In November of 2007 the workers building Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium staged a wildcat strike, demanding monthly project bonuses and better Health and Safety standards. Their action helped inspire a wave of such work stoppages at stadium sites throughout the country, and contributed to one of the abiding narrative themes of the World Cup’s lead-up: would the infrastructure be ready in time?
Online Features
The World Cup III: In The Stadium's Shadow
Eli Jelly-Schapiro
Fifteen years after the new South Africa’s first democratic elections, the dream of a true, non-racial, economically just “Rainbow Nation” endures. But so too do the inequalities of race and class that are the legacy of apartheid and its colonialist antecedents. In April of 2009 Jacob Zuma, anointed restorer of the liberationist mantle, rode a wave of populist energy to the national presidency. His ascension, however, has not quelled a resurgence of social unrest. For the majority of South Africans who retain faith in the nation’s potential, but mourn the violent inequities that continue to shape daily life in apartheid’s aftermath, the World Cup is cause for a difficult if needed national reckoning. [Part 3 of a 3 Part series.]
The World Cup II: Bafana Bafana
Eli Jelly-Schapiro
Soccer’s history in South Africa, and perhaps on the continent at large, began in 1862, when British sailors, soldiers, and bureaucrats organized a match in Cape Town. Consistent with its British public school origins, soccer in South Africa was initially a game of the colonizing classes. Like cricket and rugby, the sport was used to nurture an imperialist ethos of mannered masculinity amongst British youth, imperial servants, and privileged colonial subjects. [Part 2 of a 3 part series.]
Remembering Lena Horne
Shane VogelIn May of 1963, US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy convened a meeting of black representatives from the realms of politics, academia, and the arts. The remarkable gathering included James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Lorraine Hansberry, Harry Belafonte, social psychologist Kenneth Clark, president of the Chicago Urban League Edwin Berry, and Jerome Smith, a young activist and CORE fieldworker. Kennedy offered defensive platitudes of his record on civil rights; Clark, Hansberry, and others tried to impress upon him the inadequacy of the federal response to the situation in the south. Both sides spoke past each other until the meeting was brought to a halt by the soft-spoken yet passionate interruption of Jerome Smith.
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”
The World Cup: Will South Africa Shine?
Eli Jelly-Schapiro
From the editors: In the lead-up to the World Cup, the first to be held in Africa, we are serializing in three parts an essay by Eli Jelly-Schapiro on the cultural politics of soccer. This essay will then be followed by a Periscope forum about the Cup. Read more.
Philosophy Department closure at Middlesex University, UK
Tariq JazeelDepressing things going on at Middlesex University in the UK following management’s crazy decision to close the Philosophy Department. After student occupations in protest, a number of students and faculty have been suspended from the University. Faculty suspended are Professor Peter Osbourne, Professor … Continue reading “Philosophy Department closure at Middlesex University, UK”
University of Puerto Student Strike
Biella ColemanFor nearly a month, a large swath of University of Puerto Rico students across campuses on the island are striking new policies that limit tuition waivers, among others. They have taken over the main campus leading to its shutdown until … Continue reading “University of Puerto Student Strike”
March on Forever, Kanellos!
Stefanos TsigrimanisStray dogs are the unofficial cartographers of the streets of Greek urban centers. They roam the cities and form a relationship of belonging only with the spatial parameters that describe a vague outline of home. Most of them are not feral, however, they stand in a league of their own, marking their difference from the contained cuteness and cuddliness of domestic pets. In recent years, some stray dogs have risen to the status of the urban hero, transcending any limitations speciecists might ascribe to them. Such a canis heroicus was Kanellos, who died as a legend in the summer of 2008.
It is Already Limited
Biella ColemanWould you hit it? *(by which I mean would you go to this conference?). The title is Limiting Knowledge in a Democracy and check out the list of speakers. Oh wait a minute… are there just two, 2, dos, deux women listed out of 27 (fyi 7.4%)?
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”
Postcard from NYC
Tavia Nyong'o
Dancing in front of the May Day march against the state of Arizona’s draconian anti-immigration laws down Broadway in New York City, one protestor in festive spring drag.
Liberal Arts: Lurching towards Obsolescence?
Crystal Son Brown
Reviewed: Menand, Louis. The Marketplace of Ideas. New York: W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, 2010. Louis Menand’s The Marketplace of Ideas offers suggestions for revamping liberal education at a time when the liberal arts seem increasingly irrelevant to incoming freshmen. 1 Andrew Scull’s notorious hatchet job … Continue reading “Liberal Arts: Lurching towards Obsolescence?”
Middle Passages: Histories and Poetics
Social Text CollectiveThe Middle Passage has long been a trope for unspeakable terror. But a recent generation of scholars has been keen on discerning how the Middle Passage as social experience defined lives, histories and contemporary social selves. This event brings together some of the most prominent writers on the subject to present papers and participate in discussion. May 6-7, 2010 at the Graduate Center, CUNY. 365 Fifth Avenue, New York City.
Social Text article wins award
Social Text CollectiveCongratulations to Robin Bernstein, whose article in ST 101, “Dances with Things: Material Culture and the Performance of Race” has won the Research and Publication Award from the American Theatre and Drama Society and the 2010 Association for Theater in Higher Education … Continue reading “Social Text article wins award”