fascist regime and laid the foundation for the spread of fascist ideology around the world. From the beginning, Italian fascism generated resistance. As fascist ideology developed into a global phenomenon, so too did anti-fascism. The initial phase of the conflict between fascist and anti-fascist forces climaxed in World War II with the defeat of Italian fascism, German Nazism, and Japanese militarism. Although defeated militarily in 1945, global fascism continued to find expression during the decades that followed.

As recent events have shown, fascist ideology and its attendant components — opposition to working-class movements, hyper-nationalism, anti-democracy, white supremacy, and xenophobia — remain a threat to democratic institutions and practices worldwide. As in the past, the rise of fascism has been met with anti-fascist opposition. To coincide with the centennial of the March on Rome, we will hold a two-day interdisciplinary conference, not to retell stories of past anti-fascist movements, but to consider anti-fascism as a contemporary global movement with myriad forms and to explore the challenges of organizing against fascism for a new generation.

All sessions will be held in the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, First Floor, South Campus, unless otherwise noted.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2022 9–9:30 a.m.

WELCOME/OPENING REMARKS Mary Anne Trasciatti, Hofstra University

9:40–11:05 a.m.

PANEL I: CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN ANTIFA German Antifa and the Paradox of Ghostly Militanz Ali Jones, Center for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations, Coventry Continental European Antifa: Why the 90s Matter (More than you might think) Nils Schuhmacher, Universitat Hamburg Antifascism in Illiberal Democracy: An Eastern European Perspective Grzegorz Piotrowski, University of Gdansk and Piotr Kocyba (TU Chemnitz)

Chair/Commentator:

Stanislao Pugliese, Hofstra University

11:20 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

PANEL II: ANTIFASCISM IN THE STREETS In-Sourcing Violence: Antifascism, Anarchism, and Community Self Defense Stanislav Vysotsky, University of the Fraser Valley New Times, New Challenges: On Mobilizing and Organizing Against Fascism in the 21st Century Nigel Copsey, Teeside University and Ontario Tech University The John Brown Anti-Klan Committee and Lessons from the 1980’s Hilary Moore, Showing up for Racial Justice

Chair/Commentator:

Mark Bray, Rutgers University

12:45–1:30 p.m.

LUNCH (on your own)

1:30-2:30 p.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS (VIRTUAL) Room 211 Breslin Hall, South Campus How Serious is the Authoritarian Threat in the US, and What Can We Do about It? *Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Political Science University of Pennsylvania

2:40–4:05 p.m.

PANEL III: BUILDING A GLOBAL ANTIFASCIST MOVEMENT Strategies for Global Anti-Fascist Solidarity: Three Lessons for the 21st Century Kasper Brasken, Abo Akademi University The Invisible “Antifa-Ost”: The (Re) Discovery of an East German Anti-Fascist Movement Christin Jänicke, WZB Berlin Social Science Center Anti-Fascism: A Global Perspective Matthew Adarichev, Hofstra University Global and Comparative Anti-Fascist Tactics: The Case of Australia Vashti Fox, University of Western Australia

Chair/Commentator:

Nathan Stange, Community Activist

4:20–5:45 p.m.

PANEL IV: TEACHING ANTIFASCISM Antifascism in the Classroom: Lessons from the Spanish Civil War and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Nancy Wallach and Dennis Meaney, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives Media Literacy as a Form of Antifascist Activism Jeremy Sarachan, St. John Fisher University Antifascist Response to Far-Right Educational Absolutism Michael Vavrus, Evergreen State College Defending Democracy Means Promoting Active Citizenship Alan Singer, Hofstra University

Chair/Commentator:

Rob Linné, Adelphi University

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 9:40–11:05 a.m.

PANEL V: COMMUNICATING ANTIFASCISM: STRATEGIES, TACTICS, AND IMPLICATIONS Free Capitol Hill: The Rhetorical Anti-Fascism of the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone Matthew Parnell, Pennsylvania State University What Rhetoric Can Stop a Fascist?

Paul Lendway, Yale University Tactical Violence: Militant Antifascist Movement Repertoires and Meaning Heather-Ann Layth, Mississippi State University

Chair/Commentator:

Jack Bratich, Rutgers University

11:20 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

PANEL VI: CHALLENGING THE APPEAL OF FASCISM The Relevance of Ernst Bloch: Understanding and Overcoming Fascism’s Mass Appeal Kurt Stand, Democratic Socialist of America and Portside Neoliberalism and the Counter Resistance in the U.S.: Reflections on the Public/Private Distinction Deborah L. Spencer, Emory & Henry College

Chair/Commentator:

Barry Cohen, Portside and New Jersey Institute of Technology (ret.)

12:45-1:30 p.m.

LUNCH (on your own)

1:30 p.m.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS “Fascism, antifascism and politics of memory in Italy in a global perspective" *Eric Gobetti, Independent Scholar, Turin, Italy

2:40–4:05 p.m.

PANEL VII: ANTIFASCISM AS AN ANTICOLONIAL PROJECT Resistenze in Cirenaica and the Decolonization of Italian History David Ward, Wellesley College Anti-Fascist Solidarities, Anti-Colonialism and Contested Usable Pasts David Featherstone, University of Glasgow

Chair/Commentator:

Ani Halasz, Long Island Jobs With Justice

4:20–5:45 p.m.

PANEL VIII: ANTIFASCIST CULTURE WARRIORS: CASE STUDIES OF MUSIC AND MEMORIALS Very Popular Fronts: Music and Antifascism in the 1930s James R. Tracy, City College of San Francisco The Anti-Fascist Politics and Practices of NYC Latinx Punks Mariel Acosta-Matos, The Graduate Center (CUNY) “One Stone, One Name, One Person”: Lessons from the Stolpersteine Project in Italy Paula M. Salvio, University of New Hampshire

Chair/Commentator:

Donna Gaines, journalist, and author of Why the Ramones Matter

6–7:25 p.m.

Introductions:

ROUNDTABLE: LOCAL ANTI-FASCIST ACTIVISM Heather Bennett, Santa Monica College

*Awarded the Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Conference Scholar, Hofstra University. The award was established in 1985 in recognition of the outstanding role of the late founder of the Hofstra Cultural Center.

Dr. Astman was a humanist, a cultural comparatist, and an international scholar.