The Dissolve Unconference will be held at MIT on Thursday, Oct. 8, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., addressing the question of how can we dissolve the structures of power that produce today’s inequalities?
Dissolve will feature 10-minute "ignite" sessions, consisting of a short talk followed by discussion, on central topics of our time: climate change; civic media; gender inequality; anthropological and humanist perspectives on society and economy; community activism and co-design; affordable DIY health solutions; and more.
The final hour will focus on open discussion and networking, including art and light food. Gus Rancatore, owner of the Cambridge-based ice creamery Toscanini, will also unveil a new ice cream flavor called “This is what democracy tastes like.”
The goal of the event is to identify common themes and to suggest possibilities for driving systemic change. We will focus on bottom-up approaches that can circumvent or transform today’s political dysfunction and economic inequalities to move us towards a more inclusive social and economic future.
In the evening, the Dissolve participants will join with local art collective Illuminus for an immersive light and sound event, including DJ Wayne&Wax (Professor Wayne Marshall, ethnomusicologist at Berklee College of Music) and MIT’s DJ IanC.
Speakers include social scientists, media theorists, writers, artists, activists, and more. Scheduled to participate are Jose Gomez-Marquez, Christine Walley, Stefan Helmreich, Ed Bertschinger, Sasha Costanza-Chock, Ian Condry, and Chelsea Barabas from MIT; and Tomiko Yoda and Alex Zahlten from Harvard University.
Dissolve is organized by MIT anthropologist Ian Condry and the Creative Communities Initiative, a lab he co-directs with Professor T.L. Taylor. The event is produced in collaboration with the MIT Solve conference and HUBweek, a celebration of technology, art, and innovation in the Cambridge / Boston area, with the support of MIT Global Studies and Languages and the department of Comparative Media Studies / Writing.
