Sunday, August 4, 2013

Heathwood funding campaign: We need your support!

Heathwood Press Tree - logoWe?ve recently launched a new funding campaign on Indiegogo. You can read more about this funding drive below or on our indiegogo page (http://igg.me/at/heathwood-institute-and-press/x/4227978)

Short Summary

Heathwood Institute and Press is a non-profit, critical theoretical organisation that was formed by a collective of academic researchers across a wide range of disciplines.

Motivated and inspired by Frankfurt School critical theory, our aim is to investigate the root causes of social, economic and environmental inequality by offering foundational, multidimensional and holistic social critique as well as developing concrete, critical alternatives to the type of social policy symptomatic of today?s highly unjust societies.

We delve into history, anthropology, psychology and sociology, and ask fundamental questions about the way we as humans have historically related to ourselves, the world and each other. We look at how we humans respond to our experiences (emotionally, psychologically, and in our actions) and why we organise our institutions, societies and belief systems in the ways that we do. We ask hard questions about our theories of religion, knowledge and education, and about how we build and perpetuate ideologies and economic systems. In essence, we seek to understand how, why and when we relate to ourselves, the world and each other in destructive ways, and ultimately to develop new, healthier ways of relating and acting in the world.

To do this we bring together academics from a range of disciplines; economists, sociologists, anthropologists, educationalists, philosophers, theologians?

One of our aims is to take what we perceive to be of value from the traditions of the Frankfurt School, and to retrieve, redevelop, rework and advance it to be relevant and useful in 21st Century society. In building on and extending the traditions of Frankfurt School critical theory, we strive to not only challenge existing fields of research and policy, but also to fundamentally challenge from a foundational and multidisciplinary perspective the existing social model as a whole, with a mind towards promoting systemic change.

Through our research we are working to develop an understanding of the meaning of healthy social progress in the 21st Century from a holistic, integrated and methodologically unique perspective. We aim to achieve this through the advancement of critical theoretical thought by calling for new standpoints of critique and ultimately grounding our calls for new norms of critique according to a foundational, multidimensional critical theory of society.

In the interests of social progress we are geared toward excellence in scholarship and distinguished merit in terms of providing ground breaking research in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics, Psychology and Education, with the ultimate goal of communicating the findings of our research in an engaging, practical manner that is both applicable to policy makers and accessible to the general public.

Originally founded in December 2011 by a group of well-respected researchers, academics and activists, we are now actively bringing together and supporting individuals who are leaders in their area and whose research possesses the potential to break new grounds in addressing the problems that we face in today?s world.

For more information, please see the ?About us? section of our website, where you can find our full mission statement, statement of need, programme description, a comprehensive breakdown of our progressive, eco-friendly (print) publishing model, and even our (digital) democratic publishing initiative:
http://www.heathwoodpress.com/advancing-frankfurt-school-critical-theory/

Mission statement

The mission of Heathwood Institute and Press is to address the root causes of social, economic and environmental inequality, and to also develop healthy and sustainable alternative ways of being.

In the process we are also committed to the promotion of an informed and engaged citizenry; to promote a foundational awareness and understanding of social, cultural, economic and political processes; as well as to fight economic and social injustice, and to protect the diversity of nature and society and the natural systems upon which all life depends.

By investigating more generally the idea of ?damaged society? our goal is to produce highly respectable, critical works, whose seminal theses offer more broad foundations for concrete, critical alternatives which affirm the notion of systemic change and the need for fundamental public policy shifts. We seek to further this mission by advancing Frankfurt School critical theory in the 21st Century.

In principle, our mission is three-fold:

1) To understand the fundamental human issues that prevent individual and collective harmony and well-being, and that impede social progress as well as the healthy development of Western civilization;

2) To identify catalysts for change on a fundamental level across the different spheres of society;

3) To engage with researchers, policy makers and most importantly the general public in effort to promote critical dialogue as well as active leadership and participation in the manifestation of social change

We?re an independent, autonomous research organisation in the truest sense

Heathwood is a non-profit organisation that works hard to maintain independent status as well as a respectable distance from corporate and market forces.

In order to maintain our critical stance, we choose to adopt a wholly autonomous economic and political position in the face of society?s present socioeconomic-political circumstance. For these reasons we do not have shareholders or trustees. Nor do we have ties with multinational corporations or to the more general distortions of the global market.

In the same sentiment, Heathwood does not under any circumstance accept conditional funding. In this respect we are proud and, indeed, humbled to be one of the few remaining independent academic groups left.

But as a wholly independent organisation it is not always easy to financially sustain the type of autonomous practice we believe in, especially as predominant economic policy continues to strangle the independent and public spheres of our society.

Therefore if you would like to support Heathwood, its growing list of authors and researchers, and the development of new works, any amount of financial support will go a long way toward sustaining the daily practice of our organisation.

What We Need: A breakdown of funding requirements

Our funding campaign can be broken down accordingly:

Our goal is to raise ?40,000 for the following academic year, which will support the organisation?s operational costs until more sustainable funding sources can be identified. It will also contribute significantly to future publication costs, website maintenance, the salary of its director Robert C. Smith, and the part-time employment of two academic research associates.

In addition, this will not only will this money help support the organisation?s key project, which centers around investigating the roots of social, economic and environmental inequality. It will also enable us to continue to our (free) online publication programme, which supports the democratic rights of citizens to have free access to information by providing original research and editorial content without any sort of monetary barriers or discriminations.

The funds you donate will also assist us in expanding our roster of international academics and researchers across all disciplines. This is crucial because the more researchers we?re able to support from across all academic sphere, the greater our multidisciplinary voice and the better our ability to ultimately break new grounds in understanding the fundamental problems of contemporary society.

A large portion of our total funding goal will also go toward costs for much needed editorial support. The funds you donate will help us translate important new works from German to English, and also assist us in the continuing development of the organisation?s Frankfurt School (digital) archives, which has become a valuable resource for students, academics, researchers, and engaged citizens.

If the organisation does not reach its total goal in obtaining ?40,000, the money that is donated will still be put toward the needs stated above.

The Impact

Your contribution will make a significant impact in terms of supporting Heathwood?s project when it comes to understanding the meaning of ?social progress? in 21st Century society. It will support further research developments in the areas of foundational social critique as well as the generation of new works that deal with concrete, critical alternatives in the areas of economics, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and education.

Already our organisation has gained extremely positive feedback from academic circles all over the world. With a large and continuously growing readership ranging from academics to ?everyday citizens?, your financial support will have a direct impact on the future of our collective project and will allow us to continue to establish an open, alternative democratic dialogue with readers, researchers and policy makers.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you cannot contribute financially, there are still other ways you can support Heathwood and its members:

*Help us speread the word via social media
*Contribute to discussions on our website ? share your thoughts on important social matters.

For more information or to make a donation, please see:

http://igg.me/at/heathwood-institute-and-press/x/4227978

Source: http://www.heathwoodpress.com/heathwood-funding-campaign-support/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heathwood-funding-campaign-support

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