If I have to hear another argument about the relative importance of race versus class, I’ll scream. Long a staple of graduate theory seminars, late-night Facebook rants, and the various circular firing squads of the Left, the argument exploded into … Continue reading “Towards an Insurgent Politics of the Particular: A Review of Asad Haider’s Mistaken Identity“
Terrorist Assemblages brilliantly illuminates the imbrication of race and affect. While not dispensing with the complex histories that have shaped racial categories, Puar’s book draws our attention to race as an affective landscape—pulling materiality, discourse, and emotions into the fray … Continue reading “Race, Affect, and Assemblage: Toward Brown Jouissance”
This short essay was commissioned by Dissent Magazine, which after putting me through an arduous editorial exchange rejected it. (Draw your own conclusions). I attach the original essay here, slightly revised and welcome any comments. I hope to expand … Continue reading “A Note on Race and the Left”
All skinfolk ain’t kinfolk — an ole and fitting saying from my long-ago Red, Black & Green Liberation upbringing that could be well applied to the Sixth Annual installment of the New York City-based Afro-Punk Festival. Last week, there were … Continue reading “Afro-Punk 2012: Apocalypse”
Race is an illusion. So say we all! But what do we intend by this saying, this performative? Denise Ferreira da Silva is but the most recent of scholars to note that, in dispelling race from its improper place … Continue reading “So Say We All”
Introduction: Richard Ledes is an award-winning New York City-based filmmaker. His films include A Hole in One (2004) and The Caller (2008), which won Tribeca Film Festival’s Made in New York award. His current project, Foreclosure, is a … Continue reading “Interview: Richard Ledes on Haiti and Horror Movies”
“Will I Die Before They Get To Know Me?” From J. Cole to Oscar Grant III “Will I live or will I die before they get to know me? If I go, I know the ones that’s pourin’ liquor for … Continue reading “"Will I Die Before They Get To Know Me?"”
As a scholar who is deeply intrigued by both the ingredients and political consequences of public opinion, I often gauge public sentiment by simply reading the status messages and posts of my friends on Facebook and Twitter. These social media … Continue reading “The Decision”
The past can be like an old wound that never heals, especially when the scab keeps being picked. In the wake of Oakland transit cop Johannes Mesherle’s recent involuntary manslaughter conviction for the on-duty shooting death of unarmed, 22-year-old Oscar … Continue reading “Old Wounds and New Pain”
December 1st 2009, Tuesday, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Proshansky Auditorium, The Graduate Center, CUNY (34th Street & 5th Avenue) The CUNY Provost’s Annual Symposium on Disciplinarity brings together scholars in the humanities who examine disciplinary boundaries, canonical divides, and … Continue reading “Hazel Carby on Interdisciplinarity, 1 December 2009”
