<div dir="ltr"><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>Dear Pedagog community,</span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>We are finally able to introduce ourselves to this amazingly engaged community!</span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>Apologies for not having done so before, but we have been struggling with the Covid-19 situation here in Italy (where we are based at the moment) and with some health issues. <br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>We are <a href="https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/departments-and-centres/department-of-management-politics-and-philosophy/staff/lmompp" target="_blank">Lara Monticelli</a> and <a href="https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/business/people/academic/torsten-geelan" target="_blank">Torsten Geelan</a>, respectively, Assistant Professor at Copenhagen Business School and Research Fellow at the University of Copenhagen (from Sept. 2020 onwards). We are both early-career sociologists struggling to survive in neoliberal academia, and now that we have some teaching experience, we are keen to engage in exchanges on critical pedagogy aimed at raising critical consciousness amongst educators and students. <br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> <br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>Albeit our different backgrounds, we are both interested in going beyond the classic critiques of capitalism and deepening our understanding of contemporary alternatives, why and when they succeed or fail, and how they can thrive.<br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>We realized that after the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2009, many researchers started to be interested (again) in alternatives to capitalism, but there was not an <b>interdisciplinary community</b> where these various researchers (coming from many different fields such as sociology, history, ecology, philosophy, economics, etc...) could meet and exchange their ideas, their views and their projects.<br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>For this reason, in 2018 we decided to found a <b>new research network (titled Alternatives to Capitalism) within SASE</b> - <a href="https://sase.org/" target="_blank">Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics</a>.<br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span>The network arose from the renewed debate about
the <b>future of capitalism</b> and the urgent need to <b>prefigure and enact alternatives</b>
that can help tackle the multiple intertwined crises that societies currently
face – high and rising inequality of income and power, eroding democracy and
citizens´ rights, climate change and a shrinking welfare state.
</span></span></font></p><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></font></div><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span></span><span><span></span></span>Since 2018, we have organized gatherings in Kyoto (Japan), New York city (at the New School), and this year <a href="https://sase.confex.com/sase/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Program/1187">fully online</a> due to the Covid-19 situation (but the conference was planned to take place at the University of Amsterdam). <br><span></span></span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">You can browse our program here:</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148)"><u><a href="https://sase.confex.com/sase/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Program/1187">https://sase.confex.com/sase/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Program/1187</a></u></span></span></font></p></div><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">In parallel with our annual gatherings which are usually held in June or July each year, we interact with our vibrant community through a <b>mailing list</b> (which counts almost 400 members at the moment). <br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">We warmly invite you to join us by subscribing here: <br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148)"><u><a href="https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-jisc.exe?SUBED1=ALTERNATIVES-TO-CAPITALISM&A=1" target="_blank">https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-jisc.exe?SUBED1=ALTERNATIVES-TO-CAPITALISM&A=1</a></u></span></span></font></p><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span></span></span></font></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(11,83,148)"><u></u></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">During our annual gatherings, which are held every year in a different city, it is fundamental for us to <b>engage with local activists and organizations</b>. For instance, last year in New York City<span style="color:black">, our participants could tour </span><a href="https://www.fountainhouse.org/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span>Fountain
House</span></a><span style="color:black">, observe a meeting, and
explore how this communities’ mental health program uses decision-making by
consensus with staff and members</span><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">.<span> </span>In addition, </span><span>the
founder of </span><a href="https://newyork.figmentproject.org/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span>FIGMENT</span></a><span>
delved into how a free, annual participatory arts festival started in NYC and spread
across North American cities. <span style="color:black"><span></span></span></span></span></font></p><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><span></span></span><span style="color:black"><br></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">On another day, the<i> “<span>Worker Cooperatives and the Labor Movement: A Co-op
Development Initiative in the Nation’s Largest Union Local”</span></i></span><span>
<span style="color:black">roundtable featured</span> <span style="color:black;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">speakers from 1199SEIU, the Open Society Foundation, and
the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations and Worker Institute
at Cornell ILR.<span> </span>This session</span>
<span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">discussed an important alternative
for organized labor, exploring why the largest union local in the US is considering
worker cooperatives as a strategy. <br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Last year, we have been also lucky enough to host two prominent guests such as<span style="color:black"> the
founder and editor of </span><a href="https://jacobinmag.com/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span>Jacobin
Magazine</span></a><span style="color:black">, Bhaskar Sunkara, who discussed
his new book </span><i><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of
Extreme Inequality</span></i><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"> (Basic Books 2019) and
Professor </span><a href="https://www.newschool.edu/lang/faculty/nancy-fraser/" style="color:rgb(5,99,193);text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">Nancy
Fraser</span></a><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"> who presented her new book <i>Capitalism. A Conversation in Critical Theory</i> (Polity Press 2018). </span><span style="color:black"><span><br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><span><br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><span>We are really glad to be part of this community and we look forward to creating strong bridges between the Alternatives to Capitalism network, the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, and the Pedagog community. <br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><span><br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><span>In solidarity,<br></span></span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times",serif;color:black"><span><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Lara and Torsten</span></font><br></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times",serif;color:black"><span></span><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times",serif"><span style="color:rgb(33,33,33);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times",serif;color:black;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times",serif;color:black"><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span><span> </span><span></span></span></span></font></p><div style="text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;text-align:left"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><span> </span></span></span></font></p>
</div></div>