COCAL X Conference
August 10-12, 2012
The tenth annual COCAL Conference will be held in Mexico City, on the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico from Friday, August 10 through Sunday, August 12, 2010.
The host for COCAL X is the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (STUNAM). Contingent faculty activists and representatives from North America will participate in the conference. Presentations and plenaries will be translated into English, French, and Spanish.
UNAM
(Photo by David Milroy)
Mexico City is about a five hour flight from Washington, D.C.; four hours from Chicago, and three and a half hours from Los Angeles. The conference arrangements include a group hotel and bus transportation to and from sessions.
- Changes in academic work in the context of neoliberal globalization
- Perspectives of organization and struggle of the COCAL
- Health, social security, and retirement
- Organizing, challenges and strategies for the 21st century
- Employment rights (hiring, tenure, wages, benefits, safety, health)
- Union rights (recognition, alliances and federations, government management)
- Political and cultural rights (political organization, freedom of the press)
- Forms of struggle and achievement (strikes, work stoppages, earned negotiations, active strikes, demonstrations, campaigns, use of new technologies, success stories)
- Culture and identity of academic subjects
- Diversity of gender, ethnicity, and sexual preference; respected different capabilities
- Relationship of academics to students, other campus workers, authorities
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Tentative Agenda Items
Planned Social/Cultural Events
- Visit to the castle of Chapultepec and the National Museum of anthropology
- Tour of Ciudad Universitaria facilities (UNESCO-World Heritage Site)
- Friday and Saturday dinners organized by Mexican university unions with music and dance
- Optional preconference excursion day:
- Morning: Visit to the pyramids of Teotihuacan and the Chapingo Autonomous University
- Lunch in Teotihuacán
- Afternoon: visit private and public universities
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) was founded in 1551. It is the biggest university in Mexico and Ibero-America. There are many cultural sites nearby, including the Ciudad Universitaria facilities (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Chapultepec Castle (former residence of Maximilian of Habsburg and Charlotte) and the National Museum of Anthropology.
Click here for more information on the university
COCAL IX Conference
The ninth annual COCAL Conference was held in Quebec City, Quebec, August 13-15, 2010 at
Université Laval.
Resolutions passed at the IX Conference
Christine Amstutz's photo album
Nicole Blouin addresses the
COCAL IX Conference
(Photo by David Milroy)
Addresses to the IX Conference:
An Assessment of the State of the Profession (2008-2010)
Cindy Oliver, President, CUPE
The Current Situation in North America and the Future of Post-secondary Education
Karen Hawley, National Representative, NUPGE
La situation actuelle en Amérique et l’avenir de l’enseignement supérieur: Privatisation rampante et gouvernance universitaire
Puma Freytag, président, SCCCUL, Université Laval
Une solidarité à développer sur tous les plans
Jean Trudelle, President, FNEEQ-CSN
Presentations at the IX Conference:
Frank Brooks: The Struggle for Unemployment Benefits in Illinois
Don Eron and Suzanne Hudson: Reflections on the Colorado Instructor Tenure Project
Karen Hawley: Unionization: Progress and Prospects
Leslie Jermyn: Access to Research
Diane Menna: Campaign of Outrage!
Marc Ouellette: Just a Dream, Just a Dream
Tenure Track Access for Contract Academics
David Rives: Adjunct Faculty and Quality of Education
For information on past conferences, click on the links below:
- COCAL VIII in San Diego, 2008
- COCAL VII in Vancouver, 2006
- COCAL VI in Chicago, 2004
- COCAL V in Montreal, 2002
- COCAL IV in San Jose, 2001
- COCAL III in Boston, 1999
- 2nd National Conference in New York, 1998
- 1st National Conference in Washington, D.C., 1996