precarious life & times

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Culture Of Dissent

The question: will #OccupyEverything influence #CEW2011. Will all that is blowing in the wind play out in &/or influence the community (such as it is) of adjunct, contingent faculty and other NT knowledge workers? If so, how? If not, why? Awaiting your comments.

The Culture Of Dissent is re-posted from Firedog Lake where Billy Glad blogs at Annals Of The Hiests like Occupy Wall Street — fast becoming Occupy Your Street (Any Street) — and October 2011, coming soon to Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. The protestors have rejected politics. They are wide awake. They no longer believe a political solution to America’s problems is possible. They are determined to win or lose in the streets, and they are committed to the notion that culture trumps politics. (Think of the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-war, anti-draft movement that ended the Vietnam War and the Johnson Presidency at the price of undermining The Great Society and opening the door of the Oval Office for Richard Nixon.) The way, we used to say, the cookie crumbles. [cont'd.]

Five Things That #OccupyWallStreet Has Done Right

What can can adjuncts, contingent faculty and other marginalized academic knowledge workers learn from Occupy Wall Street about organizing and building a movement that we can't from either marketing strategies or by the book union methods?

"#OccupyWallStreet protests are now well into their second week, and they are increasingly capturing the public spotlight. This is because, whatever limitations their occupation has, the protesters have done many things right."

1. They chose the right target.

2. They made a great poster.

3. They gave their action time to build.

4. They created a good scenario for conflict.

5. They are using their momentum to escalate.

"... the fact that #OccupyWallStreet has not relied on established progressive organizations ends up being a strength. Its independent participants are inspired by the increasing attention their critique of Wall Street is getting, and they are willing to make greater sacrifices now that their action has begun to capture the public imagination."

Read more about the Five Things That #OccupyWallStreet Has Done Rightat Talking Union .Rephrase the above statement, making judicious substitutions for "Occupy" and "Wall Street." Start thinking about how we could adapt them, scale them down for CEW.

'via Blog this'

Friday, September 30, 2011

Occupation Updates: Breaks in the Media Blackout

NFM has been following, sharing links on FB but not covering Occupy Wall Street in the same depth as either Defend Education and 'Junct Rebellion. Our readers, however, are following events and sharing similar dismay over the conspicuous absence of US mainstream media. This makes a welcome update - and, for others less keenly interested, a cautionary reminder against being too dismissive of a grassroots reaction. Having trouble viewing this? View it on the FAIR website

Activism Update: Some Breaks in the Blackout of Wall Street Protests, 9/29/11

After a FAIR Action Alert (9/23/11) criticized the virtual media blackout of the Occupy Wall Street protests, corporate news coverage has increased--sparked largely by the escalating police brutality at the ongoing demonstration. (See FAIR Blog, 9/23/11, for a sample of the messages sent by FAIR activists to the network nightly news shows.)

Upcoming Conferences on #Highered Issues

Some upcoming events posted on the Academe blog, with the request that you email at academeblog@aaup.org if you have events to recommend. Please share them with us too. We're trying to develop a national event calendar and plan to add a calendar feature to the newsletter. Post questions and event recommendations in comments. The following list does not include contingent faculty issue panels or sessions at professional and discipline specific association meetings. We welcome adding those to our list too.

“The Higher Education Crisis in Texas: An AAUP Advocacy Workshop,” October 29, 2011, Austin, Texas.
The Second National Gathering of The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education, Friday, November 4th, 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, November 6th, 2011, 12:00 p.m., University of Massachusetts, Boston.
AAUP Shared Governance Conference and Workshops, November 11–13, 2011, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC.
SEIU L500 Coalition of Academic Labor Conference 2011, 3rd annual conference on part-time faculty unions, Saturday November 19th, 2011, 9am to 1pm, Washington, DC. Contact Anne McLeer <McLeerA@seiu500.org>
National Summit on January 28: “Reclaiming Academic Democracy: Facing the Consequences of Contingent Employment in Higher Education”—sponsored by the New Faculty Majority Foundation
39th Annual National Conference A Joint Labor/Management Meeting Academic Collective Bargaining Under Siege: Implications for a Public Good, April 1, 2, 3, 2012, National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, Hunter College, NYC
“How Class Works” Conference, June 7-9, 2012, Stony Brook, NY, SUNY
AAUP Annual Conference on the State of Higher Education, June 13 –17, 2012, Mayflower Renaissance, Washington, DC.

Posted via email from Academentia

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Whither U? "Charting the Future of Higher Education"

But who or what is Education Sector (self described as innovative and an "independent think tank")? Siegfried Sassoon's definition of foxhunting (the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible) comes to mind.

YouTube clips from Education Sector's September 15, 2011, event, "Charting the Future of Higher Education"

Panelists
for this event include: Zakiya Smith, Senior Advisor for Education, White House Domestic Policy Council; A. Craig Powell, CEO, ConnectEDU; Robert W. Mendenhall, President, Western Governors University; Kevin Carey, Policy Director, Education Sector; Paul Glastris, Editor, Washington Monthly (as moderator), with introductory remarks by Jamie Merisotis, President, Lumina Foundation for Education.
This event will be videotaped and recordings will be available following the event.
Education Sector and Washington Monthly thank the Lumina Foundation for its support of this event.