Civil solidarity, a necessary precondition for democratic systems, remains a governing mode for political formations seeking a hegemonic position within democracies. Civil solidarity is marked by claims to an inclusive, normative-universal idea of “we-ness.” As cultural sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander … Continue reading “Covid and Civil Solidarity”
The Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie says, “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want … Continue reading “Rethinking the Single Story: BDS, Transnational Cross Movement Building and the Palestine Analytic”
The archives of Howard University’s student newspaper The Hilltop might seem an unlikely place to find evidence of a revolutionary Iranian student movement in the U.S. Yet the rowdy bunch of Iranian foreign students enrolled in the 1960s and … Continue reading “New Directions in American Studies”
Click here to read. This dossier takes its cue from one of the Occupy movement’s bedrock slogans, “This Is What Democracy Looks Like” (though this was first nurtured, as were many Occupy paradigms, tactics and customs, in the global … Continue reading “Is This What Democracy Looks Like?”
It was and remains a great inspiration to have participated in yesterday’s Labor Day rally in Manila. Along with the electrifying militancy of a large number of leftist organizations including unions, political parties, campus activists, national activists, women’s advocacy groups … Continue reading “Labor Day Manifestation sa Maynila”
Introduction: The Making of a Hip Hop Globe Pedro Alberto Martínez Conde, otherwise known as Perucho Conde, was probably the first rapper to compose a hit song outside the United States. A poet and comedian from the inner-city Caracas … Continue reading “Close to the Edge: In Search of the Global Hip Hop Generation (Book Excerpt)”
Last 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”
A rather peculiar reference to a prominent nineteenth century philosopher made Mir Hossein Mousavi’s letter to Ayatollah Montazeri of some urgent interest. More than three months into the post-electoral crisis of June 2009, the chief oppositional candidate, who had cried … Continue reading “Social Networking and the Making of a Civil Rights Movement”
