Undercommoning: A Day of Radical Study with SYFU and Friends
Saturday 15 October 2016 11:00am – 23:00pm
sorryyoufeeluncomfortable invite all those whom the neoliberal, neo-colonial university casts in its shadow to our contribution to a decentralised, global day of radical study and action against and beyond the university-as-such.
In response to a callout from the US based Undercommoning Collective, we reached out to our networks of radical thinkers and practitioners to put together an event exploring the complex ideas of Fred Moten’s seminal text ‘The Undercommons’ and challenging the oppressive nature of knowledge production in western institutions.
SCHEDULE
11am-1pm: The Undercommons Reading Group
A close communal reading and discussion on ‘Politics Surrounded’ the first short chapter of Fred Moten’s ‘The Undercommons’, a seminal and beautiful example of Black thought. This session will contextualise the day allowing us to engage with Moten collectively. The full text can be accessed here: http://www.minorcompositions.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/undercommons-web.pdf
Break
1.45-2.45: Black Study Group London – The Movement of Black Thought
BSGL will delve into the history of black radicalism, the politics of black diasporic thought, and the production of black diasporic culture in a panel discussion and open conversation.
http://www.darkmatter101.org/site/2015/09/29/the-movement-of-black-thought-study-notes/
2.45-3.15: 5 Minute Gifts.
Contributers will be given the floor for strictly 5 minutes to present whatever they want to the group. This may take the form of a talk, proposing a question, poetry, movement etc. There will be also time for attendees to bring something to the table here so do let us know if you feel inclined
Break
3.45-4.45: Skin Deep presents Manufacturing Education – Knowledge and the Machine
Skin Deep will discuss the challenges of trying to question institutionalised forms of knowledge production from within the institution. They will also look at examples of where collectives or groups of people have been able to start and maintain methods of knowledge production outside of the institution, and look at the distinction between theory and practice of knowledge, how we carry knowledge and how we pass it on.
Break
5.15-6.15: 5 Minute Gifts
6.15-6.45: Raffle Calling – Winners of the Raffle will be announced and prizes given out!
6.45: Dinner – A Delicious homemade vegetarian West African inspired meal will be served followed by music and a bar until 11 pm!
*During each Break there will be tea and coffee available and a small group session entitled The Uses of the Erotic to Combat Climate Colonialism; an explorative sharing that employs performance art, conversation and games to challenge ideas of climate change as too large and untackleable for individuals, especially marginalised bodies operating in minority spaces. Writer, curator and artist Ama Josephine Budge builds on her research into how legacies and contemporary structures of colonialism are made manifest by climate change as well as through a critique of the seminal black feminist text: ‘The Uses of the Erotic’ by Audre Lorde. This is an interactive workshop. for small groups of 4-5, where the group collectively begins to build narratives of resistance that do not start in numbers and academia, but in the body, in practices of self-care and self-love, connecting to the power of the erotic.
The event will be working towards being as non-hierarchical as possible, foregrounding decolonisation and anti-oppression and be seeking to manifest collective power and solidarity.
We ask for a £5 entry fee which will include a delicious homemade dinner and raffle tickets for the oppourtunity to win exciting prizes courtesy of collective members.
We hope you can join us on what should be a dynamic day of thought, discussion and coming together.
In Love and Rage,
SYFU
*This event is proudly supported by the annual Fund
