On the fiftieth anniversary of 1968 a diverse set of panelists examined the expansive orbits of revolution in 1968 and its wake: in Eastern Europe, Brazil, and the U.S. Participants inquired not only into the intellectual and political causation of these events, but also into their affective and experiential textures. As part of the Neubauer Collegium project Revolutionology: Media and Networks of Intellectual Revolution, this conference focused especially on the ways in which artistic and communications media produced and inscribed revolutionary action, whether they be local print shops or the global art market. Some of the presentations followed traditional scholarly formats, but others featured screenings, performances, or conversations between scholars, artists, and activists.

Thursday, Oct 18

Cinema 53 Screening

Finally Got the News (Stewart Bird, Rene Lichtman & Peter Gessner with League of Revolutionary Black Workers, 1970, 55m)
Congo Oye: We have come back (Bill Stephens, Paul and Carole Roussopoulas with Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver, 1971, 45m)

This event will take place at Harper Theater (5238 S. Harper Ave). Hosted by Robert Bird and Cauleen Smith in conversation with Jonathan Flatley and Matt Peterson. Sponsored by the Gray Center for Arts & Inquiry.

Details >

Friday, Oct 19

9:30 a.m.
Introductions

Robert Bird (University of Chicago)
Jonathan Flatley (Wayne State University)

10:00 a.m.
Possibility and Power

“Anything Can Happen,” Danielle Aubert (Wayne State University) and Lorraine Perlman (Black & Red)

“Seizing the Time: Emory Douglas, 1968, and The Black Panther Newspaper,” Colette Gaiter (University of Delaware)

Response: Matt Peterson (Documentary Filmmaker) and Cauleen Smith (California Institute of the Arts)

1:00 p.m.
Break

2:00 p.m.
Revolution Negative and Positive

“Imaginary Matter: Towards a Formal Understanding of Revolution,” Oleg Aronson (Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences)

“Revolution without Revolution (On the Events in France),” Helen Petrovsky (Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences)

Response: Robert Bird (University of Chicago)

4:30 p.m.
Revolutionary Failure

“The Successful Failures of ’68,” Susan Buck-Morss (Cornell University)

Response: Christina Kiaer (Northwestern University)

6:00 p.m.
Reception

Saturday, Oct 20

10:00 a.m.
Political Forms/Political Feelings

“Come ‘Set’ Around: Dissident Arrangement in Harlan County U.S.A.,” Laura Harris (New York University)

“The Making and Refreshment of Revolutionary Counter-Mood (On the League of Revolutionary Black Workers),” Jonathan Flatley (Wayne State University)

Response: Lauren Berlant (University of Chicago)

1:00 p.m.
Break

2:00 p.m.
Making Political Art/Making Art Politically

“Land Entranced: Intellectuals and the People in Late ’60s Brazilian Political Cinema,” Rodrigo Nunes (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro/Brown University)

“Six Ways to Shoot a Strike: Brazil, 1964–1984,” Sarah Ann Wells (University of Wisconsin)

“On the Other Transatlantic,” Dieter Roelstraete (University of Chicago) and Abigail Winograd (Independent Curator and Writer)

Response: Jonathan Flatley (Wayne State University)

5:30 p.m.
Concluding Discussion