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Call For Papers
Radical Assembly:
Facing Despair, Fighting Despair
Radical Assembly:
Facing Despair, Fighting Despair
Facing Despair, Fighting Despair
August 2026 - October 2026
The political situation in which we find ourselves is one of great brutality, anxiety, and despair. As the forces of capitalism have increased their capacity for coercion and command, as never-ending wars and authoritarian regimes have proliferated, the dominated classes (especially the younger generations) are faced with a future that appears to be brutish and bleak. The automation of disciplinary power that Gilles Deleuze so keenly foresaw over thirty years ago has intensified and matured to the point that our societies of control seem to be incapable of being resisted, reformed, or replaced.
It is precisely this despair that we need to face and fight. Whereas the typical response to pessimistic or unpleasant realities is to try to downplay or ignore them, to stop worrying and look on the bright side, we believe that it is fundamental for our collective intellectual integrity and political courage to face the difficult and unpleasant truths of our historical moment. Thus, facing despair, the central theme for our upcoming conference, is understood as a necessary first step on the long march toward a more democratic and radical future. We must recognize and understand our despair as we work toward an ever more complete analysis of the defeats that have created these bleak realities as well as toward developing political strategies and principles that can guide our efforts to transform our societies.
To that end, Marxist theory remains the indispensable theoretical reference to understanding the contradictions and dynamics of the conjuncture, from capitalist accumulation, transformation of the state, and new forms of imperialism and genocidal violence to all the struggles around race, gender, and sexuality.
Radical Assembly wants to offer the stage to explore these questions by creating a comradely and egalitarian space of dialogue for Marxists. Following the legacy of the Socialist Scholars Conference and the Left Forum, and based on the successful model of the international network of Historical Materialism conferences around the world, Radical Assembly will be an inclusive and non-sectarian gathering for thinking about the great problems that we are facing and how to best understand and address them. Keenly analytical but not trapped within a sterile scholasticism, we encourage papers and panels that attempt to explain social phenomena and explore concepts and ideas with an eye toward transforming and overcoming the authoritarian present. Our first conference will take place on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College from April 22-24, 2027. It is expected to include over 100 panels and over 1000 participants.
In line with the central theme of this year’s conference, we invite contributions that address the following non-exclusive questions:
However, the conference aims to serve as a space of broad comradely discussion of all issues related to critical Marxist theory and research across the globe and across all disciplines and interests, including philosophy, political economy, sociology, literary and cultural studies, history, political theory, and so on. That means general submissions are also encouraged.
Deadline for abstracts: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Proposals for individual papers should include a title, an abstract of no more than 200 words, up to five keywords, and the author’s name, email address, and institutional or organizational affiliation (where applicable). Where there is more than one participant, we require a clear indication of a corresponding author. Panel proposals (3–4 papers, roundtables or book discussions) should include a panel title, a 200-word panel abstract, titles and abstracts for each contribution (if it’s a preconstituted panel), and contact details for all participants. Partial submissions may be rejected.
Suggested conference donations will be:
Free to CUNY students,
$50 for unemployed and low-income,
$100 for full-time employed,
$150 for those with institutional support.
Co-sponsored by:
SUBMIT PAPER
It is precisely this despair that we need to face and fight. Whereas the typical response to pessimistic or unpleasant realities is to try to downplay or ignore them, to stop worrying and look on the bright side, we believe that it is fundamental for our collective intellectual integrity and political courage to face the difficult and unpleasant truths of our historical moment. Thus, facing despair, the central theme for our upcoming conference, is understood as a necessary first step on the long march toward a more democratic and radical future. We must recognize and understand our despair as we work toward an ever more complete analysis of the defeats that have created these bleak realities as well as toward developing political strategies and principles that can guide our efforts to transform our societies.
To that end, Marxist theory remains the indispensable theoretical reference to understanding the contradictions and dynamics of the conjuncture, from capitalist accumulation, transformation of the state, and new forms of imperialism and genocidal violence to all the struggles around race, gender, and sexuality.
Radical Assembly wants to offer the stage to explore these questions by creating a comradely and egalitarian space of dialogue for Marxists. Following the legacy of the Socialist Scholars Conference and the Left Forum, and based on the successful model of the international network of Historical Materialism conferences around the world, Radical Assembly will be an inclusive and non-sectarian gathering for thinking about the great problems that we are facing and how to best understand and address them. Keenly analytical but not trapped within a sterile scholasticism, we encourage papers and panels that attempt to explain social phenomena and explore concepts and ideas with an eye toward transforming and overcoming the authoritarian present. Our first conference will take place on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College from April 22-24, 2027. It is expected to include over 100 panels and over 1000 participants.
In line with the central theme of this year’s conference, we invite contributions that address the following non-exclusive questions:
- Automation and control, inside and outside the workplace
- Technology and its relation to class struggle
- Fossil capitalism, climate catastrophe and permanent ecological crisis
- The authoritarian and disciplinary transformation of the state, and the return of the question of fascism
- Financialization as capitalist class strategy
- Palestine: resistance and solidarity against genocide
- Imperialism and anti-imperialism in an era of forever wars and imperial hubris
- US hegemony in decline, the rise of China, and the new dynamics of the global south: rifts, antagonisms and multipolarity in a changing world
- Social reproduction, gendered power, sexualities, and contemporary libidinal economies
- Feminist, queer, and trans futures
- Racial capitalism, black liberation, and decolonial perspectives today
- What to do with the ‘opium of the people’: Marxism and religion
- Abolition and/as socialist strategy
- Disabled people’s political struggles and organizing strategies
- Health, solidarity, and the new politics of care
- Art as resistance and creation
- The challenge of municipal socialism
- Utopias, programs, and the need to reopen the strategic debate
- Anti-work as strategy and horizon
- The labor movement then and now
However, the conference aims to serve as a space of broad comradely discussion of all issues related to critical Marxist theory and research across the globe and across all disciplines and interests, including philosophy, political economy, sociology, literary and cultural studies, history, political theory, and so on. That means general submissions are also encouraged.
Deadline for abstracts: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Proposals for individual papers should include a title, an abstract of no more than 200 words, up to five keywords, and the author’s name, email address, and institutional or organizational affiliation (where applicable). Where there is more than one participant, we require a clear indication of a corresponding author. Panel proposals (3–4 papers, roundtables or book discussions) should include a panel title, a 200-word panel abstract, titles and abstracts for each contribution (if it’s a preconstituted panel), and contact details for all participants. Partial submissions may be rejected.
Radical Assembly expects all participants to take part in the entirety of the conference (not just their own sessions) and to be thus ready to speak at any session in the program, from Thursday morning through to Saturday afternoon. It is not possible to run a conference of this size by tailoring individuals’ specific requests for particular days and times.
Suggested conference donations will be:
Free to CUNY students,
$50 for unemployed and low-income,
$100 for full-time employed,
$150 for those with institutional support.
Co-sponsored by:
-
Political Science Program, BMCC
- Institute for the Radical Imagination
-
Historical Materialism. Research in Critical Marxist Theory
SUBMIT PAPER
Program
Panels and Plenary
The conference will feature more than 100 panels across three days, including:
- Paper panels
- Roundtable discussions
- Book discussions and launches
- Plenary sessions
- Special events
The schedule will be available here once submissions have been reviewed and accepted.
Conference Dates
Thursday, April 22 – Saturday, April 24, 2027
Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY)
Schedule subject to change.
Radical Assembly
About
Radical Assembly is an annual conference dedicated to the development of critical Marxist theory and socialist strategy. It provides an inclusive, non-sectarian forum for scholars, organizers, artists, students, trade unionists, and activists to engage in rigorous analysis of the political, economic, cultural, and ecological crises of the present while exploring possibilities for democratic and emancipatory transformation.Inspired by the legacy of the Socialist Scholars Conference and the Left Forum, and building on the international network of Historical Materialism conferences, Radical Assembly seeks to foster dialogue across the diverse traditions of Marxist thought. The conference brings together participants from a wide range of disciplines and political experiences in a spirit of comradely debate, intellectual seriousness, and collective inquiry.
Each year, Radical Assembly convenes more than one thousand participants and over one hundred panels at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), creating a space for the presentation of new research, strategic discussion, political education, and the formation of lasting intellectual and organizational relationships.
Radical Assembly is organized under the auspices of:
- Political Science Program, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
- Institute for the Radical Imagination
- Historical Materialism. Research in Critical Marxist Theory
The conference is made possible through the collaboration of these institutions and the work of a broad organizing committee committed to sustaining an open, egalitarian, and intellectually rigorous space for Marxist discussion.
Organizers
Historical MaterialismHistorical Materialism is an international intellectual and political project dedicated to advancing critical Marxist theory. Through its journal, book series, conferences, podcasts, and educational initiatives, it provides a global forum for the development of historical materialist research and debate.
Institute for the Radical Imagination
The Institute for the Radical Imagination is a New York–based organization devoted to political education, public programming, publishing, and research. Through conferences, seminars, reading groups, podcasts, and cultural events, the Institute works to develop critical analysis and democratic socialist strategy while connecting scholars, organizers, artists, and movements.
Political Science Program, Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY)
The Political Science Program at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) is dedicated to the study of politics, power, and democratic life. Through interdisciplinary teaching, public programming, and civic engagement, the program fosters critical inquiry into political institutions, social movements, and global affairs while preparing students for advanced study and informed participation in public life.