Lab3Firstcall

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS, INTERVENTIONS AND COLLABORATIONS:

KnowledgeLab III: WHO CARES?

An open weekend gathering for people concerned about themselves, each other and the world we live in.

June 30 - July 2 2006

Institute for Advanced Studies Lancaster University, North West England. http://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/knowledgelab http://knowledgelab.org.uk/

"It doesn't matter how you feel, that's just the way it is." Whether protesting against war, dealing with bureaucracy or a difficult boss, or trying to communicate in an abusive relationship, we are told again and again that our feelings don't matter. "Unhappy?" ask the advertisers. "Just go shopping!" Taking care of yourself, in a corporate world, might mean trying to get ahead so you have enough money to be able to go on holiday and relax or buy things to distract yourself. Or maybe it means feeling like you have to fit in and stay out of trouble.

If you think about caring differently, or want to, this weekend gathering might be for you.

Unlike most gatherings or conferences at universities, the KnowledgeLab is a series of self-organised events. This doesn't mean that they organise themselves(!), but that all participants are encouraged to be active organisers. Since the gathering will be defined by those who get involved in preparing it, the lists below are merely suggestions.

The plan is to experiment with formats and settings, looking for helpful, caring, creative moments. Suggestions so far include having a mix of longer and shorter sessions, discussions and other ways of relating/creating.

The ideal is to go beyond conventions.

To play and to experiment there wil also be themed spaces (kids-space, adult chill-out/play room) - suggest something!

We imagine talks, discussions about things like:

• diy women's health, hearing voices network, co-counselling, mad pride,

activist trauma network, alternatives to violence project & other alternative health movements

• nurturing communities
• direct action as a form of care
• depoliticisation/privatisation of care
• emotional labour
• surviving wage labour (wage slavery?) - workplace resistance &

overcoming the work ethic as care of the self

• anarchism, feminism and the practice of mutual aid/ethic of care
• ecopsychology, shamanism & magic
• the gendered politics of care
• 'consumer therapy' (buying/acquiring things to make ourselves feel better)
• the relational, embodied, emotional, fragile self
• becoming medicalised - experiential critiques of the medical model
• grief, death, loss, ageing and the fragility of life
• food, diet, nutrition: disordered eating, agribusiness, slow food movement
• making love, not war -- challenging the militarism of everyday life
• unlearning oppression (e.g., racism/sexism/heterosexism/classism/etc)
• gentleness
• sexuality, eroticism and desire
• guilt, privilege and the emotional impacts of inequality
• caring relationships: families, friendships, care workers
• (activist) purity and care of the self
• allowing ourselves difficult emotions (anger, jealousy, fear, sadness)
• alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
• imagining a caring university: challenging academic exploitation, the

capitalist (etc!) politics of knowledge 'production', and alienation from learning

• spirituality

Additionally, we plan to create spaces for hands-on (or full bodies-on) workshops, get in touch if you have skills to share:

• assertiveness
• self-defence
• yoga, meditation, dance
• art or movement therapy
• theatrical exercises (e.g., Augusto Boal's 'Games for Actors and

Non-Actors')

• massage
• outdoor fun & games
• active listening exercises
• any other caring practices/exercises

Participation is limited to a hundred people.

A LIMITED AMOUNT OF FREE (sleeping bags on floors) ACCOMODATION IS AVAILABLE Also, there are a couple of travel grants available in very special circumstances. If you couldn't afford to attend without subsidised travel, please ask about these.

TO REGISTER, CONTACT elham.kashefi~@~ntlworld.com [remove ~~ :) ]

IF YOU WANT TO SUGGEST A WORKSHOP, FACILITATED DISCUSSION, OR OTHER INTERVENTION, SEND YOUR IDEAS (MAX. 1 PAGE)

TO: Jamie.Heckert~@~gmail.com [remove ~~ :) ]

YOUR PROPOSAL SHOULD SHOW THAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS:

 * how long should your session be (1-3 hours)?
 * do you want to limit the number of participants? If so, how many?
 * what are the aims of the session? What do you envision coming out of it?
 * how does the session work toward those aims?
 * what experience would you bring to the session?
 * Would your session be exclusive in anyway? (e.g., women only, men only, activist focused, academic etc - it's ok if it is! Just let us know)

Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan)

Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner:

Volunteers/unpaid/unwaged: Free Unfunded students: Donation Funded students, Lancaster academics: £20 (additional donation welcome!) Representatives of "smaller" NGOs: £35 (negotiable) Representatives of "bigger" NGOs: £65 Employed Academic: £65 Other: Sliding scale - please ask

www.knowledgelab.org.uk chat: irc.indymedia.org #research - quick link: http://chat.indymedia.org/?chans=research

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Please distribute widely.