Breaking the media blackout

The Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities – Skopje proudly invites you to the third seminar of the School for Politics and Critique with Stipe Ćurković, founder of the Centre for Labour Studies and editor of the Croatian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique, that will be held Saturday, March 22, 2014 – at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities – Skopje in 13 o’clock.

The seminar “Breaking the media darkness” will focus on two key issues relevant for the ideological and political struggle in the media.

13:00 to 15:00 The first part will address the strategies for breaking through the hegemonic neoliberal discourse that dominates the mainstream media and the possibilities for using the public media space for deploying of social based political rhetoric. The claim that the mainstream media always already pervert every radical discourse and sell it as commodified product of the pacified masses has isolated the radical political space to an array of alternative media that have only a limited influence. The challenge of the radical left today is strategic, and consists in inventing techniques for penetration, exploitation and subversion of the dominant neo-liberalism, while every form of asceticism leads to self-isolation and self-marginalization.

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch

16:00 to 18:00 The second part will be based on the struggle for sustaining journalism and publishing beyond capitalist relations of property interests, by which publishing and journalism can survive in their emancipatory role and their basic tasks. Through the experience with the Croatian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique and the Publishing Centre for Labour Studies, a brief overview will be given of the main challenges and successes of such practices in Croatia.

Stipe Ćurković is the chief editor of the Croatian edition of Le Monde Diplomatique (http://lemondediplomatique.hr/), publicist and researcher at the Centre for Labour Studies (http://radnickistudiji.org/) in Zagreb. His theoretical and political interests are tied to Marxism, with a particular focus on political economy and issues of ideology and representation of social processes in post-socialist societies.

The “School for Politics and Critique” aims at strengthening the theoretical and practical skills of Macedonia’s activists for the purpose to answer the challenges of the neoliberal policies that has come to over-dominate the political and everyday life.

The School will directly support the activists in the development of a sustained political rhetoric through providing substantial means for delivering socially and ideologically informed analysis and critique. The seminars will provide a space for strengthening of knowledge, discussions and exchange on key topics of Marxist theory and revolutionary praxis.

The School will be organized throughout 2014 and will be methodologically organized in two-day seminars that will take place during one weekend of each month except July and August.

To apply for participation in the “School for Politics and Critique” You should track send the following information at [email protected]