Rebellious Posters, A Defiant Public, and Student Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Handmade posters have been JNU’s defining feature for the past so many years and occupy a pride of place among other modes of resistance.
Category: Issues
This Revolution Will be Electoral: Bernie Sanders and the Rise of American Democratic Socialism
It is clear by this point that Bernie’s run was not just a flash in the pan—a one-time thing. The long moribund left in the United States clearly has some momentum behind it once again.
Judging the Spirit: Vatican Economic Teaching and the Basis of Doctrinal Development
While the questions set before religious judges are often rather inward-facing, the nature of such questions, which can determine the fate of someone’s immortal soul, can have major impacts on the political and economic life of believers outside the walls of the Church.
Protesting the Confederacy on Campus
For fifty years, Middle Tennessee State University’s black students have protested the pervasiveness of the Confederacy on their campus. This is their story, from the past to the present.
The Aberration as President: An Imagined Conversation
We are not certain where the brilliant minds of yesteryear gather to discuss critical matters of concern for present-day mortals, but they are certain to be in Valhalla, Olympus, or Elysium and decidedly not in Hades. The conversation below is just one of many they are having about the increasingly dangerous crisis before the United States at this time.
Freedom Summer was the Ultimate Protest Summer. It’s Time for Another One!
Recent efforts to weaken both public education and the Voting Rights Act show that it is time to try again.
Historians for Prison Abolition
The same companies that house prisoners are also paid by the government to house immigrants, creating a problem that sits at the intersection of race and capitalism. The logic behind this is simple. Private companies exist to make money. When you operate a prison, the best way to make money is to make sure that the prison is full.
The Politics of Consumption: From Trimalchio and Gatsby to Trump and Beyond
Trump, akin to Trimalchio, no doubt imagines a glorious political end for himself—long down the road, since he is already campaigning for his next election. But will he leave the White House with the accolades and groans due to an effective senior statesman? If Trump insists on playing Trimalchio, consuming all political attention and agency, leaving little room at his table for anyone with an independent mind, and bullying those he feels beneath him, Petronius would hint no.
Imprisoned for a Day: A Personal Reflection
A few months ago I had the opportunity to experience a bit of life from a perspective I’m not accustomed to: the inside of a jail cell. I was left with a kind of insight that an academic like me doesn’t always achieve, an experiential insight. And I thought it would be worth communicating my impressions, if only to play some tiny part in giving a voice to the “voiceless.”
The “Court-Industrial Complex”: Plunder and Politics in Louisiana
The “court-industrial complex” is an ideology that forms the bedrock of Louisiana criminal justice. It will continue to sustain mass incarceration and municipal plunder despite the best efforts of reformers on the ground unless these carceral mechanisms themselves are undone. Until then, the Court will continue to “eat” the poor.
The Activist History Review 