CeASR Event- Social Change Programme

Making Space: an exhibition and talk on squatting, trespass, and direct housing action

The event will be led by Dr Sam Burgum, Leverhulme Fellow, University of Sheffield who is currently conducting a Leverhulme-sponsored ethnographic project on squatting in the context of the UK's housing crisis.

This informal event will give attendees the opportunity to hear about, see and contribute to a piece of ongoing, cutting-edge ethnographic and archival research. Sam Burgum, an urban sociologist based at The University of Sheffield, will give a short talk introducing his project and an exhibition on the history squatting, trespass and direct housing action. This will be followed by the opportunity to browse the exhibits, ask questions of the curator, and add to the timeline while discussing with other attendees over refreshments in the Rose Bowl Atrium.

Squatting, trespass, and occupation have a long and radical history in the UK which is often overlooked, dismissed, or forgotten; and yet parallels and shapes the way we think about property and ownership today. As we face a time of inequality, injustice, and uncertainty; our ability to learn from past actions and campaigns allows us to better understand and contest the housing crises and urban divisions of today. From The Diggers of 1649; through Suffragettes, Black Panthers, and the right to roam open countryside; up to the music and art we love and enjoy - squatting and trespass continue to embody the limits of our society, challenging us to think about how we might approach the city (and property) differently.

Please come and join us if you have an interest in, or experience with, squatting, trespass or direct housing action and would like to learn more about its history and contribute your experiences or expertise.

You can read more on the project blog:

https://squattinglondon.wordpress.com/about/

Sam’s first book Occupying London: Post-Crash Resistance and the Limits of Possibility was published in 2018

https://www.routledge.com/Occupying-London-Post-Crash-Resistance-and-the-Limits-of-Possibility/Burgum/p/book/9781138291539

All welcome