In July 2023, the Institute for Social Ecology is hosting its annual summer intensive course in Detroit, Michigan in partnership with the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center and the University of Detroit Mercy’s School of Architecture and Community Development. Participants—local as well as from across North America—will spend six days together studying and learning the core ideas of social ecology, popular movements for direct democracy and community power, and the practice and legacy of transformative community action in the City of Detroit. Four half-days will be spent on site tours around Detroit, while the remaining time will be spent in group talks, presentations, and discussions covering topics ranging from communal stewardship of land to the Rojava Revolution. We'll be joined by speakers such as Modibo Kadalie, Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, Chaia Heller, and Roberto Mendoza.

The program will begin the afternoon of July 7 and conclude the afternoon of July 13. Participants must register in advance, as space is limited. Registration payments are based on a sliding scale - please pay what you can! We estimate a cost of $375/participant to put on this event. Anything you can contribute beyond that will help us cover for those who need a discounted registration. 

You are welcome to arrange your own housing, but we have assembled for you a mix of (free) solidarity housing with gracious hosts around Detroit and (paid) housing at a hostel and a few large Airbnbs near the venue. We will be organizing transportation between the venue and our paid housing sites, but with solidarity housing you will be responsible for figuring out your own transportation to and from the venue. If you need us to arrange housing for you, select a ticket (for either paid housing or solidarity housing) for each night that you plan to be in Detroit.

We are thrilled to have you join us! Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

~ The Institute for Social Ecology and the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center

Program Schedule:

Friday, July 7

12-2 pm – Arrival and check in

2:15-3:45 pm – Welcoming Circle

4-5:30 pm – Detroit’s History of Oppression and Resistance, with Charles Simmons 

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-9 pm – What Is Social Ecology?, with Mason Herson-Hord

Saturday, July 8

8-9:30 am – Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-11 am – Thinking Dialectically, with Wayne Curtis, Chaia Heller, and Mike Doan

11:15-12:45 pm – Indigenous Values vs. Capitalist Values, with Roberto Mendoza and Eleanor Finley

1-2 pm – Lunch

2:15-5:30 pm – Detroit radical history tour, led by Richard Feldman and the Boggs Center

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-9pm – The Solidarity Economy, with Emily Kawano

Sunday, July 9

8-9:30 am – Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-12:45 pm – Urban agriculture visits (offsite)

1-2 pm – Lunch

2:15-3:45 pm – What Is Capitalism?, with Emily Kawano and Peter Staudenmaier

4-5:30 pm – Decolonizing Concepts of Nature, with Abundia Tristán and Chaia Heller

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-9pm – Free the Land! Stewardship in Common, with Malik Yakini

Monday, July 10

8-9:30 am Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-12:45 pm – Community power visits (offsite)

1-2 pm – Lunch

2:15-3:45 pm – Black Anarchism and the Legacies of the Black Power Movement, with Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, JoNina Abron-Ervin, and Modibo Kadalie. Facilitated by William Anderson.

4-5:30 pm – Women’s Emancipation and Human Emancipation: Understanding Patriarchy, with Lauren Williams and Chaia Heller

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-9pm – What Is Real Democracy?, with Eleanor Finley and Mason Herson-Hord

Tuesday, July 11

8-9:30 am – Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-11 am – Democracy in Maroon Communities, with Modibo Kadalie

11:15-12:45 pm – Black Anarchism and the Futures of the Black Freedom Movement, with Ashanti Alston and William Anderson

1-2 pm – Lunch

2:15-5:30 pm – New forms of economy bike tour (offsite)

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-9pm – Dual Power, with Mason Herson-Hord and Kali Akuno

Wednesday, July 12

8-9:30 am – Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-11 am Solarpunk Futures: A Workshop for Utopian Remembrance, with Solarpunk Surf Club

11:15-12:45 pm – Democratic Confederalism and the Revolution in Rojava, with Eleanor Finley and Anya Briy

1-2 pm – Lunch

2:15-3:45 pm – Zapatismo and Pluriversal Ontologies, with Linda Quiquivix

4-5:30 pm – Smashing Fascism, Defeating White Supremacy, with Peter Staudenmaier, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, and JoNina Abron-Ervin.

5:45-7:15 pm – Dinner

7:30-onward – Party!

Thursday, July 13

8-9:30 am Breakfast, optional tai chi, self-organized reflection circles

9:30-11 am – Art Against Capitalism, with Meryem Dipdere, Solarpunk Surf Club, and Wayne Curtis

11:15-12:45 pm – Regional breakouts (small group discussions)

1-2 pm Lunch

2:15-3:45 pm – Closing circle