<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Dear all,</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Last week we issued an invitation to join the upcoming Critical Antiquities Network Reading Group on <b>“Transformative Action in the Face of Debt.” </b>Many thanks to those who indicated their preferred time to schedule the meetings. (If you missed the announcement, it is included at the end of this email.)</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">We can now inform you that the meetings will be held <b>10am-12pm</b> on the respective dates (Tuesday, March 18; Tuesday, April 1; Tuesday, April 15; Tuesday, May 6). </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">If you would like to attend these meetings either online or in person, please visit the relevant page of our new website: <a href="https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/AsWYCnx1jni6LqN5qc9frUJDO4R?domain=criticalantiquities.org" target="_blank" title="https://criticalantiquities.org/reading-group/transformative-action-in-the-face-of-debt"><span style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);">https://criticalantiquities.org/reading-group/transformative-action-in-the-face-of-debt</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">These reading group meetings will culminate in the inaugural <b>Can Assembly</b> on “Transformative Action in the Face of Debt” on Thursday, June 13 at the University of Wollongong. More details can be found on our website: <a href="https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/QeyBCoV1kpfKGL34LczhxUpC42h?domain=criticalantiquities.org" target="_blank" title="https://criticalantiquities.org/assembly/example-assembly-event-2"><span style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);">https://criticalantiquities.org/assembly/example-assembly-event-2</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">If you would like to register for the Assembly, you may do so via the same form for reading group registration. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">All best wishes,</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Callista Sheridan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The original announcement: </span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The Critical Antiquities Network is happy to announce a series of four reading groups on the topic “Transformative Action in the Face of Debt.” Debt in our financialised times appears to be one of the great forces working on the contemporary subject's actions and imagination, one that stands in the way of genuine social and economic transformation. In these reading groups, we want to approach the current system of debt and finance in our world by both familiarising ourselves with the best contemporary work on it and then<i> defamiliarising</i> it from the perspective of debt's configurations and uses in alternative worlds, including but not limited to classical Greek and Roman worlds. We hope these sessions will allow participants to see the Critical Antiquities (CA) approach in action on a subject fundamental for understanding our present predicament and especially its possibilities. CA is an approach that seeks to disclose alternative forms of life that are available and desirable in the present. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The reading groups are open to anyone and everyone, in whatever location, vocation, and life stage. <b>Expertise in ancient worlds</b> <b>is not required</b>. Our desire is to</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: inherit, serif; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> involve researchers who are further away from Classics and Ancient History, the discipline CA has predominantly spoken to so far. We aim for a wider and deeper interdisciplinary reach because the CA agenda <i>needs</i> people who can develop a rigorous understanding of the present, a necessary counterpart to using antiquities as standpoints for critique.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: inherit, serif; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">We hope that these reading groups will give participants greater literacy and confidence in areas of CA with which they may be less familiar. For Classicists, this may be current scholarship on capitalistic debt; for political economists, ancient social and political forms of debt and their contexts.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">These meetings will be open forums for discussion and ask participants to read ~100 pages of material by way of preparation. Readings will include excerpts from David Graeber’s <i>Debt: The First 5000 Years </i>and Adkins, Cooper, and Konings’ <i>The Asset Economy</i>.<i> </i>We will also invite participants to contribute to our crowd-sourced bibliography over the course of the meetings<i>. </i></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Format will be <b>both online and in person</b>; the in-person workshops will circulate between the University of Sydney (<b>Tuesday, March 18</b>), the University of Wollongong (<b>Tuesday, April 1</b>), the Australian National University (<b>Tuesday, April 15</b>), and the University of New South Wales (<b>Tuesday, May 6</b>). </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">…</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: inherit, serif; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">The Critical Antiquities Network was founded in 2020 and has hosted many workshops for thinkers working at the intersection of ancient world study and critical theory. We are now developing the Network's activities in different directions, including a studio for encouraging the work of PhD and early career scholars. We have nearly finished renovating <u>criticalantiquities.org</u> and the new site will detail all of the changes. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">All best,</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; font-size: medium; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; border: 1pt windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Tristan Bradshaw, Ben Brown, Tom Geue (CAN co-directors)</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"><o:p></o:p></span></p></body></html>