[ELECTRON] Fwd: CALL: 'IN THE WAY' Free Hetherington Summer School (occupied space), June 27th - July 3rd

Wed May 18 15:21:25 UTC 2011

 (please forward this email to all those who may find it interesting, a PDF
version of the call is attached, as is a plain-text  version of this email)

i*n *t*he *w*ay                                  ,∆*

*
*

*Summer School*

*contact: *fhsummerschool at gmail.com

27th June – 3rd July

at *The Free Hetherington *

*(permanent occupied space at Glasgow University)*

*
*

*1. Call for Participants*

> We wanted to have a ‘radical’ thought summer school, but then we realized
> that we weren’t sure what the word meant any more, or who owned it.
>
>
>
> Events in Glasgow, the UK, and further away (which feel closer than ever
> before) seem to have become strange, hopeful, defiant, violent, but are we
> still having fun? Are we still acting productively? Opportunities are
> opening up, but who is managing the crises to their best advantage?
>
>
>
> We need to get into this crisis, not out of it.
>

*2. Call*

> We are calling for participants for a week of events and interventions in
> Glasgow, from groups or individuals working in any discursive, educational
> and/or struggle situation from around the country and overseas. We are
> looking for any writers, activists, thinkers, performers and artists who
> have a political aspect to their work. We encourage participants to be open
> about their political alignments. Key themes we might be interested in are
> (and which will form the basis for a series of themed days):
>
>
>

   - Education
   - Globalization
   - Space
   - Climate
   - Gender
   - Poverty
   - Violence
   - The return of the political

All those attending the Summer School will be participants, to the extent
that they wish to. There is no need to 'book' a place, but it will be
helpful for the organisers if you respond indicating your intention to
attend. Similarly, if you wish to give a talk / performance / panel, please
get in contact.

 *3. Contact*

Please contact with questions, and to indicate your interest in the summer
school.

 Email: fhsummerschool at gmail.com

<fhsummerschool at gmail.com>

0776 653 7259

0783 593 2677

Free Hetherington Summer School Facebook
Group<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Hetherington-Summer-School-27th-June-3rd-July/197213476990251?ref=ts&sk=wall>

 *
*

*4. Further Details:*

**

**

*
*

*Address*

The Free Hetherington

13 University Gardens,

Glasgow,

G12 8QH

http://mapof.it/free+hetherington

http://freehetherington.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/#!/glasgowoccupied<http://freehetherington.wordpress.com>

http://www.facebook.com/FreeHetherington
 <http://freehetherington.wordpress.com>

<http://freehetherington.wordpress.com>

*Format*

A week of: discussions, talks, workshops, performances, skill shares and
actions. Timetable to be confirmed.

 *Aim*

To stage an intervention into the debate on the reconfigurations of:
politics, education and work. To further the consequences of the recent
uprisings and the increase in politicization of our societies.

 *Audience*

Precarious workers, academics/teachers/students, community groups, arts
groups, campaigners and activists, and all others.

*Resources*

We can provide:

   - Free accommodation (please book).
   - Meeting attendees at train and bus stations.
   - Free evening meal each day (vegan).
   - Spaces: 60-70 capacity meeting room. Larger lecture spaces on request.
   - Projector, computer terminals, sound recording/replay equipment.
   - The Summer School wishes to be accessible to all. The Free Hetherington
   has a 'Safe Spaces' Agreement. If you have other needs please get in
   contact.

*Background*

The occupation at The University of Glasgow - which has been in force since
the 1st of February 2011, save for one short break during an eviction -
celebrated its 100th day on 11th of May. That is 100 days since the
‘defunct’ Hetherington Research Club was reopened as the ‘Free
Hetherington’. This club, a postgraduate and staff union, ran into
difficulties in early 2010. Proposals to keep it open were not taken up by a
management already inflicting a programme of staff and course cuts, and
preparing the ground for more. In a narrative that is becoming familiar, it
was closed as a convenient way to make a quick saving on a student-run
autonomous body that did not meet the ‘strategic aims’ identified by the
management group.

>From the beginning the occupiers were aware that a simple protest against
the loss of a student service wasn’t sufficient. Too much damage was being
done across the institution and the city to simply defend one resource.
Everyone was under attack. There had to be a contestation, temporally and
spatially. The question had to be asked: who holds the power in this
institution: management, or the staff and students? The response at Glasgow
was simple, the occupiers would ‘take’ a space from management, and they
would stay there indefinitely. The space is now run on a non-commercial
basis, relying on a range of tactics and tendencies, by a form of direct
consensus democracy, and the strategy seems to have worked. What next?

Sincerely,

The Free Hetherington Occupiers and Summer School
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in the way                                  ,?
Summer School
27th June – 3rd July

at The Free Hetherington
(permanent occupied space at Glasgow University)

(please forward this email to all those who may find it interesting, a PDF version of the call is attached, as is a plain-text version of this email)

1. Call for Participants

We wanted to have a ‘radical’ thought summer school, but then we realized that we weren’t sure what the word meant any more, or who owned it.

Events in Glasgow, the UK, and further away (which feel closer than ever before) seem to have become strange, hopeful, defiant, violent, but are we still having fun? Opportunities are opening up, but who is managing the crises to their best advantage?

We need to get into this crisis, not out of it.

2. Call

    We are calling for participants for a week of events and interventions in Glasgow, from groups or individuals working in any discursive, educational and/or struggle situation from around the country and overseas. We are looking for any writers, activists, thinkers, performers and artists who have a political aspect to their work. We encourage participants to be open about their political alignments. Key themes we might be interested in are (and which will form the basis for a series of themed days):

        Education
        Globalization
        Space
        Climate
        Gender
        Poverty
        Violence
        The return of the political

    All those attending the Summer School will be participants, to the extent they wish to. If you wish to attend, please get in contact (see below)

3. Contact

Please contact with questions, and to indicate your interest in the summer school.

Email: fhsummerschool at gmail.com

# 0776 653 7259
# 0783 593 2677

Summer School Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Hetherington-Summer-School-27th-June-3rd-July/197213476990251?ref=ts&sk=wall

4. Further Details:

Address:
The Free Hetherington
13 University Gardens,
Glasgow,
G12 8QH

http://mapof.it/free+hetherington
http://freehetherington.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/#!/glasgowoccupied
http://www.facebook.com/FreeHetherington

Format

A week of: discussions, talks, workshops, performances, skill shares and actions. Timetable to be confirmed.

Aim

To stage an intervention into the debate on the reconfigurations of: politics, education and work. To further the consequences of the recent uprisings and the increase in politicization of our societies.

Audience

Precarious workers, academics/teachers/students, community groups, arts groups, campaigners and activists, and all others.

Resources

We can provide:

    Free accommodation (please book).
    Meeting attendees at train and bus stations.
    Free evening meal each day (vegan).
    Spaces: 60-70 capacity meeting room. Larger lecture spaces on request.
    Projector, computer terminals, sound recording/replay equipment.
    The Summer School wishes to be accessible to all. The Free Hetherington has a 'Safe Spaces' Agreement. If you have other needs please get in contact.

Background

The occupation at The University of Glasgow - which has been in force since the 1st of February 2011, save for one short break during an eviction - celebrated its 100th day on 11th of May. That is 100 days since the ‘defunct’ Hetherington Research Club was reopened as the ‘Free Hetherington’. This club, a postgraduate and staff union, ran into difficulties in early 2010. Proposals to keep it open were not taken up by a management already inflicting a programme of staff and course cuts, and preparing the ground for more. In a narrative that is becoming familiar, it was closed as a convenient way to make a quick saving on a student-run autonomous body that did not meet the ‘strategic aims’ identified by the management group.

From the beginning the occupiers were aware that a simple protest against the loss of a student service wasn’t sufficient. Too much damage was being done across the institution and the city to simply defend one resource. Everyone was under attack. There had to be a contestation, temporally and spatially. The question had to be asked: who holds the power in this institution: management, or the staff and students? The response at Glasgow was simple, the occupiers would ‘take’ a space from management, and they would stay there indefinitely. The space is now run on a non-commercial basis, relying on a range of tactics and tendencies, by a form of direct consensus democracy, and the strategy seems to have worked. This article tells the story of the occupation at the University of Glasgow: its causes, its experiences, its successes and failures, and its plans for the future.

Sincerely,

The Free Hetherington Occupiers and Summer School

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