The world has been undergoing unprecedented transformations over the past two decades. Historical time has accelerated and thickened at the same time as a result of political, social, and economic challenges which led to new configurations of power on the global and local levels: the ongoing economic crisis, the collapse of welfare systems, the rise of obscene leaders on the global politics scene, the return of nationalism and various articulations of the far right, the pandemic and its instrumentalization for the suppression of democratic rights across the world. The list is certainly not exhaustive, yet it gives an idea of the tremendous transition that late modernity is undergoing in the West and beyond: bedrock assumptions of the political systems in the West, such as equality, democratization, or human rights face a systematic attack in the name of “security”, “economic development”, or the protection of “our European way of life”. Poverty is once again on the rise, but its demonization seems to be on the rise as well, via the re-emergence of a discourse that reproduces the unapologetic class-related discrimination of the 19th century.
Responses have been sporadic – albeit impressive and with global resonance, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. The question “what is to be done?” seems more pressing than ever, as the 21st century seem to have dealt heavy blows to the egalitarian promise of the 20th century. Is there still space for a politics of liberation in the current predicament? And what this politics may look like? In this perspective, our seminar proposes to open-up an intellectual meeting space for citizens, academics, activists, artists, students and anyone interested in exploring alternatives for a politics of emancipation. This is not only a call to examine the current forms of anti-capitalist resistance but also a call for thinking through difficult times and approaching the issue from a multiplicity of fields and positions, such as politics, epistemology, theory, history, or art.
Having Greece as our entry point for these discussions, the “politics of Liberation” seminar series hopes to open up a global debate with regards to current political developments and to make the South, and in particular Athens where we are based, a centre for thinking together in challenging times.
Rosa Vasilaki holds a PhD in History from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris, France) and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Bristol (UK).
She has taught courses and conducted research in higher education in Greece (Panteion University, University of Macedonia), Israel (University of Haifa) and the UK (University of Bristol, University of West of England, London School of Economics). She is currently based in Athens and teaches sociology at College Year in Athens.
Rosa has published in renown academic journals, such as Theory, Culture and Society and Millennium: Journal of International Studies but also in established political venues, such as Jacobin Magazine and the New Left Review/Sidecar.
She is the founder of DISSENSUS-social research, a research group of young and established researchers which she coordinates along with her colleague George Souvlis.
Articles
Law, Order, and Repression in Greece
Fortress Greece
Interview
Rosa Vasilaki on Migration Politics in Greece
George Souvlis holds a PhD in History and Civilization from the European University Institute (Florence, Italy). His research interests lie in the intersection of the fields of historical sociology and intellectual history. Recently, he co-edited a special issue of the journal Fascism that focused on the Metaxas regime; and he is the co-editor of the volumes: Back to the ‘30’s? Crisis, Repetition and Transition in the 20th and 21th centuries (Pagrave, 2020), Radical Journalism: Resurgence, Reform, Reaction (Routledge, 2023) and Duty to Revolt: Transnational and Commemorative Aspects of Revolution (Emerlad, 2023).
Articles
https://jacobin.com/author/george-souvlis
https://salvage.zone/?s=souvlis
https://lefteast.org/?s=souvlis
The world has been undergoing unprecedented transformations over the past two decades. Historical time has accelerated and thickened at the same time as a result of political, social, and economic challenges which led to new configurations of power on the global and local levels: the ongoing economic crisis, the collapse of welfare systems, the rise of obscene leaders on the global politics scene, the return of nationalism and various articulations of the far right, the pandemic and its instrumentalization for the suppression of democratic rights across the world. The list is certainly not exhaustive, yet it gives an idea of the tremendous transition that late modernity is undergoing in the West and beyond: bedrock assumptions of the political systems in the West, such as equality, democratization, or human rights face a systematic attack in the name of “security”, “economic development”, or the protection of “our European way of life”. Poverty is once again on the rise, but its demonization seems to be on the rise as well, via the re-emergence of a discourse that reproduces the unapologetic class-related discrimination of the 19th century.
Responses have been sporadic – albeit impressive and with global resonance, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. The question “what is to be done?” seems more pressing than ever, as the 21st century seem to have dealt heavy blows to the egalitarian promise of the 20th century. Is there still space for a politics of liberation in the current predicament? And what this politics may look like? In this perspective, our seminar proposes to open-up an intellectual meeting space for citizens, academics, activists, artists, students and anyone interested in exploring alternatives for a politics of emancipation. This is not only a call to examine the current forms of anti-capitalist resistance but also a call for thinking through difficult times and approaching the issue from a multiplicity of fields and positions, such as politics, epistemology, theory, history, or art.
Having Greece as our entry point for these discussions, the “politics of Liberation” seminar series hopes to open up a global debate with regards to current political developments and to make the South, and in particular Athens where we are based, a centre for thinking together in challenging times.
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