1 April 2009

A message from the Canadian Socialist Project drew my attention to their pages' long list of interesting links related to the world financial crisis. They have interesting videos on the subject as well. See also their Home Page. Their magazine is called Relay: A Socialist Project Review. The magazine invites contributions.

Media Critics and Cultural Producers of Canada Unite!

Attention to all that have a problem with neoliberal and neo-conservative 'common-sense.'

When Stephen Harper became the Prime Minister of Canada, he received a congratulatory message from Paul Weyrich, co-founder of a number of American New Right culture war agencies including the Center for Cultural Conservatism, the Free Congress Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Christian Coalition. In the message, Weyrich advises Harper to de-stabilize and eventually liquidate Canada's "cultural Marxist" front. (Freeman, Alan [2006] "Tackle Cultural Marxism U.S. Writer urges Harper." Globe and Mail, Friday January 27, 2006).

In hopes of building such a cultural front capable of challenging neoliberal and neoconservative hegemony in Canada, and in the spirit of existing anti-corporate global media and cultural democracy movements, the editors of Relay: A Socialist Project Review welcomes contributions to its growing 'Cultural Front' section. Relay is an electronic and print magazine that has been published bi-monthly for the past three years; it seeks to convey, reflect and debate issues of importance to the democratic and pluralist left, inside and outside of Canada.

A 'Cultural Front' — an articulated network of workers, intellectuals, political-economists, media activists, writers and artists — might enliven and build a cultural left politics in Canada to challenge neoliberal and neoconservative ideologies and the corporate concentration of the media.

To these ends, we welcome

• Critiques of neoliberal and neo-conservative ideological discourses in popular media-culture and news.
• Reports on local and global struggles for media democracy, and discussions of the diversity of tactics and strategies, victories and defeats, in the growing media and cultural activism.
• Coverage of the consolidation of corporate ownership of the cultural and communication industries, the neoliberal policies that support these transformations, and resistance to these processes.
• Critical commentaries on recent changes in communication, media, and cultural policy (in Canada and around the world).
• Criticisms/reviews of literature, film, television, advertising, print-culture, and CDs.
• Reports on local activist theatrical productions, intersections of art and activism, experimental-political happenings, creative interventions and subversions, art galleries and art-exhibits.
• Critical analysis of the way by which the Canadian mainstream news covers/produces events of political significance, and the biases, ideological assumptions, and techniques of such news production.
• Ruthless criticism of sexist, racist, homophobic, and classist media representations.
• Critiques of U.S. and Harper's "strategic communication" (or, propaganda efforts) in the 'war on terror' and deconstructions of neo-Orientalist representations of 'The Middle East' and the othering of Muslims.
• Discussions of socialist pedagogy and strategies for resisting the privatization of education.

Articles featured in the 'Cultural Front' section in past three issues of Relay include: 'Media Democracy in Canada' by Dave Skinner; 'Utopian Toronto in the Neoliberal Economy' by Yen Chu; How Wal Mart Works, by Bryan Evans; Telling the Truth Serves Our Purpose: A Review of Socialist Register 2006, by Dale Clark; 'America's Army is Grand Theft Auto' Tanner Mirrlees; 'The Brutal Beauty of Labour: Workingman's Death by Scott Forsyth; 'The End of Suburbia' Rob Rao; The Limits of The Corporation' by Greg Albo; 'Empire and the Media: An Interview with Robert McChesney', Tanner Mirrlees, Greg Albo, and Sam Gindin.

As Relay's writers and audiences are workers, academics, journalists, activists, union members, socialists and students, articles should be written in a style that is both intelligent and popular (astute polemics minus are certainly welcome — no need for all the methodological 'signposting' and theoretical qualifications associated with formal academic writing). The suggested length of submitted articles should be between 500 and 2000 words.

We accept new contributions on an ongoing basis and always welcome new writers! We also would be interested in working with others to build/sponsor public and participatory social forums on the politics of cultural struggle to further discuss, network, strategize, and respond.

Please print and save this call, and send all contributions, inquiries, or constructive suggestions for improvement to Tanner Mirrlees, editor of Relay's 'Cultural Front', at tmirrlees [at] hotmail.com •

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