A FREE UNIVERSITY


of


los angeles




we WILL have our own schools that are NOT designed to re-produce ignorance,

obedience, helpless docility, fear, and hate


Too often we try to reinvent the wheel and too often we have difficulty communicating with

one another due to a lack of understanding of the cornerstones of other people’s ideas (e.g.

“indigenous sovereignty,” “positive power,” “The Commune”, “internal colonialism”, “praxis”,

‘liberation’ vs. ‘rights,’ “direct democracy”, etc). This series of talks is intended for

ALL NON-AUTHORITARIAN people of LA who would like to have a general overview of SOME of the

most significant instances, movements, theories, and languages of liberation.

Generally, the topics will be presented by people who use the presented ideas and lessons in

their own struggles (praxis!). In addition to being educational, this will also give the

presenters and the people of our communities the much-needed opportunity to get to know one

another, build links, and fight against the ghettoization of our city.


The point of the university is to provide a space for various non-authoritarian people of LA

to teach/explain/share/discuss/etc the roots of their inspirations and then explain how some

of those ideas are being applied into their existing ideas and, most importantly - actions.


For example, if it was learning about the Chinese peasant rebellions that initially

motivated you to start a community garden project, then it would be great if you could come

and talk to us about (1) the Peasant Rebellions that you know about, (2) what you found to

be the most inspiring/enlightening elements of it (here you will have a chance to more

explicitly express your current way of seeing the world), and (3) how that inspiration is

translated into the way in which you go about building the gardens. (This is only an example

of one of the ways in which this can be done. The actual presentations are completely up the

speakers.)


This way we will get to learn some relevant history and theory, understand where others are

coming from, and see how we can help one another.

Currently we are trying to line-up the speakers. By early December we will start promoting

the Free University of LA to the greater public of LA.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

Contact relevant organizations to line up speakers and ask them to help us promote and

provide links to other potential speakers. We are trying to get speakers from organizations

that are active in the particular field (e.g. Casa De Pueblo, American Indian Youth, Black

Cross, etc.).

Each speaker will be asked to provide an outline of their talk 10 days in advance so that it

can be shared with other speakers who might be presenting on the same topic.


Each session is going to be run by the speakers of that session!

Since we are very ghettoized and know very little about one another, then it should

probably be a broad intro thing, but again, it’s up to the presenters to determine how they

would like to run their session. At the end of the session if the people want to get into

the topic in any more depth, then, on the spot, they can agree to meet again, hopefully even

branching out. The location of the particular talks will be up to the speakers for that

week, however, if they don't have a space or don't care, we can provide a space.

CONTACT: FreeUniversityOfLA@yahoo.com (please send us your phone # if you are thinking

on presenting on any topics)


CHECK OUT http://www.florycanto.org/freeuni.htm for updates




(DAY) TOPIC


(1) INTRO TO MARX, HISTORICAL MATERIALISM, SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM, etc. section 1

1/24/04 5:30PM at Flor Y Canto (check out FlorYCanto.org)




(2) INTRO TO MARX, HISTORICAL MATERIALISM, SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM, etc. section 2

1/31/04 5:30PM at Flor Y Canto (check out FlorYCanto.org)




(3) Some PRE-20TH CENTURY REVOLUTIONS


1. PEASANT REBELLIONS, 2. LUDDITES, 3. AMERICAN REVOLUTION


4. FRENCH REVOLUTION, 5. Mexican revolution 6. Philippine resistance




(4) Some of the FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN ANTI-AUTHORITARIANISM: section 1


1. PROUDON, 2. MAGON, 3. ZAPATA 4. BAKUNIN 5. KROPOTKIN,


6. MALATESTA (roy) 8. etc.







(5) Some of the FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN ANTI-AUTHORITARIANISM: section 2


1. PROUDON, 2. MAGON, 3. ZAPATA 4. BAKUNIN 5. KROPOTKIN,


6. GOLDMAN (traci), 7. LUCY PARSONS 8. etc.




(6) Some 20th Century Revolutions: section 1


1.RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, 2. SPANISH REVOLUTION, 3. LABOR HISTORY, SYNDICALISM


4. etc







(7) Some 20th Century Revolutions: section 2


1. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, 2. SPANISH REVOLUTION, 3. LABOR HISTORY 4.etc







(8) AMERICAN INDIAN RESISTANCE TO GENOCIDE







(9) 1. AFRICAN RESISTANCE TO SLAVERY 2. “RACE”: PRODUCTION OF “RACES”







(10) ANTI/POST COLONIAL RESISTANCE


1. AFRICA 2. CHINA 3. CARIBBEAN: HAITI, CUBA, PUERTO RICO, JAMAICA, etc 4.HUNGARY, POLAND, etc, (AGAINST USSR) 5. IRELAND 6. Middle East/Palestine






(11) ANTI/POST COLONIAL RESISTANCE


1. AFRICA 2. CHINA 3. CARIBBEAN: HAITI, CUBA, PUERTO RICO, JAMAICA, etc 4. HUNGARY, POLAND, etc, (AGAINST USSR) 5. IRELAND 6. Middle East/Palestine




(12) 1. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, 2. BLACK POWER MOVEMENT, MOVE








(13) 1. BROWN POWER MOVEMENT 2. ASIAN RADICAL MOVEMENTS 3.GAY LIBERATION 4.etc







(14) 1. US PRISONS 2. COINTELPRO: THEN AND NOW







(15) STIUATIONISTS





(16) GLOBALIZATION, CAPITALISM TODAY, PROPAGANDA TODAY





(17) HERSTORY AND THEORY: FEMINISMS - RESISTING GENDER HIERARCHY and other forms of OPPRESSION of Women/Womyn





(18) The ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN LEFT







(19) POST-MODERNISTS: DERRIDA, etc







(20) POST-STRUCTURALISTS: FOUCAULT, etc







(21) ZAPATIZMO







(22) QUESTIONING CIVILIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY, GREEN @





(23) RESISTING THE DESTRUCTION OF EARTH AND ANIMALS

If your sources of inspiration come from a place that is not listed above PLEASE contact us as soon as possible and we will try to add that topic somewhere in this listing where it makes some chronological sense.
THANK YOU!

Do you think if you post this nonsense often enough. people will say, "Hey, maybe he's got a point?"

Well, here at Indymedia, you might be right.

If you don't like the sound of the courses, don't attend. Enroll in some real esate management or marketing classes at USC and go out for the Alpha Hangover Fraternity.

Anger from the "life gave me a raw deal" underclass.

Yes, I understand - your mothers breathed in harsh chemicals while they were pregnant or they were persuaded by unscrupulous advertisers and marketers to smoke and drink poisonous alcohol. Thus, you two were born with malformed brains and wound up in the USC business school, passed out drunk on the floor of a fraternity house much of the time. But you should channel your anger into fighting for social change, so that future generations won't have to suffer what you suffered.

Is this some weird attempt to be comical or sarcastic, because you failed in that, too.

Life really did give him a raw deal; he was deprived of a sense of humor as well as a fully functioning brain. Damned liquor companies.

I knew you were alefty jackass, but until now I was unaware you were a humorless, stupid, lefty jackass. Does this crap above sound like an institution where you would like to go? Maybe you're a little too "authoritarian" for them, whatever the fuck that means. I know you're a little too "idiotarian" for my taste.
As to the rest, well, I hate USC too. But what kind of a gig are you going to get from Meyer London University, as advertised on Indymedia?

As I said before, the solution to not liking schools is not to attend them. I don't plan to attend the USC Business School, so I just won't enroll. Seems pretty simple, eh?
And now for the big revelation (to you): some people study and attend classes because they are intellectually stimulated by the subject matter or because they want to learn about social change, not because they want to get a cushy job or make lots of money or become a yuppie. Believe it or not, that was the original purpose of universities. Hard to believe in capitalist America, I know.

The curriculum at this proposed "university" is weak in content. Definately a good college for the mentally insane, or by virtue of having the same, if not lower, mental capacity, IMCers.