SJC Presents How to Resist Austerity, From Greece to the U.S.

May 22, 2015

St. Joseph’s College (SJC), in partnership with The Nation and AKNY, will welcome Greek social activist Christos Giovanopoulos and social theorist Frances Fox Piven to the Brooklyn Campus on Tuesday, May 26. Their talk, “How to Resist Austerity, From Greece to the U.S.,” will take place in the Tuohy Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m. 

“Global income inequality and the division of wealth is one of, if not the most, pressing issues that the world faces,” said Dr. Ted Hamm, chair and director of the journalism and new media studies program on SJC’s Brooklyn Campus. “It’s a rare opportunity to have one of the preeminent thinkers on social justice and one of the architects of one of the most visible counterpoints to the existing economic order on the same stage.”

At this event, Piven and Giovanopoulos will discuss the solidarity movement that emerged following the collapse of the Greek economy and how this movement formed the backbone of the Syriza party, a leftist, anti-austerity party that took power in the latest Green parliamentary elections. With both the fate of Syriza and the Greek economy hanging in the balance following resistance from the European Union, the speakers will analyze comparable American social justice movements and what the future holds for both Syriza and the Greek people.

Giovanopoulos is a founding member of Solidarity for All, a grassroots solidarity network in Greece that emerged during the early years of the crisis to combat the economic and humanitarian crisis of austerity and spread empowerment and hope over fear. He has been active in the student movement, the anti-globalization and anti-war movements in Greece and abroad.

Piven is an internationally renowned social scientist, scholar and activist committed to the poor and working people. Piven’s professional accomplishments in academia place her among the ranks of the most important social scientists of the last century. She has authored and co-author more than 200 articles published in academic journals, books, popular publications and journals of opinion since 1965.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Hamm at 718.940.5307 or [email protected].

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE
St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in more than 35 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs.