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COMMUNIST UNIVERSITY 2002
All the certainties of the late 20th century appear to have vanished.
The Soviet Union and voting Labour, the workers' political revolution
against Stalinism, linear social progress and the impossibility of European
unity. Certainty has given way to uncertainty and complexity - political
islam, the anti-capitalist movement, Le Pen and the Socialist Alliance.
How should revolutionaries assess this situation? How can we overcome
obsolete divisions? Debate these and other issues with an exceptional
range of diverse speakers from Britain, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Speakers this year include ...
- Francois Rouleau, Lutte Ouviere
- Marco Berlinguer, Rifondazione Communista
- Hillel Ticktin - editor, Critique
- Sean Matgamna - Alliance for Workers' Liberty
- Jack Conrad - CPGB
- Bob Pitt - editor, What Next?
- Marcus Strom - Socialist Alliance nominating officer
- Matt Wrack - Socialist Alliance and FBU
- Al Richardson - editor, Revolutionary History
- Mark Serwotka - general secretary elect PCSU
- Mejdi Kia - Organisation of Revolutionary Workers of Iran
- Liz Davies - SA national chair
- Alan Thornett - International Socialist Group
| Date
and venue |
This year CU2002 runs from August 3 to 10 at Brunel University, Uxbridge
in Middlesex. As usual, there is a challenging range of speakers and
much to stimulate. How
to get there.
Each session lasts approximately two hours, with plenty of opportunity
for contributions from the floor.
The cost:
- Full week (incl. self-catering accommodation): £120/£80
unemployed and students
- First weekend (incl. one night's accommodation): £30/25
- One Day (sessions only): £10/£7
- One session: £5/£3
Send a cheque for £40 to reserve your place. Please make
cheques payable to
'CPGB' and mark it 'Communist University' on the back.
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| Programme |
Saturday 3
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
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4.40pm - 4.45pm Aims and methods of Communist University
Anne Mc Shane opens CU2000
4.45pm - 7.00pm A social
Europe or a Europe of capital
Tina Becker (CPGB), Marco Berlinguer (Rifondazione
Comunista)
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Sunday 4
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
10.00am - 12.30pm Labour Party: Marxist strategy and
tactics
Mark Fischer (CPGB) |
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2.00pm - 4.15pm The euro - which tactics should communists
advocate in a referendum?
John Bridge (CPGB), Rob Hoveman (SWP)
4.45pm - 7pm The CPGB and winning the Socialist Alliance
paper
Marcus Strom (SA nominating officer and CPGB)
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Monday 5
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
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10.00am - 12.30pm The political impassse in the MIddle
East
Esen Uslu (Communist Party of Turkey)
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2pm - 4.15pm The Scottish Socialist Party: one step
forward, one step back for socialist unity
Sarah McDonald (SSP and CPGB)
4.45pm - 7pm What is fascism?
John Bridge (CPGB)
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Tuesday 6
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
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10.00am - 12.30pm Time to overcome divisions? Trade
unions and the SA
Matt Wrack (SA and FBU) Mark Serwotka (general
secretary elect PCSU)
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2pm - 4.15pm Trade unions turn left
Alan Stevens (Unison shop steward and CPGB)
4.45pm - 7pm Weekly Worker - gossip sheet or
new Iskra?
Peter Manson (editor, Weekly Worker)
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Wednesday 7
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
10.00am - 12.30pm The Paris Commune
Ian Donovan (CPGB)
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2pm - 4.15pm Buffy the vampire slayer and fantasy television
Clive Bradley (Alliance for Workers' Liberty)
4.45pm - 7pm The reality of islamic fundamentalism
in Iran
Mejdi Kia (Organisation of Revolutionary Workers of Iran)
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Thursday 8
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
10.00am - 12.30pm Human nature
Michael Malkin (CPGB) |
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2pm - 4.15pm Capitalism and the communist future
Hillel Ticktin (editor, Critique)
4.45pm - 7pm Voting for the enemy: Lessons of the
French elections
John Bulaitis (SA independent), Peter Manson (CPGB),
Alan Thornett (International Socialist Group), Francois
Rouleau (Lutte Ouvriere)
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Friday 9
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
10.00am - 12.30pm The formation of the CPGB: Premature
or too late?
Bob Pitt (editor, What Next?) |
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2pm - 4.15pm Class struggle in the ancient world
Al Richardson (editor, Revolutionary History)
4.45pm - 7pm The struggle for Palestinian liberation:
One state or two?
Sean Matgamna (AWL), Afif Safir (PLO), Darrell
Goodliffe (CPGB)
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Saturday 10
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| Morning |
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Afternoon |
10.00am - 12.30pm Revolting students: student radicalism
through history
James Bull (CPGB) |
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1.30pm - 3.30pm We'll support you ever more? Socialists
and new Labour
Liz Davies (chair, SA), Bob Pitt (editor, What
Next?), Pete Firmin (Workers Action)
3.30pm - 4pm Evaluation of CU2002
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