Democratic Socialism and Civilizational Crisis Conference

Free and online Zoom Webinar! 

Friday, October 21, 10am - 4pm and Saturday, October 22, 10am - 4pm

The conference is sponsored by the SFU Institute for the Humanities through the Joanne Brown Symposium on Violence and Its Alternatives endowment, the SFU Labour Studies Program, and the SFU VanCity Office of Community Engagement.

To register and for details on the panels, follow the conference description here

The conference will consider what role democratic socialism could have in addressing our current situation. Environmental crisis, climate emergency, pandemics, neofascism, unjust and destabilizing inequalities, and the escalating threat of nuclear war pose existential challenges to global civilization.  It seems clear that that the gaps between party politics, social movements and intellectual life have widened, and that the political system is not responding adequately.  In that light, can the practices and philosophy of democratic socialism offer a way forward?  Does the project of democratic socialism require radical renewal if it is to have any relevance today? How do we address the legacy of colonialism? What could the future of democratic socialism look like? These questions will be addressed by activists, academics and parliamentarians in the form of discussion and debate from a variety of perspectives.  

Panel 1:  October 21, 10am - 12pm (Pacific Daylight Time)
The Politics and Philosophy of Democratic Socialism
Speakers: Mary Mellor, Roberta Lexier, Natalie Fenton, Steve McBride

Panel 2, October 21, 2pm - 4pm
Democratic Socialist Approaches to the Environment/Economy Relationship 
Speakers: Bill Carroll, Shannon Daub, Marjorie Cohen, Bianca Mugyenyi, Jim Stanford

Panel 3, October 22, 10am - 12pm
Facing New Realities in an Era of Crisis and Reckoning
Speakers: Glenn Coulthard, Matthew Green, Anjali Appadurai, Avi Lewis

Panel 4, October 22, 2pm - 4pm
Roundtable: Moving Forward
Speakers: Dimitri Lascaris, Ben Issitt, Libby Davies, Ashley Zarbatany, Bob Williams