CFP: Creative Activisms (1/20/04; journal issue)

full name / name of organization: 
colin wright
contact email: 

Dear academics/ activists/writers/ thinkers/ journalists/ polemicists,

    Please see below the latest call for papers for Situation Analysis, =
an exciting new journal which provides a forum for the interface between =
critical thought and international current affairs. We encourage an =
examination of the relation between theory and world events, soliciting =
passionate responses to the most urgent themes of our time.
Creative Activisms=20
Deadline for submission: 20th January 2004=20

Given the flagrant disregard for majority opinion over the war in Iraq =
displayed by countries claiming to be democratic, the question of what =
activists can do to effect actual changes has gathered a real urgency. =
Why do we all feel so voiceless, not only over Iraq but with respect to =
other issues, and what can we do about it? Such questions need to be =
asked clearly and loudly, but they also demand always contingent, always =
strategic, but always very real and pragmatic answers. We hope you can =
provide the beginnings of such answers.=20

Situation Analysis asks, then, in its fourth issue: what are the most =
effective modes of protest today in the context of globalization? what =
forms of activism (for which we may feel a certain nostalgia) are =
nonetheless impotent at the present conjuncture? must we protest by =
marching under banners, or are there subtler, and perhaps more =
effective, methods? what about less obvious forms of activism such as =
the satirical, comic, polemic, journalistic, academic, literary, and =
artistic? what about the role of the visual, as evidenced by TV news, =
posters, graffiti, and cartoons? what do theoretical paradigms really =
offer us when it comes to activisms? can theoretical discourse initiate =
radical change or does it require the visible outcome of protest? should =
protest be conducted via official protocols of representation, enabling =
small but real gains, or is something more anarchic called for, such as =
civil disobedience? and is protest an 'arm' of democracy, or a sign of =
its failure?=20

This issue of Situation Analysis is conceived as a forum for both =
sharing positive experiences of activism, thereby testifying to the =
solidarity among activists across various causes, but also for asking =
the most pertinent, pressing, and potentially unpleasant questions of =
activism, starting with the most basic: does it actually work?=20

We seek contributions around these themes of between two and five =
thousand words in length, although shorter pieces will certainly be =
considered. For more detailed information about submission requirements, =
please feel free to contact the editors =
(editorial_at_situationanalysis.com), or consult our website at =
www.situationanalysis.com where you will also find previous issues of =
the journal.

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Received on Fri Aug 29 2003 - 11:22:30 EDT