Socialism 2016: Full Schedule

Visit our website at www.SocialismConference.org for full information!

7:30pm CDT

Democracy Now!: Twenty years of Covering the Movements Changing America

Speakers

Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,200 public television and radio stations worldwide. Time Magazine named Democracy Now! its “Pick of the Podcasts,” along with NBC’s... Read More →

Friday July 1, 2016 7:30pm - 9:00pm CDT
Grant Park C/D

U.S. History and Politics

9:30am CDT

Seven Shocking Facts You Need to Know about Hillary Clinton

With the threat of Donald Trump moving into the White House, the heat is on activists and the left to support the Democratic Party candidate. But does the Democratic Party establishment's choice, Hillary Clinton, really deserve your vote? What is her record? Does she represent a departure from what some see as the “liberal heart” of the Democratic Party? What would a Clinton White House look like?

Speakers

Elizabeth Schulte

Elizabeth Schulte is a journalist for Socialist Worker, writing frequently on the Democratic Party and Election 2016, as well as women’s liberation.

Saturday July 2, 2016 9:30am - 11:00am CDT
DuSable A/B

U.S. History and Politics

11:30am CDT

The Origins of the Police in the U.S.

We will examine the origins of the police, how the institution has evolved since its earliest days, and whose interests they serve. We will also discuss strategies for combating police violence and abuse.

Speakers

Randi Jones-Hensley

Mike Stark

Mike is a member of the ISO and a long time criminal (in)justice activist. He lives in Maryland.

Saturday July 2, 2016 11:30am - 1:00pm CDT
Adler A/B

U.S. History and Politics

2:00pm CDT

Better Call Saul: The Political Legacy of Saul Alinsky on Labor and Community Organizing

We will offer a critical perspective on the Saul Alinsky's classic "Rules of Radicals" from the Left.

* _Rules for Radicals_ by Saul Alinsky
* _"Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder_ by V. I. Lenin

Speakers

Jon Kurinsky

Jon Kurinsky is a member of the International Socialist Organization and writer based in Chicago.

Aaron Petkov

Aaron is an activist, writer, and technology worker living in Brooklyn.

Saturday July 2, 2016 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT
Field A

U.S. History and Politics

11:30am CDT

Can There Be a Third Party Challenge in the U.S.?

Speakers

Howie Hawkins

Gloria Mattera

Sunday July 3, 2016 11:30am - 1:00pm CDT
Grant Park A

U.S. History and Politics

2:00pm CDT

Identity Politics, Intersectionality, and Class

Speakers

Megan Behrent

Megan Behrent is an activist and educator in Brooklyn, NY. She taught high school English for 15 years and is currently an Assistant Professor of English at NYC College of Technology, CUNY. She is a contributor to Education and Capitalism (Haymarket Books) and has been published... Read More →

Sunday July 3, 2016 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT
Adler A/B

U.S. History and Politics

4:00pm CDT

Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt

We are witnessing a moment of unprecedented political engagement and social activism. Pundits once fretted about Americans' apathy, but in the last few years we've seen uprisings and protests across the country: the growth of the Tea Party; the successful fight for a $15 minimum wage; a 21st century black freedom struggle with Black Lives Matter; Occupy Wall Street; and the grassroots networks supporting presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders.
Americans' new social movements are reshaping the idea of class struggle for the 21st century.

Speakers

Sarah Jaffe

Sarah Jaffe is an independent journalist and the author of the book Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt, out in August from Nation Books. She is the co-host of Dissent magazine's Belabored podcast, and her work has been published in The Nation, The Atlantic, The Washington Post... Read More →

Flynn Murray

Mike Shea

Mike is an ISO member in Chicago and has worked for the Chicago Public Schools teaching high school history for 15 years.

Sunday July 3, 2016 4:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Clark A/B

U.S. History and Politics

4:00pm CDT

The Social Crisis of the American City

From gentrification, to budget cuts, to racist police violence, working class and poor communities are being torn apart and driven out of urban centers across America. This panel will put forward a Marxist analysis of the structural forces driving the historical and contemporary social crisis in American cities and provide a vision for the type of movements neccessary to remake cities in the interests of people and the planet.

Suggested Readings:
A People's History of Boston by Jim Vrabel
The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City by Niel Smith
“The Right to the City” by David Harvey
“Lost: The Crisis Of Jobless and Out Of School Teens and Young Adults: In Chicago, Illinois and the U.S” (Report available here)
“Privatization: The Black and White of Education in Chicago Public Schools” by the Chicago Teachers Union
“Guilty of Mental Illness” by Deborah L. Shelton (Chicago Reporter)
“Chicago After Laquan McDonald” by Ben Austen (New York Times)
“A Just Chicago: Fighting for the City Our Students Deserve” by the Chicago Teachers Union

Speakers

Elizabeth Lalasz

Elizabeth Lalasz is a public sector registered nurse and steward with National Nurses United (NNU), as well as an active member of the ISO in Chicago.

Keegan O'Brien

Keegan O'Brien is a queer socialist activist and writer from Boston, MA and an education graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His writing has been published in The Nation, The Rainbow Times, The New Civil Rights Movement, Electronic Intifada, Socialist... Read More →

Kristen Sheets

Kristen Sheets is a tech worker and socialist activist. She is based in San Francisco, California and is a member of the ISO.

Sunday July 3, 2016 4:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
DuSable C

U.S. History and Politics

8:00pm CDT

Trump and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism

The rise of Donald Trump from billionaire blowhard and reality TV star to Republican candidate for U.S. president has shocked millions. But his appeal to disaffected voters on a platform of racism against immigrants, Mexicans, and Muslims tracks with right-wing populism in the US and other countries. This talk will grapple with how we can understand the Trump phenomenon, and how we can defeat it.

Suggested Readings:
“Are White Workers the Base of Trump Reaction?” by Lance Selfa (Socialist Worker).
“Explaining the Rise of Donald Trump,” by Bill Crane (rs21 / Socialist Worker).
“Marxism and Right-Wing Populism: The Case of the Tea Party,” by Lee Sustar (New Labor Forum January/February 2013).
“The Magic of Donald Trump,” by Mark Danner (New York Review of Books, May 26, 2016).

Speakers

Lance Selfa

Lance Selfa is a member of the International Socialist Review editorial board and the author of The Democrats: A Critical History (Haymarket 2012).

Sunday July 3, 2016 8:00pm - 9:30pm CDT
Grant Park B

U.S. History and Politics