[dorkbotsea-blabber] FW: Next conversation: "Resources and Tactics, Information

[Kate Seekings]

The next Conversation(moderated by John Boylan) is on Monday 19th.
Details below.

K

-----Original Message-----
From: jboylan at speakeasy.net [mailto:jboylan at speakeasy.net] 
Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2004 11:23 PM
To: jboylan at speakeasy.net
Subject: Next conversation: "Resources and Tactics, Information

What Do We Do Now?" returns with another episode of sparkling
conversation.

This episode: "Resources and Tactics, Information and Action" 

Tonight we are talking about finding the most valuable information and
using it as engaged citizens of a democracy. We'll depart a wee bit from
the standard format of this series. Rather than the regular four guests
and a general roundtable, we will have one live guest and several others
in spirit. We'll have a pair of presentations and then open up the
conversation.

It seems more than self-evident that we live in a world of information
overload; data ooze out of everywhere. I'm not convinced that we are
necessarily exposed to more information than people from other times,
but the information we get is less personal, more abstract, more brutal,
and more in our face than, say, the information touching the life of a
preindustrial woodcarver, farmer, or painter of chapel ceilings. 

One of the challenges of citizenship is to make sense of the information
overload and get to the core of the information that matters. A second
challenge is to use that information to take constructive action in a
social or political arena.

I have asked Dianne Ludwig, a student of Library and Information
Sciences, to give a half-hour presentation on some of the best available
sources of information for activism, an information toolkit. (There will
be a handout.) I will then present about fifteen minutes of quotes from
writers looking at the dynamics of political and social action,
including organizer Saul Alinsky, nonviolent tactician George Lakey,
activist and witch Starhawk, a couple of effective eco-activists from
rural Pennsylvania, and a few others. Then we'll open up for the regular
roundtable. Come with your own tips, tactics, stories, ideas.

Monday, April 19, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm 

Guests (see below for guest bio): 
Library and Information Sciences student Dianne Ludwig
In spirit, several diverse writers and tacticians in struggles for
social change

"What Do We Do Now?" happens at Otis (206-342-9866), a nonsmoking cafe
and bistro at 1005 Boren (at Madison). This event is free. Tell your
friends. 

"What Do We Do Now?" is an ongoing conversation on contemporary art and
politics. This roundtable series peers into the interstices of art,
politics, the past and the future, dawdling here and there to talk about
music, dance, urban planning, sculpture, chemistry, rock and roll,
concepts of time and space, individuality, montage, sex, death,
revolution, passion, fear, and other assorted topics. The series is
organized and moderated by John Boylan. For more information about the
series, call 206-781-5674

What's Coming Up 
In May, we will revisit last November's topic, "The Theater of Politics
and the Politics of Theater," with an all-new cast of characters.
Down the road: maybe a conversation about painting, and maybe a
conversation about food. Stay tuned.

Art of Resistance Update
Preparations are proceeding for the Art of Resistance political artists'
conference, a national conference on political art to be held in Seattle
on May 15th and 16th. The current conversations in this series are of a
more political bent, rather than the "Water," "Light, and "Sound"
variety. I'm doing that in preparation for the conference, as a way of
getting the conversation going early. The conference will happen at the
Arts Brewery on Airport Way South in Seattle. It's not too late to
submit a proposal to host a workshop or perform. Check out
http://www.artofresistance-seattle.net or contact
artofresistance at riseup.net.

The Guest
Dianne Ludwig, having survived many years of exciting retail employment
opportunities, decided to take matters into her own hands and entered
the University of Washington's Library and Information Sciences program
in the summer of 2002. Her studies have focused on public libraries and
reference desk information provision. She is currently a student and
volunteers at Mercer Island Library, Plymouth Housing Group, First Place
School, and the service group of the LIS program.

Thanks to Astrid Larsen for her help with this episode.