The Brecht Forum
and its projects,
The New York Marxist School
and
The Institute for Popular Education
122 West 27 Street, 10 floor
New York, New York 10001
(212) 242-4201
(212) 741-4563 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail)
November 1996 Events
******************ELECTION NIGHT FOLLIES*******************
Lay the '96 Elections to Rest with
Friends, Food, Drink, and Revelry!!!
Featuring Performances by:
* Emcee Judith Sloan (aka Muriel, the
first independently poor candidate for
voters with an over-abundance of ethics
* Geoff Herzog
* Eliot Katz
* Tuli Kupferberg
* Warren Lehrer
* Professor Louie and Fast Eddie
* Suheir
* Polly Weiss
*** and surprise guests....
Join us as we watch returns and usher in a new
(or old) regime!
Tuesday, November 5 from 7:30 pm on in a benefit for
The Brecht Forum
122 West 27 Street, 10 floor
(between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
$10-$20 (sliding scale); cash bar, fabulous free food,
ribald revelry, and congenial camaraderie
****************************************************************
LECTURES & SEMINARS
Friday, November 1, 7-9:30 pm and
Saturday, November 2, 9:30 am-4:30 pm
Culture Matters: A Symposium
Panelists: Rashidah Ismaili Abu Bakr, Aijaz Ahmad, Ellen Braune, Joseph
Buttigieg, Stephen Duncombe, Yerach Gover, Ed Herman, Myriam Jimenez Roman,
Colleen Roach
Tuition: $15
Why does culture matter? what is the relationship between
radical culture and radical political action? what cultural
theories are most relevant for social change? which have
led us into cul de sacs?
>From the national liberation struggles and solidarity
movements of the 1960s and 1970s to the neoliberal
"information age" of the 1980s and 1990s, increasing
attention to cultural forms of domination and resistance
has animated political theory and practice. On the threshhold
of the twenty-first century, seemingly everything has been
transformed into a commodity, religious fundamentalisms are
flourishing and resistance to capitalism is ever more
fragmented. Yet, these developments have provoked wide-ranging
responses in the arena of cultural theory and practice.
Starting from the contributions of Antonio Gramsci,
this symposium is designed as an opening dialogue in a series
of programs on culture and revolution. Panelists come from a
variety of perspectives and countries, including scholars in
media and literary studies as well as activists and
practicioners "on the ground."
*****
Thursday, November 7, 7:30 pm
"Restructuring" and Contemporary Cuban Society
a talk by Miguel Limia David
co-sponsored with Science and Society
Admission: $6
Miguel Limia David, a researcher in the Institute of
Philosophy of the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and
the Environment in Havana, will explore some of the
developmental tensions in Cuban society in the "new period."
He will draw on his extensive studies on the impact of
spontaneous and deliberate social processes in the course of
the Cuban revolution, the dialectic of individual and social
development, inter-generational dynamics, the role of popular
participation in the politics and issues of civil, political,
economic, social and cultural liberties.
*****
Thursday, November 14, 7:30 pm
Speaking Truth to Power
a book party and discussion with Manning Marable
Admission: $6
We will celebrate the publication of Manning Marable's new
book, _Speaking Truth to Power_. Drawing from his own
theoretical evolution in the left, Marable will discuss the
problems as well as possiblities inherent in American socialism
and the prospects for radical democratic politics.
Manning Marable is Professor of History at Columbia University
and National Co-Chair of the Committees of Correspondence
*****
Friday, November 15, 7:30 pm
A New Course for Labor?
a panel with Robin D.G. Kelley (moderator), Dominic Chan,
Hector Figueroa, Bill Henning, and Chris Woods
Admission: $6
Until last year's changes in the AFL-CIO leadership,
the dominant assumption of progressive activists, both in and
out of the labor movement, was that it was difficult, if not
counterproductive, to work within the AFL-CIO framework. In
what ways has this assumption changed? What organizing
and political strategies are now possible? What tensions
remain? And, whatis the role of the broader left and
progressive movement?
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley, author of _Hammer and Hoe_
and _Race Rebels_, will moderate this roundtable discussion
with Dominic Chan of Jobs With Justice, Hector Figueroa
of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Bill
Henning, Vice-President of Local 1180, Communications Workers
of America (CWA), and Chris Woods, of the AFL-CIO Organizing
Institute.
***
Monday, November 18, 7:30 pm
An Evening of Solidarity with Cuba
A Benefit for INFOMED-US
Admission: $15
A night of culture and friendship to welcome friends and
supporters of Cuba's Ministry of Public Health, attending the
annual conference of the American Public Health Association.
Music followed by presentations by U.S. and Cuban representatives.
Refreshments will be served. This event is endorsed by the Center
for Cuban Studies, the Cuba Information Center and IFCO.
*****
Thursday, November 21
Dialectics in Psychology
a talk by Eli Messinger
Admission: $6
Child Psychiatrist Eli Messinger will contrast dialectical
thinking about psychological issues with conventional
linear thinking. Dialectics highlights relational processes,
change that goes beyond incremental steps, critical moments,
the dynamics of development and the emergence of the truly
new. Messinger will draw on the work of Lev Vygotsky, Klaus
Riegel, and Erik Erikson as well as his own practice to
illustrate how a dialectical thinking applies to psychology.
In fact, many of you use a dialectally-oriented psychology
without being aware of it.
Eli Messinger practices child psychiatry in a city hospital
and directs a day hospital program. He teaches on the relevance
of marxist method to science.
*****
Friday, November 22, 7:30 pm
The Crisis at CUNY: Causes and Prospects
a talk by Joseph Murphy
Admission: $6
Former Chancellor of the City University of New York
Dr. Joseph Murphy will offer his views on how and why the
current crisis at CUNY is rooted in the Reagan administration's
undermining of the commitment to public higher education and
to open admissions in the largest urban university system in
the United States. He will exchange ideas on the kinds of
political solidarities that need to be developed to revitalize
this commitment.
Joseph Murphy is currently a professor of political science
at the CUNY Graduate Center.
*****
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
HISTORY FOR TODAY'S WORLD
The Cold War: 1945-1989
Marvin Gettleman
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm
6 sessions beginning November 5
Tuition: $35-$55 (sliding scale)
World War II opened a new phase of anti imperialist
struggles, one which overlapped but did not completely
coincide with the rivalry between the U.S. (and its allies) and
the Soviet bloc. Hot spots in this Cold War erupted in several
places (East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the
Caribbean) in which local struggles interacted with global
dynamics. On some level, the U.S. "won" this Cold War, but
the post-Cold War world may not conform to what America's
rulers wish. This course will explore the global
dimensions of the struggle (excluding Indochina, which will
be examined in the next class) and will offer several,
tentative explanatory hypotheses for these dramatic changes
in our own time.
Gettleman, an editor of _Science and Society_, has written
extensively on Indochina, Latin America, the Middle East,
and U.S. policy. He has been active in anti-imperialist
and solidarity movements for over forty years.
*****
Late Capitalism
A discussion group with Paul Cooney and John Mineka
Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm
6 sessions beginning November 6
Tuition: $35-$55 (sliding scale)
It has been over twenty years since the publication of
Ernest Mandel's classic text, _Late Capitalism_, yet many of
the issues and themes are still very relevant today. This
discussion group will examine Mandel's work on topics such as
neo-colonialism and unequal exchange, long waves and
technological revolutions, theories of crisis, and the role of
the state and ideology in late capitalism. We will also extend
the discussion and analysis through to the current period
dominated by neoliberalism, identifying the continuities and
differences with earlier periods.
*****
An Introduction to Forum Theater
led by the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory
Workshop: Friday, December 6, 6-9 pm and
Saturday, December 7, 10 am-4 pm
Tuition: $50
Performance/Demonstration: Saturday, December 7, 8 pm
Admission to public: $6
The workshop features exercises, games and improvised scene
work from the Theater of the Oppressed repertory developed
by Brazilian director and Workers Party (PT) activist Augusto
Boal. Workshop participants will join in a public perfomance/
demonstration on Saturday night.
Boal's approach emphasizes physical dialogues, non-verbal
imagery, consensus building and problem-solving. Preparatory
games explore relations of power and group solutions to
concrete problems raised by participants, transforming
spectators into "spect-actors"--protagonists of the theatrical
action. The aim of the forum is not to find an ideal solution,
but to invent new ways of confronting oppression.
Members of the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory have worked
with Boal since 1990 and have presented training workshops
at the Brecht Forum and at other venues throughout the United
States.
*****
SPANISH CLASSES
Small classes emphasize participation and conversation,
without neglecting grammar. Edgar Betelu and Werner Stadler
are native speakers with extensive teaching experience.
Pre-registration is advised. For more information please
call (212) 242-4201.
Beginning Spanish
Edgar Betelu
Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm
8 weeks (16 sessions) beginning December 2
Tuition: $320
*****
Intermediate Spanish
Werner Stadler
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm
8 weeks (8 sessions) beginning December 3
Tuition: $160
*****
Advanced Spanish
Werner Stadler
Mondays, 5:30-7:30 pm
8 weeks (8 sesions) beginning December 2
Tuition: $160
*****
The Brecht Forum, founded in 1975, is an independent
institution of the left and is not affiliated with any
political party or other organization. Participation in
events is open to all, and nobody is turned away for
inability to pay.
Become a Brecht Forum subscriber. Tuition and lecture fees
cover only one-third of our expenses. The rest comes
primarily from donations large and small from a dedicated
community of friends and supporters. For a minimum
contribution of $15 a month, you can become a Brecht Forum
subscriber and get free admission to all Brecht Forum
lectures and classes (excluding language classes and
Theater of the Oppressed workshops). Your contribution is
tax-deductible, and it is a way of ensuring that our doors
stay open. Call (212) 242-4201 for more information.
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