[Air-L] The Political Economy of Hacking Symposium CfP

[christina dunbar-hester]

*The Political Economy of Hacking – Accelerate, Augment, or Abolish the
Markets?*

           *Circle 6: Appropriating Technology for Societal Change*



26th of July - 2nd of August, Saulkrasti, Latvia

Deadline for applications: 1st of May



*Theme of the symposium*

Technology disrupt markets. It is open to debate, however, what this
implies for the future of the market economy. Some hackers and activists
look forward to the day when technological progress has abolished the need
for market exchanges. For instance, self-acclaimed pirates strive to make
intellectual property unenforceable with file sharing protocols.
Hobby-engineers develop self-reproducing 3D printers under the slogan:
“wealth-without-money”. The digital currency Faircoin has been launched as
a more equitable alternative to the existing monetary system. Peer
production, exemplified in free software development, is showcased as a
non-coercive model for organizing work. Towering above these initiatives is
basic income as a redistributive principle, arguably better adjusted to the
age of full automation.



The post-capitalist future envisioned by some hackers and activists
contrasts with the “accelerationist” vision. According to the latter
viewpoint, it is not markets but monopolies, guild privileges, and state
regulations that are unsettled by technological breakthroughs. Virtual
reality paves the way for “augmented property”, block-chain technology
unlocks new areas of the lifeworld to just-in-time monetary flows, and
computerization allows work to be parceled up in ever finer tasks and
micropayments. Whose utopia will carry the day – you are invited to take
part in the discussion!



Relevant themes for presentations may include, but is not limited to, the
following questions:



•                          Is peer production still on the agenda after the
rise of the “sharing economy”?

•                          Is basic income the answer to automation and
jobless growth?

•                          What are the identities of future workers:
employees, turkers, makers?

•                          How is wealth distribution affected by platform
capitalism?

•                          What new avenues of marketization will be
opened-up with block-chain technology?

•                          Can alternative currencies be designed to fix
the monetary system?

•                          Historical perspectives on the rise of peer
production/platform capitalism/sharing economy

•                          Theoretical perspectives at the intersection of
hacking, high-tech markets, and labour



*Format of the presentation *



Presentation of work:

We wish to facilitate debates and therefore encourage free oral
presentation rather than reading from a paper. A presentation should aim
for 20-30 min., leaving time for discussions.



Text:

You can offer to present a text (own writing or a published text) which has
been distributed beforehand to the participants. The text should not exceed
25 pages. The presentation must give a short introduction of the
argumentation allowing participants to engage in discussion.





*Submit via email. Deadline, 1st of May, 2017: *



1. A written proposal (ca 350 words) with a title, its format its duration.

2. A short bio (ca 100 words).



Submit to: johan.soderberg at sts.gu.se and gustav.eek at fripost.org

If you would like to attend the symposium without presenting, please email
a short bio. Participants with presentations will be given priority.
Preliminary program will be announced on 15th of May on
www.nordic.university. Late submissions will continued to be considered,
until the maximum number of participants is reached.



*Application process and registration *

The application process has two steps:

(1) Application to coordinators for acceptance of presentation or
participation without presentation.

(2) After you have been accepted, the next step is registration and
payments, which closes on 1st of June. All registration and payment will be
done electronically.

Note if you apply for participating late, payment must still be completed 1st
of June.



*Keynote speakers at NSU*



Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir, Professor of Philosophy at the University of
Iceland.

Cecilia Malmström Olsson, freelance dance researcher, writer, lecturer.





*Cost and accommodation *



The NSU summer session is held from 26th of July to 2nd of August 2017 in
Minhauzena Unda, Saulkrasti (Latvia)

For more information about the place, please visit: https://nsu2017.
wordpress.com/



Total cost per adult person, including accommodation and full pension,
ranges from 200-550 € depending on the accommodation of choice. Grant and
scholarship are available under certain conditions. See further on
combination of categories and prices here:https://payment.nsuweb.org/



*To Doctorate Candidates*

Despite its name, Nordic Summer School is not a summer school targeting
doctorate candidates. It invites participants on all levels of the
university as well as from outside academia. That being said, doctorate
student is on request awarded 5 credits for participation and presentation
at NSU.


**
Christina Dunbar-Hester
Author of *Low Power to the People*
<http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/low-power-people>, MIT Press