Social Ecology Blog

ISE alum Rob Augman writes:

David Harvey has been positively referencing Murray’s work on his recent writings and public talks. I just noticed this announcement of a new book of his, which similarly addresses the city as a site of struggle and reconstitution, speaking about the meaning of citizenship in relation to the city and to [...]

From ROARMag.org, thoughtful reflections from Spain by Carlos Delclós and Raimundo Viejo, calling for a renewed focus on building alternative institutions. However in the context of the right wing triumph in the recent Spanish elections, their focus is on social centers, activist collectives, cooperatives, etc., which frequently do not directly challenge [...]

An essay by social ecologist and Prescott College student, Charles Imboden, drawing on writings by Zizek, Kovel, Bookchin, and others, as well as the author’s own experiences with Occupy Tucson. The full essay appears on Charles’ blog, Better Worlds, Brighter Futures: Social ecology analysis from [...]

After the summer I attended ISE my friends and I started a food project called EarthShare Gardens, which is still in existence. A couple years later I moved to New Orleans to work with Turning Point Partners and the Louisiana Violence Prevention Alliance. Turning Point Partners introduced me to Restorative Practices. It was [...]

… with an inspiring review of the events of the past month, highlighting the voices of some of the people of many different backgrounds who have put other parts of their lives aside to help sustain Occupy Wall Street since mid-September. A few of us from Vermont were in NYC this past weekend to participate in a host of Occupy-related events, including the action at Duarte Park, the 10th anniversary of the lockout of the Charas-El Bohio community center on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, an immigrant rights march from Foley Square to Zuccotti Park and a very large strategy and long-range visioning conference at Pace University. While people in New York are confronting many of the internal problems that movements invariably struggle with as they begin to dig in for the long haul, it is still very clear that the Occupy movement has changed New York, and continues to change the way we think and talk about politics and economics everywhere.

Vincent Gerber reports from Geneva that the city’s annual “Anarchist Week” events will run from Tues.-Sat., December 6-10, and will focus on Murray Bookchin’s concept of libertarian municipalism, a social ecological strategy for confederal direct democracy, rooted at the municipal level. Full details are at http://www.genevelibertaire.ch/?p=2048.

Schedule highlights:

Tuesday, 12/8: Film showing: “Ici [...]

From Story of Stuff creator Annie Leonard, we now have an accessible and visually engaging outlook on the financial crisis, deficit mania in Washington, and how to shift public funds toward a greener future. She makes a few compromises in the pursuit [...]

This beautifully written article by author/activist Dan LaBotz asks, “Where does the tremendous power of the occupation of city spaces, particularly the square, come from?” He replies that it’s powerful because it resonates with the long history of popular revolts, since ancient times, that were often rooted in the utopian dimensions of the [...]

Hilary Moore is a recent ISE MA graduate and a current ISE board member; video links are at the end of the post:

Hi Friends and Family,

I’m happy to share with you two beautifully crafted videos from Oakland’s General Strike that took place last Wednesday, November 2nd. A group called Making Change [...]