[csaa-forum] ALP 101

[Melissa Gregg]

indigo's ideas have me thinking, but i don't think scare tactics are 
necessary so much as a party that makes sense on some level.
as judith brett has argued so well, 
(<http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521536340> 
) the Liberal party has successfully re-articulated its 'liberal' name, 
philosophy and party history to a contemporary agenda. this is why the 
party remains relevant and appealing to a lot of voters, however far 
that particular definition of liberal might be from alternative 
conceptions.

when will Labor have the guts to do the same? when will it start 
embracing its history and start talking about what work actually looks 
like in these times, and how that reality depletes the energies needed 
to imagine a different future? or get home in time to read the kids a 
book?

the italian effect conference was one recent event where some of these 
issues were well debated, and Ilaria Vanni's paper (see abstract at 
<http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/rihss/IEprog5A.html>) showed how 
cultural studies concepts like carnivalesque and tactical intervention 
a la Certeau still offer a useful guide for highlighting the 
inadequacies of Politics. Now that the downtrodden North Tasmanian 
logger has been saved by Howard, how's this for an updated Labor image: 
  <http://www.inventati.org/hackeralbum/affreschi/maternita.html>

Melissa Gregg
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies
4th Floor, Forgan Smith Tower
University of Queensland 4072
CRICOS provider number: 00025B

ph     61 7 3346 9762
mob  61 4 1116 5706
fax    61 7 3365 7184