Rob Nixon’s Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor was published this spring by Harvard University Press. Nixon’s work has been crucial to articulating the conjunction — as well as the fault lines — between postcolonial studies and ecocriticism. … Continue reading “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor: An Interview with Rob Nixon”
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Is Anonymous Anarchy?
Biella ColemanFor many, the political movement known as Anonymous conjures one thing and one thing alone: anarchy. I have now seen this association made so many times, I thought it might be a good idea to lay out in some detail … Continue reading “Is Anonymous Anarchy?”
Deficits, Debts, and Deepening Crisis
Richard WolffStandard 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”
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.
Introduction
Ashley Dawson
A year and several months ago, I returned to New York from the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia. While at the conference, I live blogged events in the many different forums of the conference, and also posted short analytical essays chronicling my reaction to the various interventions unfolding at the conference. Social Text online now presents these different pieces as a unified dossier in order to preserve this important historical moment.
Arrival
Ashley Dawson
The NYC delegation arrived on a red-eye flight from a stormy Miami early this morning. The delegation, assembled by the Bolivian embassy in NYC based on submitted applications, is an extremely diverse group, including grassroots housing activists, union representatives, media … Continue reading “Arrival”
Inaugural Ceremony for the Conference
Ashley Dawson
We arrive in the stadium of the University of Univalle at 8am, walking through a gauntlet of military police, naval police, army officers, cobra special SWAT troops, etc. The bleachers are sparsely populated by Bolivians with their union banners hanging … Continue reading “Inaugural Ceremony for the Conference”
Evo Morales's Speech at the Inaugural Ceremony
Ashley Dawson
Pachamama o muerte! For the planet or for death!I salute the social movements, unions, government representatives, and many people who have come to Bolivia, the heart of the Americas, to participate in this conference in the defense of pachamama. Copenhagen … Continue reading “Evo Morales's Speech at the Inaugural Ceremony”
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
Action Strategies Working Group, Part 1
Ashley Dawson
Working groups started this morning. As I said in my last post, we missed some of the discussions because of registration. So, I’m picking up halfway through the day of discussions over Action Strategies to deal with the climate crisis. … Continue reading “Action Strategies Working Group, Part 1”