The Meyerstein Lecture in Archaeology 2024: The social worlds of Bronze Age animals

Although cattle and sheep were central to the everyday lives and wellbeing of Bronze Age communities in northwest Europe, they are strangely lacking from our narratives of the period. After the Neolithic, it seems, archaeologists rarely consider domestic animals to be interesting. However, Bronze Age people clearly thought otherwise, as the careful deposition of complete…

Contrasting Balkan utopias: Navigating migration and futurity in the physical remnants of Yugoslavia

“Irregular” #migrants moving along the Western #Balkan Migration Route aspire to competing visions of Europe, and Europeanness, and along their journeys they encounter multiple competing, overlapping, or intersecting political projects. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in #Slovenia since 2021, this presentation will explore how various imaginaries of Europe are instantiated in the wake of Yugoslav socialism,…

A tech story

In the #openweb world of digital innovation, there existed a culture revered for its ingenuity and technical prowess – the hackers of old. Yet, beneath the surface of their achievements lay a problem, one that has led to the downfall of many endeavours: the #geekproblem. In the early days, hackers were pioneers, pushing the boundaries…

Encryptionists we do need to talk about Governance in tech

The crypto mess talking about governance https://medium.com/@lawrencelundy/no-such-thing-as-decentralised-governance-2a6c6f97382f Lawrence Lundy-Bryan’s perspective on decentralized governance is a reminder that while we aspire to decentralization to break free from oppressive authorities, we should recognize the need for some form of governance. Keep in mind, the key is to establish a type of “central” authority that is accessible and…

Marx on Nature Conference

10:30 am-11:30 am: Alex Colas (Birkbeck): Marx, Capitalism and Maritime Temporalities 11:30 am-12:30 pm: Gareth Dale (Brunel): Marx, Growth Ideology, and Degrowth 12:30-14:00: lunch break 14:00-15:00: Nick Stevenson (Nottingham): Democratic Socialism, Degrowth and the Commons: Raymond Williams, Marxism, and the Anthropocene 15:00-16:00: Martin Crook (UWE Bristol): Marx and the Ecocide – Genocide Nexus 16:00-16:30: coffee…

Why people should worry about NGO paths

The problem with #NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) and the wider (vertical adjacent) thinking they represent. In part, the issue is about how the organizations operate and adapt to pressures, particularly regarding funding. Overall, this dynamic results in a situation where NGOs, initially formed to challenge the status quo and advocate for change, become co-opted by the…

Understanding #OMN and the #GeekProblem

Using the #OMN hashtag story to address the challenges and opportunities in the tech world, particularly in mediating the #geekproblem, involves leveraging the power of storytelling, community engagement, and strategic advocacy. In the #geekproblem, there are two distinct paths. One path leads to the geeks who won’t code for changing human nature; they are consumed…

Addressing climatechaos requires a radical approach

The climate crisis and its broader implications: Understanding the Crisis Soft Problem: Infrastructure Response To address the primary effects of climate change, we need to: Hard Problem: State Stability and Security Addressing the secondary effects involves: Accountability and Legal Action Prosecuting individuals or groups for their direct roles in the climate crisis involves several considerations:…