SPOTLIGHT

  • The African Union and its Reactions to Three Types of Coups in Guinea, Mali, and Chad

    Three different types of coups have occurred in Guinea, Mali, and Chad, and they are worth identifying. These are opportunistic, oligarchic, and sultanistic coups. Opportunistic in the case of Guinea, oligarchic in the case of Mali, and sultanistic in the case of Chad. All of the coups were staged as military takeovers of civilian government, but in different contexts.  

  • Bard vs. Bullet

    Good news for a change—but bad news, as usual. According to the Associated Press (July 31), there’s a shortage of ammunition all over the United States, as major manufacturers are unable to keep up with high demand. Only the military is unaffected, since the Army supplies its own ammo, for all branches of the armed forces.

  • The Critical Importance of Wildlife Conservation

    Many scientists believe that we are in the midst of a 6th mass extinction, one that is almost entirely caused by human involvement. While this is a grim reality, it also means that we have the power to do something to stop the future loss of species. From purchasing a shark bracelet that helps fund marine conservation to eco-friendly shoes, there are endless ways to make conscious purchases that make a big difference. 

  • The Abortion Wars

    The Texas law is an abomination, not just because it violates women's rights, but because the egregious manner in which it does so also betrays any who might be troubled by abortion on truly moral grounds. It is a law rooted in culture war politics, not moral concerns, and its effect will be the promotion of a more sinister and corrupt society, not a more morally sensitive one. And yet it is just such moral sensitivity that we require if we are going to caringly address abortion and other morally relevant issues.

  • African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King

    Race today is often presented as a social construct. But social constructions, as Black people know all too well, can create real existential crises. Philosophers of the Black Experience writing during the Modern Era of the African American Freedom Struggle (1896-1975) engaged questions of freedom, existence, and the struggles associated with the experiences of being Black in America.

  • Surviving the City of Arts

    How do we teach humanities to STEM students in a time of increasing suspicion about the goodness of technology?

THEORY

Sanders at Dearborn: A Socialist Love-Story

By |March 15th, 2016|0 Comments

The idea that Bernie Sanders' support among Arabs and Muslims suggests there is little anti-Semitism in America is as absurd as the idea that there is no more racism in America, since it has elected a black president. Sanders is a democratic socialist, and socialism is one of the few Western political ideologies to have taken root in a big way in the Arab and Muslim world. This is a better explanation

Varys – A Eunuch

By |March 8th, 2016|2 Comments

One fact we learn early on about Varys, and are reminded of frequently, is that he is a eunuch. His castration is one of the central features of his character and lies at the heart of his political wisdom.

PRACTICE

Sanders at Dearborn: A Socialist Love-Story

By |March 15th, 2016|0 Comments

The idea that Bernie Sanders' support among Arabs and Muslims suggests there is little anti-Semitism in America is as absurd as the idea that there is no more racism in America, since it has elected a black president. Sanders is a democratic socialist, and socialism is one of the few Western political ideologies to have taken root in a big way in the Arab and Muslim world. This is a better explanation

The Anti-Trumplodytes

By |March 9th, 2016|0 Comments

Donald J. Trump is not like Hitler. It seems this can't be repeated often enough. It can't be repeated often enough because saying that Trump is like Hitler does two things: it denigrates the sacrifices and sufferings of millions upon millions of human beings, military and civilian, during the Second World War, and it promotes such laziness of thinking as to make even basic political understanding impossible to achieve.

JUSTICE

ARTS & LETTERS