
1) Das Erbe der russischen Revolution 1917
Vortrag mit anschlieĂender Diskussion
Zeit: Montag, den 30.05 ab 18 Uhr
Ort: PEG 1.G 107 (Campus Westend)
Die Oktoberrevolution ist wahrscheinlich das umstrittenste Ereignis der Weltgeschichte. Innerhalb der Linken wie im politischen Mainstream einerseits verteufelt, andererseits glorifiziert, spaltet, verwirrt und transformiert das Jahr 1917 und seine Auswirkungen die politischen Ideologien des 19. Jahrhunderts: Liberalismus, Sozialismus und Anarchismus. Gleichzeitig diagnostizieren Denker und Politiker wie Lenin, Luxemburg und Trotzki eine tiefgreifende Krise des Marxismus, der sich bis dahin in der zweiten Internationale als kritische â treibende und notwendige â Kraft des Sozialismus verstanden hatte. Der scheinbare, vergiftete Sieg der Arbeiterklasse im Oktober 1917 ist das einzige Mal in der Geschichte der Menschheit, dass eine unterdrĂŒckte Klasse die Macht in einem Staat erobert hat. Welche Bedeutung hat die Revolution heute?
2) Rosa Luxemburg und die deutsche Revolution 1918
Vortrag mit anschlieĂender Diskussion
Zeit: Montag, den 13.06 ab 18 Uhr
Ort: PEG 1.G 107 (Campus Westend)
Die Bedeutung der Novemberrevolution in Deutschland liegt in ihrem uneingelösten Potential, d.h. nicht in ihrem tatsĂ€chlichen Verlauf, sondern in dem was nicht geschah. Ihre Geschichte wurde so zum Gegenstand zahlloser Interpretationen, besonders jedoch als GegenstĂŒck zur Oktoberrevolution in Russland 1917. Die Intentionen hinter dieser GegenĂŒberstellung sind jedoch ganz unterschiedliche. Analog dazu verlĂ€uft die Rezeption von Rosa Luxemburg, bspw. als Gegenspielerin Lenins. Die Frage nach dem Erbe der Novemberrevolution und dem von Rosa Luxemburg stellt sich anders als bei der Oktoberrevolution, denn sie stehen nicht fĂŒr einen triumphalen Sieg, sondern fĂŒr eine grausame Niederlage.
Join our "Does Marxism really matter?" on our Facebook event page.
With Pac Pobric, assistant editor of the Platypus Review, contributing editor, 491, contributor, On-
event details
Thursday, September 20
// 7:00 pm
NYU Kimmel Student Center, Room 907
// 60 Washington Square South
There will be free food.
Contact: Brian Hioe
// bch250@nyu.edu
// cell: 845-492-1622
In the mid-19th century, Marx and Engels famously observed in the Communist Manifesto that a âspecterâ was haunting Europe â the specter of Communism. 160 years later, it is âMarxismâ itself that haunts us.
In the 21st century, it seems that the Left abandoned Marxism as a path to freedom. But Marx critically intervened in his own moment and emboldened leftists to challenge society; is the Left not tasked with this today? Has the Left resolved the problems posed by Marx, and thus moved on?
Audio from our last teach-in:
A teach-in by Platypus member Chris Cutrone held on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Alain Badiouâs recent book (2010) is titled with the phrase promoted by his and Slavoj Zizekâs work for the last few years, âthe communist hypothesis.â Zizek has spoken of âthe Badiou eventâ as opening new horizons for both philosophy and communism. Badiou and Zizek share a background in Lacanian and Althusserian âpost-structuralistâ French thought, in common with other prominent post-New Left thinkers â and former students of Louis Althusser â such as Etienne Balibar and Jacques RanciĂšre. Althusser found, in the Russian and Chinese Revolutions, a salutary challenge to the notion of the Hegelian âlogic of history,â that revolutionary change could and indeed did happen as a matter of contingency. For Badiou, this means that emancipation must be conceived of as an âevent,â which involves a fundamental reconsideration of ontology.
Reading List:
Cutrone, âThe Marxist Hypothesis: A Response to Badiouâs âCommunist Hypothesisââ (2010)
Badiou, âThe Communist Hypothesisâ (2008)
Cutrone, âChinoiserie: A Critique of the RCP, USA on Badiouâ (2010)
Badiou, âTunisia, Egypt: The Universal Reach of Popular Uprisingsâ (2011)
Wal Suchting, âAlthusserâs Late Thinking about Materialismâ (2004)
ATTENTION, LOCATION CHANGE: Tisch Hall, 40 W. 4th St. (4th and Mercer, on the South side of the street) Lower Level 2, Room. LC11.
A teach-in on labor, human rights and prospects for a Left in Iran with Ervand Abrahamian
The Platypus Affiliated Society, in collaboration with United for Iran, Amnesty International and the Network of Iranian Unions (NILU) has organized a teach-in on Iran for May 2nd, from 1-5pm at the Tisch Hall, 40 W. 4th St. (4th and Mercer, on the South side of the street) Lower Level 2, Room LC11. The keynote speaker for the evening will be historian on Iran and outspoken voice on the recent events, CUNY professor Ervand Abrahamian. The day will consist of an opening informational (1-2pm) panel, a workshop (2-3pm), a break with refreshments provided (3-3:30pm) and the keynote address with Ervand Abrahamian followed by an audience Q&A (3:30-5pm).
We would like to raise questions about the direction of the Green movement in Iran, with an especial, though not exclusive, focus on labor organization in Iran, the role it's playing and what it may achieve in the future. This teach-in will produce political discussion around these questions and inform students, faculty, and the public at large of the ongoing events in Iran. We would like to brainstorm (during the workshop especially) what kind of political response would further possibilities in our time for a progressive leftist movement.
Please register for this free event at (we need a count for refreshments): http://iran.platypus1917.org/
Facebook Invite: Iran Teach-in with Ervand Abrahamian
This event was organized by the platypus affiliated society with the help of united for iran, amnesty international and the network of iranian labor unions (NILU).
http://newyork.platypus1917.org/
http://united4iran.org/
http://www.amnesty.org/
http://iranlaborreport.com/
Join Platypus members this Wednesday, February 17th at 7:30pm for a teach-in on the Iranian Revolution and a discussion on the current situation in Iran led by Platypus Review editor Pam C. Nogales C.
This event will be held at the New School, 80 Fifth Avenue, Rm. 802
Undoubtedly, the Left today should demand the overthrow of theocratic regimes; the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is no exception. However, how the regime is overthrown, who participates in this act and how they understand their political practice, has irreversible effects. In 1977-79, the international Left overlooked this consideration by uncritically supporting those seeking to overthrow the Shah. In so doing, the Left helped a right-wing popular movement establish the theocratic dictatorial government the protesters fight against today. How are we as leftists to make sense of this political failure so as to help rebuild an emancipatory Left today? How do the current protests challenge the Islamic Republic? What are the prospects for overthrowing the Iranian regime and what would take its place?
1. Against the status quo: An interview with Iranian trade-unionist Homayoun Pourzad
2. The failure of the Islamic revolution: The nature of the present crisis in Iran