As one of the organizers of the first Midwest Radical Scholars & Activists Conference, Lauren Langman is battling two prevailing notions.
One is that radicals are like anarchists, only less organized. He finds some truth in this.
”This whole thing would`ve run a lot smoother if we had a nice tight authority over operations, where somebody gave orders and somebody followed them,” said Langman, an associate professor of sociology at Loyola University. ”We`ve had to have discussions over how many coffee cups we have. Everything has been by negotiation.”
Then there is the notion that radical today means wearing a ponytail with your pinstripes. He disputes this.
”There`s a very, very cruel myth that has been perpetuated on the American people,” he said. ”I think you see it in movies and in programs like `Over Thirty` or `thirtysomething,` where everybody who had a radical sensibility or left sensibility have now grown up and become yuppies.
”The notion that people grew up and gave up their youthful ideals-that`s a mythology. We are not dead.”
Age does change things, though. ”I`m too old for a revolution,” said Langman, who is 50.
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The title of the conference is ”Global Crisis,” and refers both to capitalism and the ”upheaval” and ”confusion” in modern socialism, as the brochure puts it. It is being held next weekend at Loyola.
It will not, Langman said, have any ”terrorist workshops for the overthrow of whatdoyacallit.”
Instead, panels will include ”Postmodern Activism,” ”Recycling: The Economy of Garbage,” ”Lesbian Ethics,” ”TV News from a Black
Perspective,” ”Socialism & Democracy I and II” and ”Organizing for Mideast Peace.”
Could be a college curriculum. Or a program on ”The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
A lot of the radicals, after all, are ”a little gray around the temples,” said Carl (With a C) Davidson, 47, an activist since the `60s, when he was with Students for a Democratic Society, and one of the organizers of the conference.
Area coffeehouses have been warned about the influx, he said, and the Heartland Cafe has been dubbed the unofficial headquarters.
”It`s not going to be wild and woolly crazies,” said Davidson, who now runs Networking for Democracy, which provides computer and media assistance to progressive groups. ”These are all very-together members of the academic left or activists.”
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But because no group is likely to be turned away, the conference will have a plethora of voices.
On Wednesday, Davidson received a call from a group looking to set up a table at the event. Its name: Yo, The World Is Being Turned Upside Down Revolutionary Tour.
Its purpose: ”Who knows what it is?” Davidson said. ”A small band of anarchists.”
His response: ”Fine, but I just can`t promise you`ll get a prime location. And reserve your space by sending me your $25 check.”
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At first, organizers thought that seven rooms at De Paul University would suffice. They ended up with a 10-story building at Loyola in
anticipation of a turnout of 1,000 people or more from the Midwest, both coasts and overseas.
Nothing like a little international upheaval to drum up interest in panel discussions.
”It`s going to be a happening,” Davidson said. ”I sent out one little mailing back in May, and I started getting registrations and donations and money without even asking for it.”
Radicals see socialism`s failures as an opportunity. Their mission, Davidson said: ”What kinds of answers can we as a responsible left come up with that people will accept?”
And with the U.S. economy looking a little shaky these days and American soldiers poised for battle on foreign soil, the radicals figure capitalism might not seem so hot to the masses.
Davidson is pleased that students from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign will be attending and that two vans-yes, vans!-will be driving to the conference from Notre Dame.
Langman sees hope in growing student interest in the environment and women`s issues, but he is realistic. ”These represent very slow incremental changes, which are sort of the shifting of tectonic plates,” he said.
Despite all the talk of new blood and societal change, perhaps the best thing about the conference is that it will make left field seem a little less lonely.
”We`re often just sort of humored, possibly respected, but not really taken seriously,” Langman said. ”But what`s nice here is instead of going to the radical section of a political science meeting, here we`re the majority.”