Countering the Plague:
Forces of Reaction and War and How to Fight Them
7–10 November 2024
SOAS, Russell Square, Central London
For inquiries contact: conference@historicalmaterialism.org
DRAFT Programme
You can download draft programme here
Book of Abstracts
You can download book of abstracts here
Registration
We would like to inform you that registrations will also be accepted at the door, and day passes will be available for attendees.
Call for Papers
Deadline for abstracts: Friday 31 May 2024
*DEADLINE HAS NOW PASSED*
A wave of reaction and war is sweeping the globe. Since October 2023, genocide has been playing out in broad daylight in Gaza, executed by the occupation but co-organised by the US, the UK, and the EU. Imperialist aggression has spilled over from Palestine to Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Iraq and beyond. In Ukraine, the war rumbles on, refuelled by inter-imperialist rivalry. Meanwhile, reactionary forces are again in the ascendancy, with the prospect of a return of Donald Trump to power, massive gains by the far right in Europe and the reappearance of Latin American right-wing populism in the figure of Javier Milei, to mention only some cases. New forms of fascisation seem to emerge. Ever more brutal attitudes to immigrants become de rigueur in the global North. Basic reproductive rights are under attack. Climate disaster is already here with record temperatures and disasters that are anything but “natural”. Even more authoritarian and belligerent formations are growing out of the domination of capital over all aspects of life. As we seek to intervene and push back, there is much we must study anew and analyse.
What drives contemporary imperialist war? How should the Western appetite for colonial genocide and destruction in Palestine, on a scale unseen for decades anywhere in the world, be understood? What is the nature of the alliance between Israel, the US, and the rest of the West? Is the empire in decline? How should the resurgence of inter-imperialist rivalry and intensified antagonism between Russia, China and the US be conceived? What can be retrieved from classical Marxist theories of imperialism of value for the present moment? How should the Left regard the Palestinian resistance? How is the repression of solidarity for Palestine linked to the broader authoritarian mutation of ‘liberal democracies’?
What use can we make of the long history of Marxist contributions to the to the understanding of fascism, the rich tradition of linking racism to capitalism and the reproduction of exploitative relations of production, critiques of Zionism, and the contributions to questions of social reproduction, gender, and sexuality?
How is imperialist war articulated with fossil fuels? What imprint would geopolitical conflicts leave on geoengineering, a pseudo-solution steadily rising higher on the agenda? What do all of these macrotrends imply for the political landscape in individual countries – how do they animate local forces of reaction?
How can we ground these contradictory and conflictual tendencies in the changes in production process and the labour process and the constant re-emergence of forms of workers’ resistance?
In sum, what are the necessary political social and ideological resources that could overcome the prevailing sense of fragmentation and helplessness that dominates all varieties of what we could describe as the “Left” (from social democracy and reformist communist parties to the revolutionary Left), despite the continuous eruption of many important movements in many countries?
These are some of the pressing questions of the day, which we invite comrades to ponder, alongside the one central question that Lenin posed and that always hangs over us.
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We still believe that this particular format of the in-person conference offers a unique and irreplaceable form that brings together comrades, enables discussion, helps disseminate new and original research, creates research networks and communities, and builds solidarity. Therefore, we will not accept online presentations, except in rare and specific cases. Throughout the rest of the year, we also engage in online broadcasts and podcasts.
As in the past, the conference ethos is strictly egalitarian. We invite everyone to contribute in a comradely spirit. The conference is open to all currents of critical Marxist theory, and we expect all presenters to attend the entire conference (from the Thursday afternoon to the Sunday afternoon), not just their own session (there are no ‘cameo appearances’). We therefore expect all speakers to make themselves available for the whole of the conference, as tailoring a conference of this size around individuals’ preferences and desires is neither feasible nor desirable. The conference is an essential part of the broader Historical Materialism project – including the journal, the book series, the podcast, the broadcasts, and the global network of HM conferences – and we enjoin all conference participants to get involved with these different elements, for example, by subscribing to the journal and submitting their conference paper to us for consideration.
In line with the central theme of this year’s conference, we particularly want to invite contributions that address the following non-exclusive questions:
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Fascism and the rise of the far-right
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Palestine and the genocidal violence of the Zionist state
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Race, racialisation and capitalism
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Marxism and the critique of antisemitism
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Marxist critiques of sexism, patriarchy, and heteronormativity
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Contemporary authoritarianism, the transformation of capitalist states, and the attacks on the right to protest
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The many forms of imperialist aggression
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The importance of strategic discussions and how to open these up
Whilst we encourage papers and panels that address these themes, as always, the Historical Materialism conference seeks to provide a space for critical Marxist theory and research across the globe and a range of disciplines and interests, so submissions on other themes are welcome.
The following streams will each be issuing individual CFPs:
- Workers’ Inquiry Stream
- Marxism and Culture Stream
- Marxist Feminist Stream
- Sexuality and Political Economy Stream
- Western Marxism Stream
- Post-Capitalism Stream
Individual proposals for papers and panels must include: i) Names of participants with e-mails, phone numbers and institutional affiliations. Where there is more than one participant, we require a clear indication of a corresponding author. ii) Title and abstract of the paper or panel. In the case of a paper, please submit an abstract of no longer than 300 words. In the case of a panel, please submit an overarching description of 300 words, names and details of each participant and abstracts for individual papers. Ditto for book launches/panels.
The deadline for submissions is Friday 31 May 2024. Partial submissions may be rejected.
*DEADLINE HAS NOW PASSED*
For all enquiries, please contact: conference@historicalmaterialism.org
Accommodation Info
Lodging HM London 2024
The conference venue is at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), in the Bloomsbury area of central London, with many hotels close by. The neighbourhood includes many attractions and museums, and is very popular with tourists. As a consequence of this, there are many hotels in the area but they are pricey.
We hope the following might be helpful in finding accomodation, and is designed to suit a range of pocket sizes. Some of these options come recommended, although we have not visited all of them and cannot guarantee quality.
We also recommend you to find hotels further afield that have good transit options for reaching central London, and have included some websites that are good for finding a variety of lodgings. The CityMapper app is helpful for getting around London.
Hotel Name | Room Types | Price Estimates: 7/11-10/11 | Address | Distance to Conference |
Smart Russel Square Hostel | Mixed dorms of 4-12 | £62-90 | 71-72 Guilford Street, WC1N 1DF | Walking Distance |
Astor Museum Hostel | Mixed/gendered dorms of 4-15 Twins |
£181-270 £490-545 |
27 Montague Street, WC1B 5BH | Walking Distance |
Generator Hostel | Mixed/gendered dorms Twins |
£29-42 (per night) £111-144 (per night) |
37 Tavistock Place, WC1H 9SE | Walking Distance |
YHA London Central Hostel | Gendered dorms | £125 | 104 Bolsover Street, W1W 5NU | Walking Distance (0.8 miles) |
YHA London Oxford Street Hostel | Gendered dorms | £135 | 14 Noel Street, W1F 8GJ | Walking Distance (0.7 miles) |
YMCA Indian Student Hostel | Singles & Doubles | £315-750 | 41 Fitzroy Square, W1T 6AQ | Walking Distance |
Palmer’s Lodge Swiss Cottage | Mixed/gendered dorms of 4-24 Triples |
£28-75 (per night) £200 (per night) |
40 College Crescent, NW3 5LB | ~30 mins via underground ~45 mins via bus |
St. Christopher’s Village Hostel | Mixed dorms of 4-33 Singles & Twins |
£25-43 (per night) £116-139 (per night) |
165 Borough High Street, SE1 1HR | ~35 mins via underground ~40 mins via bus |
Safestay Hostel Elephant & Castle | Mixed/gendered dorms of 4-8 | £16-20 (per night) | 144-152 Walworth Road, SE17 1JL | ~30 mins via underground ~40 mins via bus |
Safestay Hostel Kensington | Mixed/gendered dorms of 6-21 | £13-20 (per night) | Holland Walk, W8 7QU | ~30 mins via underground |
Wombat’s City Hostel | Mixed/gendered dorms of 4-8 Doubles & Twins |
£41-48 (per night) £154-160 (per night) |
7 Dock Street, E1 8LL | ~35 mins via underground ~45 mins via bus |
Travelodge Central Euston | Doubles | £463-£522 | 1-11 Grafton, Place NW1 1DJ | Walking Distance |
Travelodge Covent Garden | Doubles | £519-£630 | 10 Drury Lane, WC2B 5RE | Walking Distance |
Travelodge King’s Cross | Doubles | £409-507 | 356-364 Grays Inn Road, WC1X 8BH | Walking Distance (0.9 miles) |
Travelodge Walthamstow | King Size | £293 – £442 | 2 Station Approach, E17 9QF | ~30 mins via underground ~1hr via bus |
Travelodge Finsbury Park | King Size | £331-£394 | 185-187 Isledon Road, N7 7JR | ~20 mins via underground ~40 mins via bus |
easyHotel Paddington | Singles Doubles |
£283 £339 |
10 Norfolk Place, W2 1QL | ~25 mins via underground ~30 mins via bus |
easyHotel Victoria | Doubles | £357-487 | 34-40 Belgrave Road, SW1V 1RG | ~30 mins via underground ~35 mins via bus |
easyHotel South Kensington | Doubles | £346-394 | 14 Lexham Gardens, W8 5JE | ~30 mins via underground ~1hr via bus |
Mabledon Court Hotel | Singles Doubles |
from £383 from £410 |
10-11 Mabledon Place, WC1H 9AZ | Walking Distance |
Ambassadors Hotel | Singles Twins Doubles |
from £627 from £657 from £657 |
12 Upper Woburn Place, WC1H 0HX | Walking Distance |
Royal National Hotel | Singles Twins Doubles |
from £450 from £510 from £540 |
38-51 Bedford Way, WC1H 0DG | Walking Distance |
The Tavistock Hotel | Singles Twins Doubles |
from £555 from £651 from £651 |
48-55 Tavistock Square, WC1H 9EU | Walking Distance |
President Hotel | Twins Doubles |
from £610 from £610 |
56-60 Guilford Street, WC1N 1DB | Walking Distance |
Bedford Hotel | Single Twin Double |
from £600 from £690 from £720 |
83-95 Southampton Row, WC1B 4HD | Walking Distance |
Other Sites to Check: | ||||
Stay in a Pub | ||||
Late Rooms | ||||
KAYAK |