Standard and Poor downgrades US debt, stock markets gyrate around the world, Sarkozy and Merkel do yet another pointless summit, the Chinese and Japanese economies look worrisome. Serious commentators worry about global recession, Eurozone dissolution, and austerity programs that only … Continue reading “Deficits, Debts, and Deepening Crisis”
Online Features
Made in Havana City
Sujatha FernandesOnstage is Instinto, a female trio extraordinaire. The divas are wearing shimmering strapless dresses with high heels. As a salsa beat kicks in, they rap in a lyrical prose, spin on their heels, and sing in three part harmony. This … Continue reading “Made in Havana City”
London Calling…
Tariq JazeelIt’s difficult to know how to begin to write about the last few days here in the UK. The disturbances — shall we call them ‘riots’, ‘protests’, ‘unrest’, ‘civil disobedience’, ‘mob violence’? — that started last Saturday in Tottenham, just … Continue reading “London Calling…”
Social Text Video Channel Up Now
Roland BolzSocial Text presents a new video channel, to be used for lectures, event reports, mini-documentaries and creative work. Check it out on YouTube or Vimeo! We welcome submissions for our video channel. Please email them to socialtext@columbia.edu. Below is the … Continue reading “Social Text Video Channel Up Now”
Act for Climate Justice
Ashley DawsonLast night I went to see the film The Last Mountain, an incredibly powerful documentary that chronicles the struggle of West Virginian communities against the pulverization of their land and lives by coal mining outfits like Massey Energy Corporation. Mountaintop … Continue reading “Act for Climate Justice”
Indignant Politics in Athens – Democracy Out of Rage
Stathis GourgourisThe historical fact that Athens was the birthplace of democracy has been haunting the crowds assembled for nearly two months in the city’s Syntagma (Constitution) Square, right across from the House of Parliament, protesting undaunted against the government’s incapacity to … Continue reading “Indignant Politics in Athens – Democracy Out of Rage”
Eric Stanley interview on KPFA radio
Social Text CollectiveListen to an interview with Eric Stanley about his article “Near Life, Queer Death: Overkill and Ontological Capture” from Social Text 107, our current issue. His article is a fascinating interrogation of how queer ontology and violence against queers can be seen as a constitutive part of liberal democracy. He offers the concept overkill to denote the type of violence against queers which goes beyond death.
KPFA radio is a listener-funded progressive talk and music radio station broadcast from Berkeley, California. Stanley will appear on Against the Grain, a program dedicated to in-depth analysis and commentary on issues important to progressive and radical thinking. The program is co-hosted and co-produced by Sasha Lilley and C.S. Soong.
History is what the Present is made of
Michael MandibergAn Interview with Matthew Frye Jacobson.
Michael Mandiberg: So tell us about the Historian’s Eye project…
Matthew Frye Jacobson: This started for me back in about 2007-2008. I was trying to think about different ways of getting intellectual work out in the world, continuous with all the writing I’ve done but in a different register. Read more
Postcard: Expo 2010, Shanghai
Aubrey AnableLast July, in the midst of a brutal heat wave, we visited the World Exposition in Shanghai. This was the first world’s fair ever hosted by the People’s Republic of China, and its government reportedly spent over $50 billion on the event, nearly twice the amount it spent on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Given the sheer spectacle and diplomatic value of the games, and how little attention the 2010 Expo garnered in the U.S., this sum is staggering.
The Trouble with Tiaras: Facing Marriage Equality Head-on
Kathleen CumiskeyOn Sunday June 26, 2011, my wife and I, along with our daughter and son-in-law, were on the M15 bus traveling downtown to Chinatown for dinner. We had just left the celebration of a lifetime at the annual LGBT Pride … Continue reading “The Trouble with Tiaras: Facing Marriage Equality Head-on”
War and Peace in Germany
Michael HoenischHas peace broken out in Germany? German soldiers did not join the military conflict that started earlier this year in Libya. In March, Germany did not support resolution 1973 in the Security Council, which authorized military action against the Libyan … Continue reading “War and Peace in Germany”
Odious Debt, Human Rights, Democratic Transparency, and An Audit Commission for Greece
Allen FeldmanThe IMF/EU imposed Greek austerity program has and will generate human rights violations in the areas of health, nutrition, education of children and youth, life expectancy, welfare of the elderly and disabled, right to shelter, right to public transport and related social safety nets. Many countries forced to follow IMF discipline experience 5-10 year decreases in adult life expectancy after the imposition of equivalent measures.
Age of Austerity
Ashley DawsonThe news today carried tidings of another huge setback for working people in the US. The legislature in New Jersey, one of the most heavily Democratic and pro-union states in the country, has passed a bill rolling back benefits such … Continue reading “Age of Austerity”
Which Way Wisconsin? The Meaning of the Madison Movement
Anne McClintockOn arriving in Madison some years ago, I went to the huge farmers’ market that winds round the Capitol. Startled by the slow-moving procession of orderly, white shoppers all pacing in the same direction, I dubbed the market throngs “The … Continue reading “Which Way Wisconsin? The Meaning of the Madison Movement”
Greeks on the Move: Capitalism's Wreckage and the Demand for Real Democracy
Costas PanayotakisThe entire world is watching as the future of Greece, and with it that of the global economy, is hanging in the balance. As journalists and commentators worry over the prospect of a Greek sovereign default triggering a chain reaction … Continue reading “Greeks on the Move: Capitalism's Wreckage and the Demand for Real Democracy”