- - - -
The first limited beta session of ZSchool will commence July 1 2008. Registration will occur in June, announced via email in Z Updates. There will be only five courses for the test run, listed here, but they will be full courses, ten weeks each, with all facilities in place.
http://moodle.zcommunications.org/
Workers self-management in Latin America Teacher: Marie Trigona
Today in Latin America hundreds of worker run businesses are up
and running. This course will overview the central experiences of
worker controlled factories and enterprises in Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay and Venezuela. It will give students an orientation of the
phenomenon of worker takeovers and the development of workers'
self-management in the 21st century. Topics covered will be the
role of workers self organization, the state, various structures,
etc.
Understanding Venezuela: Progressive Hope or Dangerous Illusion Teacher: Greg Wilpert
The Chavez government's effort to create "21st century socialism"
is not only controversial in the mainstream media, but also among
many progressives. This course will try to take a balanced look at
what is happening in Venezuela, its plusses and minuses, so as to
come to a fuller understanding of whether what is happening there
is truly beneficial for the population and to what extent the
Chavez government policies can serve as a model for progressive
politics elsewhere.
Participatory Society 1 Teacher: Chris Spannos
An overview course based on the new book Real Utopia. Lectures
will be taken from the book - discussions and assignments will
explore, debate, and extend that content. The course will provide
an introduction/overview to elements of economy, polity, gender,
race, ecology, international relations and domestic and
international experiences and strategies, among other topics.
Paths to Parecon Teacher: Michael Albert
Paths to Parecon starts by developing the economic vision called
Participatory Economics from no prior knowledge, from a number of
directions - values, classlessness, concerns of gender, race,
power, ecology, etc. Differdnt paths to advocating the model. Then
it will evaluate various elements, and also various related
strategic implications. Students hopefully comprehend the model,
diverse objections and implications, and rejoinders, and arrive at
their own opinion of all that. Discussions and explorations
facilitate not only comprehension by students, but their ability
to either challenge or advocate the model.
Parecon/Parsoc 2 Teacher: Michael Albert
This course requires an enrolment keyThis is a seminar for people
who have completed Parecon 1 and Parsoc 1 OR who are comparably
informed and confident about the logic, values, and structure of
parecon and current dimensions of parsoc - and who are already
strong advocates of parecon and parsoc. Registration requires a
key received from faculty. To apply, please send email to
The seminar will explore the implications of Parecon/Parsoc in all
directions that participants initiate and inquire about -
including implications for diverse sectors of society and
especially for movement strategy, structure, and methods.
The seminar will be mostly discussion, debate, exploration, with
diverse assignments. The goal will be becoming skilled at talking,
speaking, writing, and strategizing for parecon...plus
collectively developing relevant insights, skills, and
information.
Forthcoming Courses:
* Activists Guide to U.S. Media Policy * Moral and ethical limits of Democratic decision making. * Liberatory Lit: Imaginative Writing for Social Change * Understanding Fascism: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Concerns' * Global Social Movements * Contemporary Latin American Social Movements * Journalism and/in Democracy * Indonesia - 1965 to Today * Anarchisms: Past and Future * Balkans and Eastern Europe * Culture/Community Vision * Gender/Masculinity/Pornography * Hidden History of Democracy * How Social Movements Make Social Change * Islamaphobia * Latin America's Leftward Shift - Causes, Consequences, and Prospects * Critical Perspectives on Corporate Media * Nuclear Strategy * Overcoming Poverty - A Non-Capitalist Approach to Development * Participatory Education * Radical Post Colonial Theory * Reaching the American Mind * Science and the World Around Us
http://moodle.zcommunications.org/