Established in the Sociology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984, the A. E. Havens Center for the Study of Social Structure and Social Change is dedicated to promoting critical intellectual reflection and exchange, both within the academy as well as between it and the broader society. The Center is named in honor of the late Professor of Rural Sociology, A. Eugene Havens, whose life and work embodied the combination of progressive political commitment and scholarly rigor that the Center encourages.
The traditional tasks of critical social thought have been to analyze the sources of inequality and injustice in existing social arrangements, to suggest both practical and utopian alternatives to those arrangements, and to identify and learn from the many social movements seeking progressive social and political change. These tasks are as relevant today as ever. Indeed, we face a variety of challenges, both new and enduring, that demand creative critical reflection. These include the increasingly integrated and global character of capitalist economic development, the durability of racial and gender oppressions, the threats of global environmental catastrophe, and the failure of many traditional models of progressive reform.
Upcoming events
RadFest 2013
Camp Upham Woods, May 24-26, 2013
Over Memorial Day weekend, 2013, the Havens Center will be hosting RadFest, a weekend of conversations among activists and academics on a wide range of topics concerning social justice, social transformation and social research. The cost for five meals and two nights lodging will be $65-100/person, depending upon income. Free childcare and a children’s program will be provided for children during sessions. There will be time for hiking and canoeing, bonfires and music making, and relaxed discussion of important issues. Anyone interested is invited to participate – undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, political activists, community members.
This is a participant-driven conference – anyone can call for a session on any topic. Think of it this way: if there is a conversation you will regret not having, then give it a name, provide a few sentences to describe what you are interested in talking about, and we will schedule a time and place for the conversation. Additional conversations can be scheduled at the conference itself, but it would be good to have at least some lined up ahead of time.
The conference will take place at Camp Upham Woods, located on the Wisconsin River near the Dells.
The conference will begin on Friday evening, May 24, at 6pm, and end late afternoon on Sunday the 26th. Registration on-line is now available.
For more information, contact Erik Olin Wright at wright@ssc.wisc.edu or Patrick Barrett at pbarrett@ssc.wisc.edu.
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Fighting Forward! A Labor and Working Class Summit
2013 Conference of the Working Class Studies Association
Madison College Downtown Education Center
Madison, Wisconsin • June 12-15, 2013
www.fightingforward.org
Join us at the epicenter of the “Wisconsin Uprising” for a gathering of working people, community and labor activists, students and educators focused on building a revitalized movement in support of labor and the working class.
Since the start of the Uprising, we have witnessed an historic response by working people to the decades-long assault on our rights and livelihoods. Now is the time to reflect, strategize, and build connections, as we not only continue to fight back against this assault but also move forward in building a better future for labor and working class people. It is time for Fighting Forward!
For more information, visit www.fightingforward.org
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