The Society for Socialist Studies 2023 Annual Conference
May 27-30, 2023
York University, Toronto, Canada
“Re-Imagining the Left”
The programme committee is thrilled with the roundtables and panels already planned for the conference, including sessions on academic marxism, leftist social movements and party politics, resisting far-right populism and critical theory, book launches and author roundtables, a roundtable in memory of Frank Cunningham and celebration of his intellectual legacy, as well as a plenary session of members of the Society of Socialist Studies and the Critical Political Science related group (American Political Science Association) about challenges and possibilities for the left.
RE-IMAGINING THE LEFT
2023 SOCIETY FOR SOCIALIST STUDIES CONFERENCE
MAY 27-30, YORK UNIVERSITY
FC (Founders College) | VC (Vanier College)
DB (Victor Philip Dahdaleh Building) | VH (Vari Hall)
DAY 1: MAY 27
8:00-8:30 AM
Registration available in FC 201
8:30 AM-10:00 AM
FC 203: Fossil Capitalism, Climate Breakdown and Political Contestation (Part 1)
Chair: Megan Aiken (she/they), University of Alberta
“Refusing Ecocide: From Fossil Capitalism to a Livable World”
William K. Carroll, University of Victoria
“Food and Climate – Limits and Possibilities of Localized Activism”
Sabine Dreher, York University; Nicholas Cabal
“The Role of the Globalist Conspiracy in Fossil Capital’s Regime of Obstruction”
Jacob McLean
“The Québec Clean Growth Policy-Planning Network: A Structural Analysis”
Nicolas Viens
10:00-10:30 AM
Beverages available in FC 201
10:30 AM-12:00 PM
FC 203: Peril and Possibilities: Academic Marxism, Class Struggle, and the Growth of the Right Worldwide
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: Katherine Nastovski, York University
“Right-wing Attacks on Academia in India and the question of What is to Be Done?”
Raju Das, York University
“The Sewŏl Square: Marxism and the Left-Right Division in South Korea”
Hyun Ok Park, York University
“Academic Marxism, the Left, and Autocratic Putrefaction of the Social in Turkey”
Gökbörü Sarp Tanyildiz, Brock University
“The Far Right, Liberal Capitalist Democratic Power and Academic Marxism in North America”
Robert Latham, York University
FC 202: Fossil Capitalism, Climate Breakdown and Political Contestation (Part 2)
Chair: William K. Carroll, University of Victoria
“Canada’s Nuclear Colonialism: Capitalist Realism and the Public Sphere”
Harrison Dressler, Queen’s University
“Absorbing the Costs: Alberta’s Orphan Wells and the Externalization of Liabilities”
Alie Hermanutz (they/them), Department of Politics, York University
“Climate Capitalism, Growth, and Nuclear Power Expansion in Canada”
Susan O’Donnell, St. Thomas University; Janice Harvey, St. Thomas University
“National Interest, (Neoliberal) Nationalization, and the Critique of Critical Infrastructure: The Case of the TMX”
Isaac Thornley, York University
FC 108: Reimagining Self-Determination: The Geopolitical Economy of Racial Capitalism and Imperialism
Chair: Olena Lyubchenko
“On Our Way to Europe: The Problem of Peripheral Whiteness”
Olena Lyubchenko, York University
“Rebuilding Ukraine: Decentralization Reform and Civil Society”
Sophia Ilyniak, York University
“Re-Reading Racial Capitalism and Imperialism in Post(?) Cold-War Geopolitics: From Afghanistan and Iraq to Yugoslavia and Ukraine”
Sedef Arat-Koç, Toronto Metropolitan University
“A Theory of Dialectical Transnational Historical Materialism for China’s State Capitalism and the China-US Rivalry”
David Chen, University of Toronto
“Why the Soviet Invasion (and Withdrawal) of Afghanistan was Different”
Adam Alimi, York University
1:30 PM-3:00 PM
FC 203: 2022 Errol Sharpe Book Prize Keynote, Plenary Session
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
“Home Care Fault Lines: Understanding Tensions and Creating Alliances”
Cynthia Cranford, University of Toronto
Home care is a window into the complexity of inequality and provides insight for how we might challenge injustice at multiple levels. In Home Care Fault Lines: Understanding Tensions and Creating Alliances (2020, Cornell University’s ILR Press), I argue that analyzing both tensions and the possibilities for alliances is essential for understanding, and undermining, interlocking gendered, classed, racialized and disabling power relations in care. How can we arrange home care to minimize tensions produced through these interlocking axes of oppression and maximize alliances between workers, aging and disabled people, and their organizations? I answer this question by comparing how four government-funded programs, in Toronto and Los Angeles, differ in the way they arrange home care. Focusing on the most personal in-home support, that is paid help with daily activities like bathing and eating, my analysis rests on over 300 interviews and reveals how a variety of players shape the conditions of home care service and work in unique contexts. In this talk, I will first give an overview of the argument of the book, and the cases it is based on. I will then delve into one of the Toronto cases in more depth, the social, disability model, and consider my findings in light of recent events. I will end by discussing how my current and future research projects, on new home care cases, extend the framework developed in Home Care Fault Lines, with particular attention to the possibilities and limits of coalitions.
3:00-3:30 PM
Beverages available in FC 201
3:30 PM-5:00 PM
FC 203: Jason Kenney, Danielle Smith, and Alberta’s Right: A Critical Discussion of Anger and Angst
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: Trevor Harrison, University of Lethbridge
Participants:
- Ricardo Acuna, Parkland Institute
- Bridget Stirling, University of Alberta
FC 202: Prefiguration and Left-Imaginaries
Chair: Hailey Murphy, Instructor, Brock University
Participants:
- Terry Maley, Associate Professor, Dept. of Politics, York University;
- Micha Fiedlschuster, Visiting DAAD Professor, Dept. of Politics, York University;
- Andre Luis Sales, PhD Candidate, Social and Political Thought Program, York University.
6:00-10:00 PM
Society for Socialist Studies Welcome Reception
(Banquet ticket required, purchasable with registration before May 18)
See old friends and make new ones as we come together in person for the first time as a Society since 2019!
**
DAY 2: MAY 28
8:00-8:30 AM
Registration available in FC 201
8:30 AM-10:00 AM
FC 203: The Principles and Politics of Democratic Socialism
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online (Session 1 discussion of “An Inheritance of our Times”)
Chair: Gregory Zucker, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Participants:
- Barbara Epstein, University of California Santa Cruz;
- Nancy Holmstrom, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey;
- Wilson Sherwin, Barnard College;
- Michael J. Thompson, William Paterson University;
- Ian Williams, CUNY and Foreign Press Association;
FC 108: Settler Colonialism as Social Form
Chair: James Lawson (he/his), University of Victoria
“Producing Culture, Performing Work: Notes on Judicial Difference-making through Aboriginal and Labour Rights Cases”
Phil Henderson, Carleton University; Corey Snelgrove, University of Toronto
“Reimagining Decolonization: The Nation-State and the Notion of Democration Nation”
Behnam Amini, York University
“Reconciliation and the Proletarianization of Indigenous Peoples in ‘Canada,’ an SRT Approach”
Yaroslava Avila Montenegro (she/her), York University
FC 202: Fighting for Home: Housing, Capitalism and Resistance
Chair: Cheryl Hewitt
“Dispossession by Accumulation: Housing financialization, Indigenous Jurisdiction, and the Settler-colonial Logic of Elimination”
Yutaka Dirks, York University
“Workers’ Taking over Industries in a Capitalist Infrastructure: Problems and Possibilities”
Kanchan Sarker, Algoma University
“‘You are Lucky to be Here’ – An Analysis of Anti-Blackness in Social Housing”
Evelyn Amponsah (she/her), York University
10:00-10:30 AM
Beverages available in FC 201
10:30 AM-12:00 PM
FC 203: The Democratic Socialist Tradition, Today (Roundtable)
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online (Session 2 discussion of “An Inheritance of our Times”)
Chair: Prof. Gregory Zucker, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Participants:
- Rohini Hensman, Independent Scholar;
- K. Kit Holder, Rowan University;
- Peter Hudis, Oakton Community College;
- Joy James, Williams College;
- Saskia Sassen, Columbia University;
FC 202: Resisting the Carceral State
Chair: William Kujala, College of Wooster
“The Algorithmic Panopticon”
Brandur Brandson, Independent Researcher; Jamie Magnusson (they/them), Associate Professor, Dept. of Adult Education and Community Development, OISE
“Toward a Firearms Policy Agenda for the Left”
Stephen D’Arcy (he/his), Department of Philosophy, Huron at Western University
“Data Driven Abolition: ratemycop.ca and the Verification of Equality in Cyberspace”
Daniel Platts (he/they), PhD Student, Social and Political Thought, York University
FC 305: The Ideas of Class and Capital
Chair: Raju Das
“The ‘Other’ Neoliberalism: The Ideology and Political Economy of the Third Way”
Brent Toye, York University; Dillon Wamsley, York University
“Eldercare and the Built Environment in Urban China: Capital Switching, Joint Production Theory, and Bundled Commodities”
James Lawson (he/his), University of Victoria; Feng Xu (she/hers), University of Victoria
“The New Left in China and its Implications: A Reflection”
Nana Liu, Associate Professor, Beihang University, Beijing
1:30 PM-3:00 PM
FC 203: The Lost Voice of Iulli Martov (Book Launch Roundtable)
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: Abigail Bakan, Professor, Social Justice Education (OISE) and Political Science, University of Toronto
Participants:
- Peter Hudis, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Oakton Community College;
- Kay Schweigmann-Greve, Legal Advisor, author and translator, Hannover, Germany;
- Mariya Melentyeva, PhD, University of Alberta;
- Paul Kellogg, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, Athabasca University.
FC 202: Reckonings and Re-Imaginings: Through the Lens of Marcusean Critical Theory
Chair: Terry Maley, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, York University
Participants:
- Douglas Kellner, Distinguished Research Professor of Education (Emeritus), Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California at Los Angeles;
- Arnold Farr, Professor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky;
- Andrew Lamas, Dept. of Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania;
- Savita Singh, School of Gender and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi;
- Roslyn Satchel, School of Communication and Media Studies, Kennesaw State University.
FC 305: Re-imagining Public Health
Chair: Dennis Raphael, York University
“The Spectres of Three Victorian-era Giants are Haunting Public Health: The Relevance of Chadwick, Engels, and Virchow’s Contributions to the Promotion of Public Health in the 21st Century”
Stella Medvedvuk, York University
“Private Equity Funds and Healthcare Services: A Window into the Financialization of Healthcare Services”
Matthew Tracey, University of Toronto; Sara Allin, University of Toronto
“Who are they Focused on Saving? The Canadian State and COVID-19”
Kevin Donaldson (he/him), York University
3:00-3:30 PM
Beverages available in FC 201
3:30 PM-5:00 PM
FC 203: Remembering Frank Cunningham and Celebrating his Intellectual Legacy
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: Igor Shoikhedbrod (he/him), St. Francis Xavier University
Participants:
- Ian Angus (he/him), Simon Fraser University
- Nader Hashemi (he/him), University of Denver
- Esteve Morera (he/him), York University
- Ashwani Kumar Peetush (he/him), Wilfred Laurier University
- Vida Panitch, (she/her), Carleton University (Remote)
**
DAY 3: MAY 29
8:00-8:30 AM
Registration available in FC 201
8:30 AM-10:00 AM
FC 203: Aesthetics, Performance, and Social Solidarity
Hybrid Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: William Kujala, College of Wooster
“The Visual Culture of the 1940s Indian Left: A Caste Critique”
Aatika Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi (Remote)
“Capitalism and Social Movements: Interregnum Gaps and Opportunities”
Nerea Montejo López, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Remote)
“Theorizing can Transform Authenticity into Unlivability”
Tim Hayslip, York University
“Between Drag and Mimicry: Theorizing of Feminist Labour in the State”
Patricia Weber, York University (Remote)
FC 303: Parties and Party Systems: Transition or Crisis?
Chair: James Lawson (he/his), University of Victoria
“The Liberal Media Would Rather Support a Populist than a Socialist”
Panagiotis Milonas, York University
“The ‘Morbid Symptoms’ of a Crisis: Reimagining January 6, Trumpism, and US Politics”
K.B. Pollock
“The Old Mole and the NDP: How Proportional Representation Could Help Restore the Left in Canada”
Dennis Raphael, York University; Toba Bryant, Ontario Tech University
“Can “Democratic Socialism” Find Support in Marx and Engels? Fact-checking Both Sides of the Democracy/Dictatorship Debate”
Wilfred Lynch
10:00-10:30 AM
Beverages available in FC 201
10:30 AM-12:00 PM
FC 203: Re-Imagining the Multi-Dimensional Left: Challenges and Perspectives
Hybrid Plenary Session, Livestreamed Online
Chair: Terry Maley (York University) and Nancy Love (Appalachian State University)
Participants:
- Clyde Barrow, Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley;
- Bradley MacDonald, Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado;
- Katherine Young, Professor of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Hilo;
- Nancy Love, Professor of Political Science, Appalachian State University;
- Megan Aiken, PhD Candidate, University of Alberta;
- Jamie Magnussen, Associate Professor, Dept. of Adult Education and Community Development, OISE.
12:00PM-1:00PM
Light luncheon in [ROOM TBA] before the AGM.
1:30 PM-3:00 PM
FC 203: Annual General Meeting of the Society for Socialist Studies
Please visit our website, here, to review agenda items prior to meeting. Attendees must be in good standing with the society, including an up-to-date membership.
3:30 PM-5:00 PM
VH C: Canadian Association for the Study of International Development 2023 Keynote
“Development in the 21st Century: What’s Worth Re-imagining?”
A Conversation with Robtel Pailey
Four years ago, Robtel Neajai Pailey re-invigorated a debate about the colonial underpinnings of mainstream development and its racist logics with an influential journal article entitled ‘De-centring the “White Gaze” of Development’. She has since distinguished herself as a critical public voice on decoloniality. In this ‘keynote conversation’ with CASID board member Themrise Khan, Pailey reflects on a range of issues at the intersection of scholarship and social justice, including, but not limited to: reparations as more emancipatory than aid; indigeneity as a proxy for racial minority status; mainstreaming race as an anti-racist agenda for development; diasporas as both spoilers and enablers of development; citizenship as a continuum of inclusion and exclusion; Canada as a small player in the development sector; the dichotomy between ‘global’ vs ‘international’ development; and the trajectory of Development Studies as a field of academic inquiry.
DAY 4: MAY 30
8:30 AM-3:00 PM
Honouring the Life and Work of Aziz Choudry, Presented by the Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies (CAWLS)
Join us this spring to honour the life and work of our dear comrade Dr. Aziz Choudry. This one-day event will bring together activists and scholars to reflect on some of Aziz’s many contributions inside and outside of academia, as part of the Annual Society for Socialist Studies Conference. (Note: There is no cost associated with this mini-conference).
3:15 PM-4:45 PM
DB 0006: Rik Davidson/Studies in Political Economy Book Prize Keynote
Co-Sponsored with the Canadian Political Science Association and Studies in Political Economy Journal
Chair: Hepzibah Munoz Martinez (University of New Brunswick)
The lecture showcases the work of this year’s winner of the Rik Davidson/Studies in Political Economy Book Prize in Political Economy. This year’s winner is Heather Whiteside, the author of the book Capitalist Political Economy: Thinkers and Theories. This book explores principal themes in the development of capitalism and political economic thought. and contextualizes the legacy of foundational political economists by exploring their life and times. The book prize talk will highlight some of Heather Whiteside’s new areas of research on the political economy of the state.