As part of its Fall 2001 program, New Social Geographies and the Politics of Space, the 61传媒 Humanities Institute is pleased to present the conference "This is What Democracy Looks Like: New Social Movements and Alternative Media" from Thursday, November 15th through Saturday, November 17th in the Hampton Room of the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Commons. This year’s conference will provide an in-depth examination of the question: What is the future of democracy in an era of corporate power and the military industrial state? Featured speakers include Dee Dee Halleck of Paper Tiger Television and Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange, the Green Party. Conference events are free and open to the public.
Founded in 1986, the 61传媒 Humanities Institute promotes interdisciplinary research and discussion in forums both inside and outside the 61传媒 curriculum. This conference will consider how the traditional notion of the public sphere as a space for the free exchange of ideas has been challenged by intensifying transnational corporate consolidation as well as the increasingly private consumption of news and information through radio, television, and the Internet.
On Thursday, November 15 at 4:15 p.m, Dee Dee Halleck will speak about her experiences with Paper Tiger Television, and at 7:30 p.m. Medea Benjamin will speak about Global Exchange and the Green Party. On Friday, November 16 from 9:30 a.m. until 12 noon, a panel discussion will be held, featuring Mary Lou Malig, of Focus on the Global South and Eric Mann, director of the Labor/Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles. A second panel discussion will take place from 2:00 p.m to 5 p.m. with participants Paul Chan of the Independent Media Center in New York City; Larry George from California State University, Long Beach; and John Sellers of the Ruckus Society in Berkeley, California. Concluding the conference, a student-organized Open Forum on Social Movements, Media and Democracy will take place on Saturday, November 17 from 9:30 a.m. until 12 noon.