'Intergalactic' Conference on Resistance Studies

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Academics
Intergalactic Conference on Resistance Studies, June 18-21, 2026, UMass Amherst

The inaugural 'Intergalactic' Conference on Resistance Studies is the first international conference dedicated exclusively to the field of Resistance Studies — the systematic study of how people resist systems of domination, including authoritarianism, capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, racism, state violence, and more.

Hosted in hybrid format by the Resistance Studies Initiative at UMass Amherst, the conference brings together scholars, activists, graduate students, and community organizers from more than 63 countries. The four-day program includes:

  • Research panels and presentations
  • Hands-on workshops on organizing, direct action, healing, creative resistance and more
  • Plenary keynote sessions
  • A joint conference dinner on Saturday evening
  • Live-streamed sessions with interactive Q&A for online participants worldwide
  • Visualizing Palestine Exhibition
  • Presenters affiliated with more than 60 activist groups and organizations, including Solidarity 2020 and Beyond, World Beyond War, Albert Einstein Institution, Visualizing Palestine, and many more.

Keynote Sessions:

  • Resistance; Rebellion, Revolution — John Holloway. Marxist sociologist and Professor at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico. Author of Change the World Without Taking Power and Crack Capitalism. A leading theorist of anti-capitalist politics and autonomy-based movements, deeply engaged with the Zapatistas and Indigenous struggles challenging state-centered models of change.
  • The Occupied People's Forum: Resisting All Colonialism, Building Justice for All — Sami Awad, Sumaya Said Selma, Esreen Ghadri, and Luis Rosa Pérez; facilitated by Matt Meyer and Siena Mann. Activists resisting occupation in Palestine, Western Sahara, Kurdistan, and Puerto Rico come together to explore collective struggles against colonialism and the building of justice across movements.
  • Organize! Organize! Organize! Building the Bridge between Protest and Movement-Building — Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons and Jihad Abdulmumit. Veteran organizers from SNCC, the Black Panthers, and the Spirit of Mandela coalition reflect on connecting the rich history of Black liberation movements to the current moment — and how to build independent, grassroots power that cannot be undermined.
  • The Health of Mother Earth and Ancestral Wisdom — Vivian Tatiana Camacho Hinojosa. Quechua physician, ancestral midwife, and former Bolivian Vice Minister of Traditional Medicine and Interculturality. Drawing on Indigenous cosmology and public health, she explores how planetary health, spiritual practice, and resistance are inseparable.
  • The Future of Resistance — Open roundtable facilitated by Professor Stellan Vinthagen, Endowed Chair of the Resistance Studies Initiative at UMass Amherst.

Registration is open to all, with a very accessible sliding-scale fee structure designed to support global accessibility.

We have a SPECIAL OFFER for all UMass staff and students. You can join us for only $40, which includes one year of free access to the Journal of Resistance Studies and our online community platform.

Contact: conference [at] resistance-journal [dot] org (conference[at]resistance-journal[dot]org)

Organized by the Resistance Studies Initiative, University of Massachusetts, Amherst



 

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