These readings are mostly writings from the presenters, from Jason McQuinn to Tom Nomad, William Gillis to Aragorn! The significant exception is the piece on the presentation with CrimethInc and Institute for Experimental Freedom, for which there is a conversation based on the presentation. Given the conflicting, at times mutually exclusive, ideas about what social war is, this conference allowed people to explore those contradictions and alliances. The BASTARD conference first happened in 2000, and has happened every year since then. It was born from the Tuesday anarchist study group, which has been meeting for longer than that (nearly 20 years) every week from 8-10pm. The study group came out of a free school anarchist history course, which then morphed into what it is today (the teacher of the class was part of the group for more than a decade, and it was a challenge when he left, but we continue). BASTARD stands for Berkeley Anarchist Students of Theory And Research & Development and its the name of the conference, not the name of the study group. The semi-joking hostility of the name does describe more-or-less accurately one of the main attitudes of the study group (which could also be described as an unwillingness to suffer fools), one that regular attendees either bring with them or learn to appreciate the group for. The study group has been a major influence on many people, definitely many long-timers, but also some who have passed through briefly, and as well for many who have chosen it as an enemy.
Table of Contents
Foreword/Ariel and Leona
An Outline: Critical Self-Theory and the Non-ideological Critique of Ideology/Jason McQuinn
Insurrectionary Angelology - or – Walter Benjamin Declares Social War/Lew
What Was the Insurrection?(CrimethInc and the Institute for Experimental Freedom)/Casper and Graeme
Power, Foucault, Dugger. and Social War/Xander
Social War: Anarchist Archeology/Paul Simon
On the Concept of Social War: a uniquely ironic concept/Tom Nomad
Outside of Social War/Aragorn! and William Gillis
