What is the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere? (Hint: it's not in Cambridge, Massachusetts — it's not even in North America.) If you were a Peruvian farmer struggling to survive, would you grow coca plants or coffee? Which government was found guilty of violating international law when it mined the harbors of Managua in the 1980s? What is the Monroe Doctrine and what role does it play today in international affairs?

With "globalization" and increasing concentration of ownership in the mass media, people in the US who want to know about causes and effects in the Americas often find themselves limited to a narrow menu of "mainstream" information sources. Meanwhile there is an active sub-culture of independent media — from small presses whose books are rarely seen at Barnes & Noble or Borders — to scholars, web-sites, journalists, and so-called "pirate" radio stations. Come meet these independent publishers, writers, poets, & activists and find out about their work. They will be there to give presentations and address your questions.

Media Fair:

AK Press  /  Beacon Press  /  Cascadia Media Collective  /  Citizens' Media Corps  /  Clamor Magazine  /  Cultural Survival  /  Equal Exchange  /  Grassroots International  /  Harvest Co-op  /  Independent Media Center (Boston)  /  International Action Center  /  Lucy Parsons Center  /  Mama Gaia's Café  /  MIT Press Bookstore  /  No Censorship Radio  /  No U-Turn Radio  /  Radio with a View  /  Seven Stories Press  /  Sojourner: The Women's Forum  /  Sounds of Dissent  /  South End Press  /  Ten Thousand Villages  /  United American Indians of New England  /  Whats Up Magazine  /  Z Magazine

Speakers:

Mike Albert (Z Magazine)  /  David Barsamian (Alternative Radio)  /  George Capaccio (Voices in the Wilderness)  /  David Goodman (Radio with a View)  /  John Grebe (Sounds of Dissent)  /  Amy McCreath (MIT Episcopal Chaplain)  /  Kevin Murray (Grassroots International)  /  Linda Pinkow (WMBR News)  /  Steve Provizer (Allston-Brighton Free Radio)  /  Chuck Rosina (No Censorship Radio)  /  Joshua Rubenstein (Amnesty International)  /  Charlotte Ryan (Media Research & Action Project, Boston College)  /  Randy Shadowalker (Cascadia Media Collective)  /  Martin Voelker (No U-Turn Radio)

Acknowledgements:

The organizers gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our two co-sponsors: the MIT Humanities Library and the MIT Press Bookstore. We also appreciate the help and support provided by: Theresa Tobin, Jim Eggleston, & John Jenkins at MIT; Anthony Arnove at South End Press; Steve Dimond & Steve Handy at MIT CopyTech; Gladys Overshown at MIT Audio-Visual Services; Margaret de Popolo & Omar Khalidi at the MIT Rotch Library; Pedro Morales & Juan Carlos Kaiten at Mama Gaia's Café (Central Square, Cambridge); the MIT Campus Activities Complex; the MIT Schedules Office; No Censorship Radio (WMBR/MIT); and all the participants — without whom there would be no event at all.