Revolutionary Futures not so far in the future
CSU’s Anti-Capitalist Week to return mid-February, highlighting issues at home and abroad
Anti-capitalists, those engaged in political discourse and those who’ve been looking for a place to start will have more than enough to discuss with the return of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)’s Anti-Capitalist Week next month.
Rebranded from its original Anti-Consumerism title in March of last year, the Week’s second edition, Revolutionary Futures, will run from Feb. 16 to Feb. 20 across different locations on campus at Concordia University.
CSU external and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne said the union decided to rebrand the week in light of an unstable global political context.
“Consumerism didn't really cover the full extent of what we, as a union, see as the biggest issues in society right now,” she said. “I really hope that this workshop series this year can be a starting point for a lot of students to kind of begin that [advocacy] journey.”
This year's six workshops range from those presented by the Sudan Solidarity Collective and Palestine Social Fund to a Refuse Your Rent workshop hosted by a tenant union.
Topics include geopolitical and migrant justice, street solidarity and disability justice. Facilitators are invited from community organizations as well as Concordia student and faculty groups.
“The lineup is usually tailored to current student interest, maybe existing campaigns, as well as the CSU positions, which tend to be pretty radical when it comes to anti-capitalist sentiments,” Ballantyne said.
However global its roots, anti-capitalism can also take a local, community-oriented approach. The CSU executive said the union aims to highlight colonialism and imperialism as byproducts of capitalism and “really major issues that are becoming more and more prevalent within our student community.”
“Just quality and cost of life for students has become something that we want to kind of inform them on and provide them with resources to improve whatever the situations might be,” Ballantyne said.
Ballantyne warned that student life can exist in a kind of “bubble,” and said she hoped the week would help inspire students to get engaged in politics, whether on campus or more broadly.
The union aims to connect students with groups on and off campus that perform “really important community engagement,” she said.
“[It] can offer us kind of a bigger picture of the paths that we can take to continue to be in touch with our communities and like to support each other while we're, you know, actively trying to get good grades and pass our classes,” Ballantyne said.
Workshops will be scheduled at varying times on the day, from midday to the evening. The full line-up is as follows:
Understanding Sudan's Counterrevolutionary War will take place on Feb. 16 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
What Thrives Beyond Productivity: Disability Justice and Collective Joy is scheduled for Feb. 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Anti-capitalist street solidarity, harm reduction, and mutual aid with Les Nocturnes will be held on Feb. 17 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Refuse Together! Fight Rent Increases Through Solidarity and Direct Action Wednesday is set for Feb. 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Breaking the Shackles of Occupation: The role of Resistance Economics Thursday will take place on Feb. 19 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
From Resisting ICE to Fighting Bill C-12: Why Migrant Justice Is Central to Anti-Capitalist Struggles Today is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
