Socialist Seminar Series

2024–2025 Academic Year Highlights

Each year, the Institute of Political Economy proudly hosts the Socialist Seminar Series. This series brings together leading scholars, activists, and organizers to explore socialist thought and practice in the context of today’s pressing political challenges.

The 2024–2025 series continued this tradition with an outstanding lineup of speakers who examined the intersections of capitalism, colonialism, labor, and environmental crisis:

  • Meagan DayEngines of Solidarity & The U.S. Election
    November 1, 2025
    A timely reflection on electoral strategy, worker power, and socialist organizing in the lead-up to the U.S. election.

  • Sabrina FernandesGreen Sacrifice Zones & the Political Economy of Climate Catastrophe
    December 11, 2025
    An incisive analysis of ecological degradation, global inequality, and the failures of green capitalism.

  • Bryan PalmerColonialism & Capitalism: Canada’s Origins 150 Years On
    January 22, 2025
    A historical interrogation of Canada’s settler colonial foundations and their enduring entanglement with capital accumulation.

  • Eric BlancWe Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing is Transforming the Labor Movement
    February 12, 2025
    A deep dive into the lessons of recent teacher strikes and the resurgence of militant unionism in the U.S.

  • Charmaine ChuaFast Circulation, Slow Violence, and the Transpacific Supply Chain
    March 19, 2025
    A powerful critique of logistics capitalism, imperial infrastructures, and the global geography of labor exploitation.

This year’s series engaged with urgent political questions while fostering a space for intellectual solidarity and strategic imagination. The IPE thanks all participating speakers and attendees for contributing to a vibrant year of socialist scholarship.