Krisekonference
27th April 2013 11:00 – 17:30
Gothersgade 140, 1123 KBH K Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultetsbibliotek
Free entrance; first come, first served. E-mail your full name to: krise.css@gmail.com
Thanks for the economical support to: Dansk Magisterforening Magistrenes Arbejdsløshedskasse Sociologisk Institut (KU) Institut for Statskundskab (KU)
There is crisis in the crisis discussion
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Keynote speakers
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Workshops Crisis in the core land of neoliberal capitalism
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It is the women who pay for the crisis
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Time for outrage?
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Money in literature
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New economic thinking?
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A trade union perspective on the crisis
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KRISE
There is crisis in the crisis discussion In a normal classroom, on a normal Tuesday at the beginning of this year, we had a gathering. We, ten young people, met to discuss a normal topic. You could almost call it ordinary. Unoriginal. Abused by the media and mass distributed. But still with unexplored content. Lots of it. That is why one meeting turned into many. The subject was the financial crisis, and we are proud to announce that the many meetings resulted in a big conference. I will happen on the 27th of April and offer differently angled workshops, all described in the following program. We created the program based on the idea that social sciences all together have the possibility of contributing to a more varied debate about the crisis. That is why the conference offers a variety of participants, from activists and trade unionists belonging to Danish and international movements to Ph.D. students and researchers in literature, economics, etc. The conference is based on voluntary work from the organizers and participants. We are driven by the acknowledgement that we feel it necessary for we all take part in the debate about the financial crisis if we wish for a brighter future. We hope to see you all on the 27th of April! /The crisis group 4
KRISE
Keynote speakers Erik Hoffmeyer National Economist from Copenhagen University, 1951. Former Professor of Economics at Copenhagen University and the University of Southern Denmark. Chairman of the National Bank of Denmark, 1965-1994. An historically founded analysis of the financial crisis in 2008, with a focus on the subsequent public debt crisis in the Euro-Zone. Suggested literature: - Charles P. Kindleberger 2000. Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, Fourth Edition.
Pil Christensen Sociologist from Copenhagen University, 2013. Public intellectual, author and activist, blogger at modkraft.dk. On the crisis, privat debt, and potentials for political resistance in the neoliberal age. Suggested literature: - David Harvey 2011. The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism. Oxford University Press, US, Second Edition. - Mauricio Lazzarato 2012. The Making of Indebted Man: Essay on the Neoliberal Condition. MIT Press, Reprint Edition. - Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri 2012. Declaration. Argo-Navis.
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Crisis in the core land of neoliberal capitalism – On English politics in times of crisis Since the late 1970s “neoliberal” politics have been the common ground of all political parties in England. Rising house prices and rents, stagnant wages, outsourcing and privatisations have become a day-to-day experience. The crisis accelerated all of these processes, and all large political parties agree that the best way to protect finance and high-value industry is to reduce state spending. In this workshop, three young influential English analysts will help interpreting the intertwining crises of capital, reproduction and social unrest in the UK. What is the way forward when it seems that the only way is down? What is the role of the first generation of youngs whose living standards will be lower than those of their parents? Participants: - Aaron Peters, Ph.D. student at Royal Holloway University in London, founder of UK-Uncut and Novara Media, social media wizard, and radio host. - Benedict Seymour, lecturer at Goldsmith University in London, film-maker, and editor of Mute Magazine.. - Danny Hayward, Ph.D. student at Birkbeck University in London. His work touches upon critical theory, economy and literature. Suggested literature: - Misery and Debt, Endnotes no. 2, 2010. - Loren Goldner, Fictitious Capital for Beginners, Mute Magazine, vol. 2, no. 6. - Rocamadur & Blaumachen, The feral underclass hits the streets: On the English riots and other ordeals, SIC, no. 2, 2013.
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Room no. 07.00.22
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It is the women who pay for the crisis – On reproductive work and the role of women in the crisis In this workshop we will be exploring the worlds of care and reproductive labour from a viewpoint of feminist economics and theory. We will be using diagrammatic as well as playful approaches for mapping out the role of care in our lives and our economies, in order to ask: what is care to this crisis? We all know that austerity impacts mostly on women, whose burdens quadruple in the context of crisis: here we will use the occasion to question habitual ways of thinking about work, economics and organisation. Participants: - K¨ athe Knittler, economist, wrote an introduction to feminist economics and more about precarity and social movements. - Manuela Zechner, artist, has a PhD in Business and Management from Queen Mary University in London where she wrote about social movements, reproductive work and feminism in crisis. Suggested literature: Precarias – http://caringlabor.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/precarias-a-la-derivafirst-stutterings-of-precarias-a-la-deriva/ Gibson Graham – http://www.communityeconomies.org/site/assets/media/old%20website%20pdfs/ Papers/on%20rethinking%20the%20economy/Feminising%20the%20economy.pdf
Room no. 07.00.18
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Time for outrage? – On social mobilization in Denmark, England and Spain All around Europe, the crisis has had severe consequences for large parts of the civil population. This has called for social mobilization of dimensions yet unheard of in Denmark. This workshop will concern strategies for social mobilization, combined with a discussion with activists from social movements based in Denmark, England and Spain, of how civil society can play an active and political role in relation to the crisis, on a national, as well as, global level. Participants: - Aaron Peters, UK Uncut, an English grassroots movement protesting against government spending-cuts, through direct action. - V´ıtor Peiteado Fern´ andez og Iv´ an S. Pasar´ın, from Crisis Mirror, an activist network based in Copenhagen, with the purpose of mobilizing and informing about the crisis. - Raimundo Viejo, from a protest movement known as the 15M, that emerged as a result of the wave of protests in Spain in 2011. - Yannick Harrison og Christian Damholt, from Change Bank Day, a Danish initiative urging people to change their bank and transform the banking sector. Suggested literature: - St´ephane Hessel, Indignez-Vous! (Time for outrage!), 2010 - Noam Chomsky, Occupy (Pamphlet), 2012 - Den Usynlige Komi´e, Den Kommende Opstand, 2007
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Room no. 07.00.22
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Money in literature – On literature’s role in the subjective perception of money From the world economics derives an inevitable condition for human existence. That’s how Jonathan Franzen describes the world in his novel Freedom. Some would understand it just as a good story, but how does literature affect our perception of money on a higher level? With a starting point in American literature, this workshop will describe changes in the subjective perception of money, from Nixon’s suspension of the convertibility of the dollar into gold in 1971 to today’s electronic money circulation. This workshop is to increase awareness about the meaning, which stories about, definitions of and metaphors about money has in our daily life, while at the same time raising the question about whether these stories could be different? Participants: - Henrik Torjusen, Ph.D. student at University of Oslo, Institute of literature, regional studies and European languages. Suggested literature: Skønlitteratur: - Jonathan Franzen, Frihed - Lars Skinnebach, I morgen findes systemerne igen - Signe Schlichtkrull, Krak Faglitteratur: - Viviana Zelizer, The Social Meaning of Money - Georg Lakoff & Mark Johnson, Hverdagens metaforer - Henrik Torjusen, Penge og litteratur, Standart, no. 1, 2012
Room no. 07.00.40
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New economic thinking? – On economic thinking after the crisis The economic crisis started in the financial sector, but has spread too all sectors of society. Despite of this, very little have change in our thinking about the economy. None of the traditional economic models were able to predict or comprehend the largest economic crash since the 1930s. Yet nonetheless the same economic models form the basis of the response to the crisis. This workshop invites the participant to get analysis on what is wrong with the current mainstream economic thinking and participate in a discussion on what should be changed. The panel will include Prof. Katrine Juselius from the University of Copenhagen Participants: - Professor Katrine Juselius from University of Copenhagen. Suggested litterature: -
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Steve Keen, Debunking Economics Colin Crouch, The strange non-death of Neoliberalism Josep Stiglitz, Freefall Gerard Dumenil & Dominique Levy, The crisis of neoliberalism
Room no. 07.00.40
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A trade union perspective on the crisis – On the relationship between unions and universities in crisis times We have invited two resourceful veterans from the Danish labour movement to kickstart the discussion on the crisis, youth unemployment, the recent reforms of Danish transfer payments and the need for new alliances between workers and academics. This workshop will deal with the following questions: Does ‘the Danish model’ have a future at all, or are we heading straight towards German wage conditions? In what ways are the university and its students currently letting down the labour movement’s struggle for better living conditions for wage earners? And how do we prevail in the struggle against cutbacks of unemployment benefits –in the longer term? Afterwards, the floor will open for discussion. Join us and contribute to revitalize the fighting spirit in the Danish labour movement! Participants: - Frederik Dehlholm, Chairman of the Danish Association for Masters and PhDs. - Bent Moos [to be confirmed], Union Secretary, United Federation of Danish Workers, Privat Service, Hotels & Hospitality Branch. Suggested literature: - Studenterfrontens Arbejdsmedicingruppe, ˚ Arhus Universitet, Malerrapporten en foreløbig rapport om sundhedsfarerne i Malerfaget, Forlaget Modtryk, 1972 - Mattias Tesfaye, Vi er ikke dyr, men vi er tyskere, Forlaget Sohn, 2010 - International Labour Organization, Trade Unions and the Global Crisis. Labour’s Visions, Strategies, and Responses, 2011, (http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS 163855/lang–en/index.htm)
Room no. 07.00.28
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Schedule 11:00 - 12:30
Welcome plenum – Keynotes
12:30 - 12:45
Pause
Room no.
07.00.18
07.00.22
07.00.28
07.00.40
12:45 - 14:15
It is the women who pay for the crisis (1)
Crisis and social reproduction
A trade union perspective on the crisis
Money in literature
14:15 - 15:15
15:15 - 16:45
Frokost It is the women who pay for the crisis (2)
New economic thinking?
Time for outrage?
16:45 - 17:00
Pause
17:00 - 17:30
Closing plenum
17:30 - ??
Beer and wine