Blueprints for Undercommons: Local and Global Wildness
The Ambedkar Initiative at the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and Global Racisms presents
Blueprints for the Undercommons: Local and Global Wildness
April 14-16, 2022
Organized by Thabisile Griffin, ACLS Global Racisms Fellow, ICLS and History, Columbia University.
A three day series of work study groups, presentations, film screening and musical performances showcasing, studying and discussing global events and movements that have been understood as wild, incomprehensible, forms of ‘acting out,’ or as instantiating periods of disorientation.
Thursday, April 14 6:30pm-8:00pm EST
“To Forge a Strike: The Significance of Chaos”
Featured guests- Sareeta Amrute (U. Washington), Navyug Gill (William Paterson University), Murali Shanmugavelan (SOAS U. London)
Presentations and discussion on the necessity of disarray within local and global labor movements, including Indian Farmer’s Protest and racial/caste strikes in tech. Readings will be provided.
Friday, April 15 6:30pm-8:00pm EST
“Language and Accusations of Crazy”
Location: Lynn Chu L002 Milstein, Barnard College
Virtual and In-person event. In-person attendance limited to Columbia and Barnard affiliates. Registration required.
Featured guests- Theo Henderson (We the Unhoused) and Ayantu Tibeso (UCLA).
Presentations and discussion on histories of State/ authoritative imposition of diabolical/crazed language and terminology on people and movements, and lessons of radical refusal. Readings will be provided.
Saturday, April 16 2:00pm-3:30pm EST join us for a free Historical Justice Initiative Walking Tour with Tommy Song, Ambedkar Initiative.
Saturday, April 16 4:00pm-7:00pm EST
“On Improvisation: Unbridled Freedom Movement and the Arts”
Location: Schomburg Center, Langston Hughes Lobby and Mezzanine, 515 Malcolm X Blvd
In-person event. Saturday’s event will be open to the public for in-person attendance. Registration required.
Featured guests- Russell Hamilton (filmmaker), Joy Guidry(musician), Jessie Cox (musician and scholar, Columbia University), Jacob Cohen (Free Prakash Alliance) & Gaiutra Bahadur (Rutgers)
Film screening, performances, and conversations on the imperative of improvisation in social movements, including features on Southern Black marching bands, jazz techniques/ traditions, and the reclamation of cultural and spacial geographies.
Please note that this event will not be recorded.
This series is being sponsored by the Ambedkar Initiative at the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society with the support of Africana Studies (Barnard), the Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities (CU), AAADS (CU), and IRAAS (CU)
