Assembly 1 will be organized around the theme “Transformative Action in the Face of Debt.” Is there a greater determinant of peoples' actions and expectations in the present than debt in all its diverse forms? In this Assembly, we want to approach the topic through sensitive and scholarly treatment of its place in the present. At the same time, we wish to estrange ourselves from it by taking up a standpoint in alternative worlds, of which antiquities are but examples. We hope the Assembly will display the promise of Critical Antiquities as an approach, one that gleans sources of alternative forms of life to make the present more intelligible and meaningful as they disclose ways of thinking, acting, and becoming otherwise that are still available and desirable now. Let this gathering of people together reveal their individual and collective potency as we ask: how can debt be approached in political and emancipatory terms?

We invite comrades with all forms of knowledge, experience, care, and passion to join this endeavour. It is not confined to scholars, least of all those who are focused on ancient worlds. We seek the input of all concerned collaborators because the Can Assembly will be driven by those crowds whose collective impulse, knowledge, and action are necessary for transformative action itself.

All Assembly goers are also invited to participate in a series of four reading group meetings. In addition to reading selected works on the topic of debt, ancient and modern, we invite all participants to contribute to our crowd-sourced bibliography. From classic academic tomes and well-footnoted articles to visual media and works in progress, we invite materials that, in your mind, contribute significantly to the Assembly’s chosen theme and method. In keeping with our orientation to ancient worlds—their literatures and other artefacts—these will form part of the materials around which the Assembly will gather.

For more information, please navigate to the Reading Group page of this website. Note that the same registration form allows you to register for the CAN Reading Group, the Can Assembly, or both.