Celebrating Dissent: 60 Years of Socialist Study

As scholars, activists, and community members on the left, we tend – rightly – to observe and organize against the destructive operations of capital, bourgeois/colonial states, and other forms of domination. Yet, while there remains much to struggle against, we can see what historic struggles have produced: an uprising of miners, farmers, and Indigenous peoples has shaken the emergent oligarchy in Bolivia; a growing global movement of anti-Zionism is placing settler-colonialism in West Asia on the backfoot; consciousness-raising against authoritarianism, successes for democratic socialist candidates, and a mass anti-ICE movement offer the shoots of left possibility within the United States. In Canada, there may be hope in a revitalized New Democratic Party under the leadership of Avi Lewis. Within our universities, struggles continue for academic freedom, as well as against cuts and labour precarity, but we must continue to seek out and form community ties.

It is in this spirit that the 2027 Society for Socialist Studies conference urges us to celebrate dissent. Not celebrate as if to say that we are done dissenting, or that dissent itself is a replacement for taking power. But celebration of the work that has been done, is being done, and must continue to be done. Through celebrating dissent – celebrating the grassroots organizers and the struggles against oppression – we can work toward collective liberation and enliven ourselves in the process.

As a standalone event (i.e., not part of Congress 2027), the Society for Socialist Studies will hold its annual conference at the University of Victoria from May 28-31, 2027. In organizing the event, the conference committee currently welcomes proposals for open sessions (firm October 1st deadline), closed sessions, and individual papers on many topics.

The Society for Socialist Studies 2027 Annual Conference
May 28-31, 2027
University of Victoria, Territories of the
Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples [Victoria, BC, Canada]