This is the first annual Platypus International Convention, which will take place at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a three-day convention, there will be a series of lectures, workshops, and round-table discussions among members of the Platypus Affiliated Society and the interested public. Each event deals with historical and contemporary sociopolitical and cultural issues that played a role in shaping the development - and downfall - of the Left as we know it. Our intention is to hold a conversation on all the work Platypus has done as a group since its founding in 2006.