THE
PUBLIC
SCHOOL
TELIC ARTS EXCHANGE

i reread theory of the quasi-object chapter in michel serres' book, the parasite.  it's an ambivalent proposition - even the use of the term quasi carries a certain ambivalence, doesn't it? only rather than being a doubling, it is partway between object and non-object. serres does end up doubling things though, over and over, for example the quasi-object is neither wholly object, not wholly subject, but a little of both. the parasite is both host and guest. is the parasite or the quasi-object "being or relation"? 

what i find most exciting and convincing in the chapter is his conception of the "we" as something other than a group of "i"s, this relationship between the individual and the collective.

(from La Ventana Collective)

The actions of December 10th reflected an evolution on the campus of San Francisco State University. 

While the ISO argues that the occupation was “undemocratic” it is important to note that in this particular case it was strategically valuable to have clandestine organization. This militant action will act as a spark for more expanded and informal organizing in the spring. Security is a huge issue on campus as the struggle to defend public education escalates in resistance. Additionally, the ISO’s organizing model is in many ways undemocratic in nature with centralized committees espousing orders that rank-and-file militants within their organization must follow, including the "party-line" and "platform" with which the ISO members must adhere. 

Furthermore, to assume that outside support must be organized by a vanguard is to assume students on campus are incapable of acting on their own initiative to support an occupation that is an important step in mobilizing for power amongst students, employed members of the university, and the supporters of the community. They used the word "hastily" but the fact that a large number of students (the largest turn-out we have seen all semester) on their own volition decided to support this action the week before finals proves the potential of spontaneous self-organization. The students on this campus are willing to support actions that are outside the traditional framework of “activism” as defined on this campus (e.g. walks outs, marches, rallies, teach-ins). The thousands of students who showed up to support the occupation was what kept it alive for 24 hours. The "haste" of preparation for the occupation had nothing to do with the riot cops ability to break it up - they forced their way into the building by breaking windows at 3.30 in the morning, when many students were tired and on the verge of sleep. 

copy and pasted from http://blog.katiehargrave.us/2009/04/paulo-freire-and-educational-models-as.html

On the occasion of the international biennale Manifesta 6, New York based artist and organizer Anthon Vidolke gathered what he called “An Incomplete Chronology of Experimental Art Schools”.[1] The theme of the 2006 biennale was “Notes for an Art School.” The form was a three-department post-graduate art institution that investigated the changing needs and roles of art education.[2][3] 

Though the alternative art school has garnished some attention from critics, the increasing trend for artists to create educational platforms focusing not on art education but on the broader educational spectrum has received comparably little attention. Indeed, these platforms have yet to be placed into the conversation of participatory art practices, most specifically art historian Grant Kester’s designation, Dialogical Aesthetics.

U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L I F O R N I A , A C A D E M I C S E N A T E BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • MERCED • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ

November 30, 2009

Open letter from the Academic Council to the University of California community