Celebrating Dissent: 60 Years of Socialist Study
The Society for Socialist Studies 2027 Annual Conference
May 28-31, 2027
University of Victoria, Territories of the
Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples [Victoria, BC, Canada]
Submit a Session Proposal Here
Preliminary deadline for submissions: November 15, 2026
2027sssconference@gmail.com
As scholars, activists, and community members on the left, we tend – rightly – to observe and organize against the destructive operations of capital, bourgeois/colonial states, and other forms of domination. Yet, while there remains much to struggle against, we can see what historic struggles have produced: an uprising of miners, farmers, and Indigenous peoples has shaken the emergent oligarchy in Bolivia; a growing global movement of anti-Zionism is placing settler-colonialism in West Asia on the backfoot; consciousness-raising against authoritarianism, successes for democratic socialist candidates, and a mass anti-ICE movement offer the shoots of left possibility within the United States. In Canada, there may be hope in a revitalized New Democratic Party under the leadership of Avi Lewis. Within our universities, struggles continue for academic freedom, as well as against cuts and labour precarity, but we must continue to seek out and form community ties.
It is in this spirit that the 2027 Society for Socialist Studies conference urges us to celebrate dissent. Not celebrate as if to say that we are done dissenting, or that dissent itself is a replacement for taking power. But celebration of the work that has been done, is being done, and must continue to be done. Through celebrating dissent – celebrating the grassroots organizers and the struggles against oppression – we can work toward collective liberation and enliven ourselves in the process.
The year 2027 also marks 60 years of the Society for Socialist Studies, making our organization one of the oldest explicitly left academic associations in North America. Our membership and our organization’s principled stances on a variety of issues – from labour rights through to opposing genocide – have made profound contributions to both scholarship and the overall state of Canadian academe. This conference celebrates that legacy of scholarly dissent, and rejuvenates our collective capacity to carry on these struggles in, against, and beyond the university. As parallel programming to the regular conference, we are also planning a symposium dedicated to the history of the Society. In this vein, if you are interested in proposing a paper, panel, or other session that speaks specifically to this symposium, please indicate this on your submission form.
As a standalone event (i.e., not part of Congress 2027), the Society for Socialist Studies will hold its annual conference at the University of Victoria from May 28-31, 2027. In organizing the event, the conference committee currently welcomes proposals for open sessions (firm October 1st deadline), closed sessions, and individual papers* on topics including, but not limited to:
Abolition, Carcerality, and ‘Law’
Alternatives to Capitalism
Anti-Racism, Theories and Praxis
Border Imperialism, Migration, and Status
Disruption and Tactics of Dissent
Decolonization and Indigenous Sovereignties
Feminist Methods, Struggles, Triumphs
International Political Economy
Law, State, and Regulation
Marxist Methods, Modes, and Movements
Media, Communications, and Surveillance
Movements: Horizons and Limitations
Organizing for Dissent
Peace Movements and Armed Struggles
Pedagogies of the Insurgent Classes
Queer and Trans Liberation against Genocide
Resisting Fascism
Socialisms: Traditions and Projects
Socialism, Anti-Capitalism, the Environment
Socialist Studies: Prospects and Retrospects
Technological Trends: Promises and Perils
The Social(ist) Determinants of Health
Beyond ‘traditional’ academic formats, we also welcome and strongly encourage submissions from activists, movement organizations, unionists, etc., that can take the form of workshops, roundtables, strategy sessions, and more. Please use this as a space that welcomes all left tendencies and seeks to build connections between researchers and frontline struggles.
If you have questions about the form or appropriateness of session proposal, please contact the organizers at: 2027sssconference@gmail.com
See the Open Panels (PDF)
Information on session types:
● Open sessions are proposed sessions under a specific topic but do not yet contain a full roster of presenters; presenters can be populated either from direct submissions to the call for papers requesting to join a session or will be sorted into the open sessions after the call for proposals is closed. Open session proposals must be submitted by the October 1st preliminary deadline to allow circulation.
● Closed sessions are proposed sessions under a specific topic where the session convenor will plan the full roster of presenters (convenors will be asked to provide as much information about the session participants as possible upon submitting their proposal). Closed sessions can consist of paper presentations but can also be a roundtable, workshop, or book talk (i.e., ‘author meets critics’).
● Individual papers are standalone paper presentations that will be sorted into sessions by the conference committee.