Check out this great collection of images of Egyptian women involved in the uprising. It’s a really important alternative to the male-dominated images of the uprising emanating from mainstream media sources. Egyptian women are evidently taking a leading role in … Continue reading “Egypt Unveiled”
Author: Ashley Dawson
Ashley Dawson is professor of postcolonial studies in the English department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and the College of Staten Island. His latest books include People’s Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons (O/R, 2020), Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change (Verso, 2017), and Extinction: A Radical History (O/R, 2016). A member of the Social Text Collective and the founder of the CUNY Climate Action Lab, he is a long-time climate justice activist.
Ashley Dawson is professor of postcolonial studies in the English department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and the College of Staten Island. His latest books include People’s Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons (O/R, 2020), Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change (Verso, 2017), and Extinction: A Radical History (O/R, 2016). A member of the Social Text Collective and the founder of the CUNY Climate Action Lab, he is a long-time climate justice activist.
Authored by Ashley Dawson
Brent Edwards on NYC Jazz in the 1970s
Ashley DawsonColumbia University professor and Social Text member Brent Edwards to speak on Jazz in NYC during the 1970s In jazz history, the 1970s have habitually been overlooked or dismissed as a period when the music went into severe decline. But … Continue reading “Brent Edwards on NYC Jazz in the 1970s”
The Egyptian Revolution
Ashley DawsonI have been watching recent events in Egypt avidly from afar this weekend for both their tragic death toll and their incredibly exciting potential to end the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak. The fall of the Egyptian dictator would no … Continue reading “The Egyptian Revolution”
Wrestling with the Image
Ashley DawsonThe Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) announces the opening of Wrestling with the Image: Caribbean Interventions, an exhibition of contemporary art from twelve Caribbean countries. Featuring work by artists from the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, the exhibition is curated by artist and curator Christopher Cozier and art historian Tatiana Flores.
The Educational Commons – Introducing the Nonstop Institute
Ashley DawsonAs Michael Cohen’s recent posting on the neoliberal crisis and the Open University makes clear, education as a human right is under assault around the world. Cohen’s discussion of the context in Britain paints a particularly dire picture, but universities … Continue reading “The Educational Commons – Introducing the Nonstop Institute”
Letter from Italy
Ashley DawsonThe Berlusconi government seems to be on its last legs here in Italy, but somehow the old Mephistopheles seems to keep controlling the show — apparently bribery as well as arm-twisting has been involved. Meanwhile, in Torino, where I’m teaching … Continue reading “Letter from Italy”
Resources of Hope
Ashley DawsonLast Saturday was a remarkable day of NYC-based, globe-spanning eco-activism. The day began with a trip up to the South Bronx, where friends of mine were involved in various local environmental justice initiatives. The organization Sustainable South Bronx sponsored a … Continue reading “Resources of Hope”
From Bolivia to the Bronx and Beyond
Ashley DawsonJoin ST collective member Ashley Dawson on Saturday, September 18th for a forum on Climate Justice featuring Father Miguel D’Escoto, former President of the U.N. General Assembly, Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon, Tanya Fields of Mothers on the Move (Bronx), and … Continue reading “From Bolivia to the Bronx and Beyond”
Open Letter to President Obama
Ashley DawsonDear President Obama, This holiday weekend brought news of the failure of BP’s latest strategy for plugging the oil flow in the Gulf of Mexico – the ominously named “top kill.” It now seems increasingly likely that oil will continue … Continue reading “Open Letter to President Obama”
Capitalism=Crisis
Ashley DawsonGreece is in revolt. Not surprisingly, though, the protests there are being totally misrepresented in the mainstream media. Much attention in the US press has focused on the spectacle of the riots and on the three tragic deaths in a … Continue reading “Capitalism=Crisis”
From Copenhagen to Cochabamba
Ashley DawsonBefore everything else, the Cochabamba conference was remarkable for bringing together a large group of radical activists from all around the world. The social connections and sense of possibility that resulted from the exchanges that unfolded in this setting were … Continue reading “From Copenhagen to Cochabamba”
The Will to Power
Ashley DawsonThe World Bank yesterday approved a $3.75 billion loan for a new coal-fired power plant in Limpopo, South Africa. Named Medupi, the 4,800 megawatt plant will draw on South Africa’s abundant sources of coal to provide power for an increasingly … Continue reading “The Will to Power”
Survival
Ashley DawsonEver since the effective collapse of the Copenhagen Climate Summit, I’ve been thinking about how we represent survival and futurity in a conjuncture in which hegemonic ideology is so clearly bankrupt and the ruling classes in the world’s most powerful nations are so transparently unwilling to take the steps necessary to save civilization.
A Corporation is Not a Person
Ashley DawsonTwo days ago the Supreme Court issued what is perhaps its most calamitous ruling in a century.
Digital Activism
Ashley DawsonActivists are increasingly turning to online resources to help bring about progressive, grassroots-empowering social change. I recently learned of two interesting initiatives to build awareness of the possibilities for networked activism.