Hilary Term 2018

Socialisms and Postsocialisms in a Global Context work-in-progress forum


61 Banbury Road, Oxford

Convened by: Dace Dzenovska, Agnieszka Kubal & Nicolette Makovicky

We are very pleased to announce the schedule for the second term of our Socialisms and Postsocialisms in a Global Context WIP forum.

Socialisms and Postsocialisms in a Global Context is intended as a forum for sharing and discussing work with colleagues working on resonant themes. We also envisage it as a shared space for intellectual conversation about the contributions the studies of socialism and postsocialism can make in and across different disciplines – anthropology, history, socio-legal studies, sociology, political science and international relations. We are particularly interested in thinking about what insights derived from studies of socialism and postsocialism can offer with regard to understanding the current historical moment.

We do not consider socialism and postsocialism to be a geographically delimited area of inquiry, but understand it as global and diverse phenomenon and therefore invite participation of faculty and students across disciplinary and regional expertise. We particularly welcome advanced DPhil students who want to share their written work in a constructive and supportive environment.

This is a new work-in-progress group for faculty and students working on themes related to socialism and postsocialism, broadly defined.The group is convened through a collaboration between faculty members affiliated with the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies and the School Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, but is open to all interested faculty and graduate students. If you are interested in becoming part of this group, please send an email to Dace Dzenovska: dace.dzenovska@compas.ox.ac.uk. Please include a few words about your research in the email, and, most importantly, let us know whether you would like to present a chapter or an article during HT 2018 or shortly thereafter.

We look forward to an exciting conversation!

Nicolette Makovicky, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies

Agnieszka Kubal, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies and Faculty of Law

Dace Dzenovska, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

All sessions will take place on Thursdays at 15:30 in 61 Banbury Road.

Seminars

25 January

Reflections on the Legacy of Red Globalism

Paul Betts, Professor of Modern European History, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford

08 February

Historicising African socialisms: Kenya’s African socialism, Zambian Humanism, and Communist China’s entanglements

Yuzhou Sun, DPhil student, Faculty of History, University of Oxford

While it is commonly recognised by scholars that there is not a monolithic definition of socialism, the term has also become increasingly irrelevant following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Although the great dispute regarding ‘true’ interpretations of socialism affected the Communist bloc throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Africa, considered as a test field of Western philosophies and theories, received little scholarly attention from Marxist writers who considered African societies as too underdeveloped to host any substantial proletarian revolution led by working class. The ‘derivative thesis’, which Lal has criticised, ‘denies the relative autonomy of African thinkers vis-à-vis the world.’ Rather than trying to offer an authoritative analysis, this paper aims to construct a historiography of African socialisms through a triangulation of the global Cold War, the political culture of individual African states, and their bilateral relations with Communist countries. The divergence of political ideas and polices in African countries, which was termed by Nugent as ‘Ism schisms’, suggested that indigenisation was a complex process affecting the degree to which any political ideology would take root.

01 March

How relevant was socialist ideology in Africa's Cold War

Miles Larmer, Professor of African History, University of Oxford

Climate Migrants

Hilary 2022

Gender, Love and Migration

Michaelmas 2021

Special Guest Seminars

Trinity Term 2019

In Discussion with Gulwali Passarlay

MSc. Student-led Series

Four one-off seminars

Trinity Term 2018

Beyond Impact?

Hilary Term 2018

person finding a way out

Refugees and the Economy

Michaelmas Term 2017

Talking Oxford

Trinity Term 2017

Migration Research – where next?

Michaelmas Term 2016

Wellbeing and Migration in the UK

Michaelmas Term 2015

Arrival Cities

Michaelmas term 2014

Borders of the welfare state

Trinity term 2014

Boundaries of Freedom

Hilary term 2014

Rethinking Migration

Trinity term 2013

Migration Journeys

Seminar Series Michaelmas 2012

Everyday multiculturalism

Seminar Series Trinity 2012

Gender, Migration and Citizenship

Gender, Migration and Citizenship

Seminar Series Michaelmas 2009

Immigration and Low-wage Labour Markets

Immigration and Low-wage Labour Markets

Seminar Series Hilary Term 2009

Migration, Welfare and Inequalities

Migration, Welfare and Inequalities

Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2008

Migration and Cultural Production

Migration and Cultural Production

Seminar Series Trinity Term 2008

Critical Epistemologies of Migration

Critical Epistemologies of Migration

Seminar Series Hilary Term 2008

New Trends in Contemporary Migration

New Trends in Contemporary Migration

Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2007

Perspectives on African Migration

Perspectives on African Migration

Seminar Series Trinity Term 2007

States and Emigrants

States and Emigrants

Seminar Series Trinity Term 2006

Racism and the new immigration: theories and practices

Racism and the new immigration: theories and practices

Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2005

The Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism

The Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism

Seminar Series Trinity Term 2005

Contemporary International Migration – Key Issues

Contemporary International Migration – Key Issues

Seminar Series Hilary Term 2005