Reflections on Olympia Assembly: An Experiment in Popular Power
By David Goldman What Is Olympia Assembly? Olympia Assembly, a political project based in the town of Olympia in Washington State, was founded in March of 2017 in the midst of ecological and political catastrophe. It was created as a communal assembly project, coalescing around points of unity such as direct democracy, non-hierarchy, ecology, […]
Grace Gershuny on the evolution of the organic food movement
Learning from History, Going on From Here (originally published on Grace’s blog, Organic Revolutionary) The world has changed considerably in the forty years since I attended my first NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) Conference–then also billed as a “celebration of rural life.” So too has the organization, which has gone from a marginal little group […]
Z.A.D. and the Revenge Against the Commons, by John Jordan
ISE affiliate and longtime activist John Jordan has written an account of the Z.A.D. autonomous territory in Western France that is now under attack by the French state. “As you may well know, Isa and I and our collective the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination moved to the autonomous territory of the zad in western France […]
The ZAD Becomes Compost: LONG LIVE THE ZAD (Zone a Defendre)!
By Beverly Naidus When something you have witnessed, loved and cared for is destroyed and uprooted, whether it is a forest, a species, a community or a culture, it can wreck the spirit. The trauma of these violent actions, informed by greed and ignorance, can ripple out widely, encouraging resistance, but it requires attention. In […]
2018 ISE Annual Gathering: Aug. 17-19 Marshfield, VT
The Institute for Social Ecology cordially invites you to our 2018 Annual Gathering for a weekend of engaging political discussion, great food, and socializing in Marshfield, Vermont. The gathering is a unique opportunity to renew the Social Ecology community in person, restore old friendships and make new ones, and connect with like-minded people from around […]
ISE Winter Newsletter 2018
Winter Newsletter for the Institute for Social Ecology – recent and upcoming events!
Social Ecology Summer Intensive: June 8-13, Poulsbo, WA.
We had a superbly successful Social Ecology Summer Intensive June 8-13, 2018 at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo, Washington. Stay tuned this coming winter for announcements of our 2019 Intensives, tentatively planned for both Vermont and British Columbia!
New Online Course: Social Transformation Beyond Pragmatism or Utopia
Social Transformation Beyond Pragmatism and Utopia is a three-session seminar that explores theoretical and practical dilemmas posed by the tension between utopia and pragmatism in communalism’s political vision. First taught in the spring of 2018 by long-time ISE affiliate Robert Ogman, the course will meet again this fall. Stay tuned for details!
“Murray Bookchin Has a Posse” Pin Fundraiser!
Our friends from Demand Utopia in Portland have made some very cool “Murray Bookchin Has a Posse” pins! Proceeds will go towards funding the first translation of Murray Bookchin’s work into Arabic.
Enroll Now for Spring Online Seminar: Mondays, March 12 – April 30
Our internationally acclaimed 8-week online seminar, “Ecology, Democracy, Utopia,” will convene again in mid-September. Details coming soon. Meanwhile, the self-paced version, featuring recorded lectures by ISE faculty, continues to be open for enrollment.
