Two complementary concepts for a new era
Aggelos Varvarousis
Wednesday 5th July, 10.00-11.30, Cerbère
In this class we will traverse two distinct but related and complementary literatures; commons and degrowth. Those literatures have been in fruitful dialogue since one decade now both at the theoretical-conceptual level and the grassroots level of the social movements. However they have preserved their relative autonomy. During the first part of the lecture we will go through the presentation of the work of some of the most fascinating authors from both fields like Massimo De Angelis, Hardt and Negri, Stavros Stavrides, Giorgos Kallis, Silvia Federici and Barbara Muraca backed up with some glimpses from the philosophy of Cornelius Castoriades and Gilles Deleuze. In the second part of the lecture we will ground all those theories in a very concrete case study; Greece. Greece is an excellent case study for the study of both commons and degrowth as during the last few years it witnesses the worst economic depression ever faced by any developed country but also an unprecedented flourishing of new commons. In the interactive part of the class we will try to pose, think and maybe answer questions relative to the topic following an engaging learning process that will allow students to interact with each other but also with the tutor in a deeper, experimental way.
Readings:
De Angelis, Massimo. 2013. Does Capital Need a Commons Fix? Ephemera, 13(3): 603-615.
Optional: De Angelis, Massimo. 2012. Crisis, Movements and Commons. Borderlands, 11(2): 11-22.
Optional: Varvarousis, Angelos and Giorgos Kallis. 2017. Commoning Against The Crisis. In: Another Economy is Possible, Manuel Castells et al. eds., pp. 128-159, Cambridge: Polity Press.