Social Justice Speaker Series - Silvano De la Llata

*UPDATE: Recording available on our Youtube Channel *

As part of our Social Justice Speakers Series, we are delighted to welcome Silvano De La Llata, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. 

Title: Tear-gas questions for activists - Creative resistance in the age of reactiveness

This talk analyzes the question of transcending reactiveness in social movements. It explores the question of how to escape the trap of shaping movements of resistance in function of the powers that are being contested. Going further, it analyzes the role of affirmative personal transformation and everyday life politics in social change. It draws from fieldwork and participation in the square movements (in Barcelona, New York, Paris, Montreal and Mexico City). The square movements showed the importance of refusal as a triggering factor for social struggles, but also raised questions about the dangers (and ultimate futility) of dwelling in reactiveness. I propose that striving for creativity and engaging in proactive experimentation could be crucial attitudes to go beyond the sole acknowledgement of injustice. Ten years after the coming about of the square movements and with the prevalent culture of reactiveness and outrage, these questions are more important than ever in contemporary social movements. 

This talk borrows largely from the article: De la llata, s. (2021). Also saying yes: overcoming the “anti” stage in social movements. Interface: a journal on social movements, 13(2) - Available to download in PDF. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: 

Dr. Silvano De La Llata (Associate Professor, Geography, Planning and Environment) is an urbanist and an educator. For the last 15 years, Dr. De La Llata's research has focused on public space and the study of alternative uses, such as street vending, graffiti, public assembly and protest, as design/planning agents. He did research and participated in the Indignados mobilizations in Barcelona, Occupy Wall Street and other social movements in 2011 and 2012. Building on this experience, he directs the project Cities X Citizens, which focuses on the democratization of planning and urban design through participatory design methodologies and open-source systems. Bridging research, pedagogy and design practice, he developed urban design methodologies, open planning and planning-in-situ, to redesign interstitial spaces in Montreal through collaborative community engagement. 

For more info on his work, visit his institutional profile.

The event is free and open to all. For accessibility question, please write to christiane.bailey@concordia.ca.

This event will be hybrid, you are welcome to join us in person or via zoom: click here to register via zoom.   

Henry F. Hall Building
1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Room H-1269

Light refreshments will be served.