On “Subconferencing” as a Mode of Study

In this roundtable discussion, four participants reflect on their experiences organizing “subconferences”—spaces for collective gathering, studying, and mutual aid within and beyond professionalized academic conferences. Intersecting recent and ongoing struggles over labor in higher education and in conversation with core ideas from Eli Meyerhoff’s (2019) book, Beyond Education, the discussion reflects on insights gained and connections made over the course of a decade organizing such spaces. In so doing, the discussion critically engages a range of issues including struggles over the conditions of academic labor and knowledge production; tensions between the pressures of professionalization, the necessity of radical praxis, and desires for well-roundedness and wellness; and possibilities for collective study and organizing against and despite these challenges.