ABOUT

The Berkeley Anarchist Study Group is one of the longest running (if not the longest running) anarchist study groups in North America. We meet every Tuesday night from 7-9pm (note the new time!) at The Long Haul in Berkeley, CA.

Newcomers are always encouraged to stop by regardless of your familiarity with anarchist ideas or activity. We warmly welcome new participants and encourage them to make the group their own in the same manner we all do. To this effect, we try to cultivate a convivial and approachable atmosphere where everybody can contribute in whatever ways and to whatever degree they each feel comfortable. We do not, however, incorporate fixed practices aimed at creating an artificial “safe space” or prioritize the voices of certain participants as a way of bringing about contrived parity. We have no membership, no criteria for participating, and no fixed codes of behavior. In lieu of prearranged standards for relating to each other, we leave it to each individual to find a balance between making their voice heard and hearing those of the rest of the group, between disagreeing passionately with each other and accepting our divergences without necessarily needing to resolve them. We eschew inflexible rules for interacting, preferring to ground our mutuality in our shared affinity for anarchy and for each other.

The study group organizes an annual gathering called the BASTARD Conference (Berkeley Anarchist Students of Theory, Anti-politics, and Riotous Discourse). This DIY event consists of informal, autodidactic presentations on anarchy and the poetry of lived revolt given by participants in the study group along with friends, guests, and accomplices from around the world.

In addition, the group has acted as an incubator for many texts, projects, and actions in its over 20 years of existence. Many attendees have and continue to be integrally involved in projects that have left lasting impacts on the North American anarchist milieu over the years.

We pick readings for the coming week at the end of each session, after which it will be posted here. If you have a text you’d like us to read, come make a case for it, but please be ready at the next meeting to briefly introduce it for the group and kick the discussion off by sharing your reasons for selecting it.

If any of this sparks your interest or curiosity, then join us every Tuesday evening from 7-9pm at the Long Haul Infoshop (3124 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley). Email birdsoffire [at] riseup [dot] net with any questions. We hope to see you soon!

Forward, for the destruction of the lie and of the phantoms!
Forward, for the complete conquest of individuality and of Life!
Toward the great and sublime conquest of Nothingness!
Toward Anarchy!

16 thoughts on “ABOUT

  1. Hi There,
    I’m interested in attending one of your meetings, is it okay if I just stop by sometime and observe? I’m a student whose interested in anarchist theory and I’d love to see what your meetings are like. Thanks,
    Allison

  2. the reading group is open. you don’t have to ask permission.
    that said, people don’t usually get a good sense of the group unless they come more than once; three or four times is usually a good sampling (’cause different people come each week, and different readings are exciting to folks, etc).

    long story short, sure! come hang out.

  3. Hi,

    Quick question: I’m new to the area and interested in attending one of the study group sessions, but I’ve noticed that there are no readings posted for tomorrow (Jan. 11/2011). Should I assume that the meeting is not happening?

    R.

  4. no, there is always a group. just sometimes people forget to post the reading. (and don’t answer posts in time either. sorry.)

  5. What times do you guys meet? I’d love to come and check it out and get to know some other people interested in anarchist theories.

  6. Hi I am a student doing an informative speech on anarchy and I am trying to have at least one reliable statistic. I was wanting to have a number of active anarchist groups in the U.S. but the only thing I can find is the SPLC report which I find to be highly unreliable in the sense that they group hate and racists groups in with it. Any help I could get on another way to go about getting even an apprx. number would be quite useful!
    Thanks!

  7. Hi, I am interested in starting an anarchist study group and was wondering how y’alls is organized. Would anyone here have any advice for me since you seem to have kept this group going for quite a while from what it sounds like.

  8. Still going? I was thinking of dropping by for 1st time. Familiar with the Long Haul already.

  9. Whoops! Thanks for bringing this mistake to my attention! We always meet on Tuesdays from 8-10pm, so it will be 6/4. Hope to see you there!

  10. Hi! I want to join, but the website seems not updated. Are you still meeting? I can’t find an e-mail address to reach out with this question.

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