Student-led Seminars:

Critical Perspectives in Political Economy

With the support of Luísa Veloso, Department of Sociology, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

These seminars aim to present critical, radical, or alternative approaches to contemporary issues in Political Economy.

We are a group of students who want to create a space to discuss important contemporary topics and perspectives. We are not experts in the subjects addressed, so we aim to foster an exchange around them that is open to all those interested, from inside or outside the university, to discuss and learn from each other.

Schedule

Each seminar will begin with a presentation of the key points, followed by discussion and debate. The presenters are not experts but are there to introduce the topic and mediate discussion. The aim is to learn from each other, so we suggest some (short) background reading to get everyone on the same page and confident to participate.

Add upcoming events to your calendar.

Seminars 2024-25

1st Seminar

Date: Wednesday 9 October, 18:00
Topic: What is Technology?
Location: Room AA3.30, Building 3, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

Does technology and innovation drive human progress and social change? Or are technical machines manifestations of already-existing social formations and logics?

Does does the future come from the mind of the inventor, or is it always social first?

2nd Seminar

Date: Wednesday 27 November, 18:00
Topic: Reparations, Institutions, and Race in Postcolonialism
Location: Room AA2.26, Building 3, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

The focus of this seminar is to analyse institutional arrangements and racial issues inherent in the pursuit of reparations. With particular focus on Zimbabwe’s land reform, which aimed to redress colonial-era land injustices where 80% of arable land was controlled by 5% of white farmers, it will address the shortcomings of Lancaster House Agreement granting independence, Great Britain’s failure to honor its financial commitments, and the subsequent Fast Track Land Reform Program that sought to radically de-racialise land ownership.

Seminars 2023-24

1st Seminar

Date: Wednesday 13 March, 18:00
Topic: The Political Economy of Fascism
Location: Room C4.01, Building 2, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

What is fascism in economic terms? Opposing views on its conceptualization in political economy.

"But whoever is not willing to talk about capitalism should also keep quiet about fascism."
- The Jews and Europe, Max Horkheimer

Gupta D. (1977). The political economy of fascism. Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 12, no. 25, pp. 987-992.

2nd Seminar

Date: Wednesday 10 April, 18:00

Topic: Degrowth: Radical Abundance or the Politics of Less?

Location: Room C4.01, Building 2, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

Total ecological collapse is a problem; that much is clear. But can we save ourselves with technology and Green Growth? Do we need to Degrow our resource use? Or is degrowth a minimalist fantasy dreamed up by an out of touch academic elite?

"Right now, global resource use is about 100 billion tons per year; roughly double what scientists consider to be a sustainable level. This is a major driver of ecological breakdown and biodiversity loss."

- Jason Hickel

Suggested reading:

Hickel J. (2021). What does degrowth mean? A few points of clarification. Globalizations, 18:7, pp. 1105-1111.

Huber M. (2022). 'Revolutionary Austerity?' Degrowth and the politics of less. Climate change as class war: building socialism on a warming planet, Verso, pp. 125-135.

3rd Seminar

Date: Wednesday 22 May, 18:00

Topic: Alternative Modes of Production

Location: Room C5.08, Building 2, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

Is there truly no alternative to capitalism, as some advocate? To answer that, we must comprehend capitalism as a mode of production. But what is a mode of production? What is the capitalist mode of production and what are the alternatives? Have they been tried? Come discuss these questions with us.

“Capitalism has triumphed all over the world, but this triumph is only the prelude to the triumph of labour over capital.”

- Vladimir Lenin

Suggested reading:

Harnecker, M. (1980). Mode of production, social formation and political conjuncture. Marxism Today.

Frere, B. (2016). Solidarity economy and its anarchist grammar. Sociology and Anthropology, 5:24.

Birchall, J. (2000). Co-operatives in the 21st century. Journal of co-operative studies, 33:3, pp. 217-227.

4th Seminar

Date: Wednesday 5 June, 18:00

Topic: On Violence

Location: Room C4.01, Building 2, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Summary:

Capitalism masks its malaise behind technological progress, and its everyday violence behind economic freedom and the commodity form. We want to ask the questions that are left out of the discussion.

Is capitalism violent? When, where, how, and to whom? More than that, should those struggling to transcend capitalism consider violence in the development of political strategies? Or should it be avoided at all costs?

“Violence, in all its forms, is integral to the everyday functioning of capitalist society – for it is only through a mix of brute coercion and constructed consent that the system can sustain itself in the best of times. One form of violence cannot be stopped without stopping the others.”

– Nancy Fraser

Suggested reading:

Damen, O. (1946). Bourgeois violence and proletarian defence. Battaglia Communista.

Fanon, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth. Grove Press. Pp. 1-13.