I just heard a description of the "Rethinking Marxism" conference that occurred in Amherst late last year. The reporter (Olga Celle de Bowman, a sociologist from Peru) said that there was a tremendous amount of (verbal) conflict between the audience and the speakers at the plenaries, something I hadn't heard about before. She said that the activists in the audience were objecting to the lack of answers to the key "what is to be done?" question and the lack of any kind of orientation toward people outside of academe. Was anyone on pen-l at the conference and has a different perspective on the conflict? in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.