Counterhegemonies, intellectual work and social justice in changed times

A CONFERENCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETIREMENT OF UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY CHAIR, PROFESSOR RAEWYN CONNELL

6 September 2014

Raewyn Connell’s work over the past 40 years has been an enduring dedication to making social science relevant to struggles for social justice and a liveable future for human society. On the occasion of her retirement, the Sydney School of Education and Social Work is pleased to provide members of the public and of the academic world, generally, with an opportunity for further engagement in these struggles.

As Professor Connell explains: "In Australia, the past few years don’t seem a good time for such struggles, given the resurgence of racism and sexism, the collapse of Labor, the success of the fear politics of ‘border protection’ – in an international context of the hegemony of neoliberalism and the strength of authoritarianism. Yet we should bear in mind that all these trends are vigorously contested – locally in continuing social movements, internationally in the ‘pink tide’ across Latin America, in the Arab Spring, and more.

"The topic of the conference will be our historical moment, the current situation of counterhegemonic movements, and possible ways beyond this time of reaction and violence. The specific focus is the classic question of the role of intellectuals and intellectual work in social and political change, rethought in the era of neoliberalism and the Internet."

These themes will be addressed by one of Professor Connell’s earliest PhD students, Gary Dowsett, and our current PhD student, Fernando Serrano. Recent PhD student Louisa Smith will apply Raewyn’s own “Life History” approach to provide an account of Raewyn. We invite you to participate in breakout groups to discuss the following:

• Education: with a focus on projects and pedagogies that break out beyond the neoliberal regime of privatisation, surveillance and competitive testing, and the educational needs and resources of groups most in need of institutions being transformed. (Convenor: Arathi Sriprakash)



• Class relations: with a focus on analyses that link the local creation of poverty and wealth with the global restructuring of power, work, finance and trade, and the new forms of struggle such as social-movement unionism, that arise around these transformations. (Convenor: Craig Campbell)



• Gender relations: with a focus on how structural change can be achieved in an era when gender reform is unable to rely on a developmental state; exploring the strategies of new feminisms, queer movements, and the politics of masculinities. (Convenor: Sue Goodwin)



• Intellectual labour: with a focus on emerging practices that contest knowledge hierarchies and build South-South links – requiring a postcolonial rethinking of the social character of knowledge. (Convenor: Patrick Brownlee)

Draft program

Event details

• When: 9am–5pm
  
• Where:

  Lecture Theatre Room 101, New Law School Building
  
  Click image for interactive map.

  
  
• Cost: Free but RSVP is essential because places are limited.
  Because this event is catered and places are expected to be in high demand, if you are unable to attend after registration, you must advise the organiser.



• RSVP: Closing date – August 29.
  Register online now by entering your details below. Click 'register' once and wait for the screen to refresh. You will receive a confirmation email.
  
• Dress code: Smart casual
  

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