About

The Society for Peace, Internationalism & Ecology (SPINE) provides a platform for rigorous scholarly research, cultural work, and organizing that stands up for peace, international solidarity, and environmental sustainability. It encourages innovative work that has real use-value for collective struggles and contributes to developing collaborative intellectual, artistic, and activist communities across Turtle Island and around the world. Rather than being restricted to particular fields or limited to those working in academic institutions, SPINE is resolutely transdisciplinary and encourages extra-academic scholarship, as well as contributions from artists and activists.SPINE does not take a neutral stance on global struggles or pretend to be value-free. Instead, it explicitly upholds and defends the values of international solidarity and environmental justice. It rejects all forms of social chauvinism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other types of oppression, while simultaneously recognizing that they cannot be fully overcome without going to their class and colonial roots. It thereby provides a space for materialist research, cultural production, and organizing that contributes to the goals of substantive social transformation in the direction of a more egalitarian, peaceful, and sustainable world.SPINE hosts an annual conference and supports other activities through the course of the year. Its founding co-sponsors are the Critical Theory Workshop, Iskra Books, and the World Marxist Review.

Membership

Membership information will be posted in due time. SPINE is currently being run collectively by co-chairs and an advisory committee.

Founding Co-ChairsGabriel Rockhill (Villanova University)
Jennifer Ponce de León (University of Pennsylvania)
Taylor R. Genovese (Dutchess Community College)
Timour Kamran (Villanova University)
Colin Bodayle (Villanova University)

Advisory CommitteeBenjamin Stahnke (Central State University)
David Peat (Independent Scholar)
Róisín Dubh (Independent Scholar)
Creighton Ward (Independent Scholar)

CALL FOR ABSTRACTSInaugural Conference
The Society for Peace, Internationalism, and Ecology
October 18, 2025

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Submission Deadline: March 31st, 2025
Conference Date: October 18th, 2025 NEW DATE
Conference Venue: Villanova University, Villanova, PennsylvaniaWe are pleased to announce a CALL FOR ABSTRACTS for the inaugural conference of The Society for Peace, Internationalism, and Ecology (SPINE). SPINE is an international and interdisciplinary platform for scholars, activists, and artists to share rigorous work devoted to promoting international peace, equality, and ecological sustainability.Recent decades have brought brutal imperialist wars, the massive displacement of large segments of the world’s population, the rise of far-right political movements, escalating nuclear tensions, and the increased threat of irreversible climate disaster. Despite these catastrophic circumstances, we have also seen the most oppressed and exploited people bind together to fight for peace, recognition, and dignity. In the past decade, the “wretched of the earth” have taken this struggle for equality to new terrain. Unprecedented alliances suggest a shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world, and continuing experiments in ecological sustainability, socialism, and economic sovereignty seem to indicate that a better world is not only possible, but imminent.SPINE encourages innovative submissions that engage with this current conjuncture—or the material history that has led to it—with an eye to implementing meaningful social change. We are looking for submissions covering pressing issues such as, but not limited to:–Colonialism, Neocolonialism, and Imperialism
–Immigration, Mass Displacement, Incarceration
–National Liberation Struggles
–Ecological Socialism
–Fighting the Rise of Fascism
–The Material Struggle against Racism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Transphobia, and All Forms of Social Chauvinism
–Psychological Warfare and Propaganda
–Philosophic and Scientific Debates concerning major issues like Ideology, Dialectics, Materialism, etc.
–Political Economy
–Cultural and Artistic Class Struggle
–Labor Organizing and Unionization
–Political Organizing, including Parties, Organizations, and Associations
–Multipolarity
–Anti-Imperialist Resistance Movements
–Socialist Experiments, Past and PresentWe seek to bring together work that is rigorous, transdisciplinary, and rooted in a materialist and dialectical understanding of social reality and practice. Our aim is to foster an interdisciplinary and collaborative platform dedicated to the struggle for peace, dignity, international solidarity, and ecological sustainability.We are looking for 200–300 word abstracts for short, 10-minute presentations that will form part of a discussion-driven dialogue with others. We invite submissions for presentations from academics, activists, artists, organizers, and independent scholars. The material presented can be an overview of a research project, a concise argument, a creative project, a practical organizing issue, or any similar topic. Please also include in your abstract a list of 3-6 keywords that best describe your research interests (these will be used to group presenters together on panels).We are also accepting 200-500 word proposals for 1-hour panels with 3-6 people, which can take the shape of panel discussions, organizing workshops, artistic projects, or roundtables with artists, intellectuals and/or organizers.For both of these types of proposals, SPINE is keen on fostering productive exchanges that advance the projects presented, and it is therefore open to and encourages non-traditional formats that enhance collective feedback and exchange.Keynote Speaker:
John Bellamy Foster (University of Oregon)Featured Panel:
Iskra Books and World Marxist Review: “Radical Publishing as Global Contradictions Sharpen."Submission Guidelines:
Submissions should be prepared for double-blind peer review. Please remove all names from the proposal itself, and include it as an email attachment (pdf, docx, doc, or txt). Please note in your email the title of your contribution and all names of the contributors. Send it by March 31st, 2025 to [email protected].