Category: Control
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TRUDGERY in Academe
With this semester, I have begun the official work toward a PhD. There is always more to learn. And classes provide a way of finding new dialogpartners. I am struggling to find a proper balance between ordering my Socratic desire and meeting the requirements put forward for demonstrating basic knowledge. That means…
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Is College Worth It?
In 2014, Gallup and Purdue University developed a student-focused approach for evaluating their experiences at institutions of higher education in the U.S. The idea was to rely not on the vague impressions of high school counselors and officials at peer universities, but on the opinions of those who had actually received their…
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Global Financial Capitalism’s Brutal Logic
A very interesting video interview with sociologist Saskia Sassen. Very well worth your 20 minutes.
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Corporations Should Practice Authentic Sympathy
Maybe Tim Cook is channeling the spirit of Adam Smith, whose moral philosophy–the backbone of his political economy–posits that the basis of all human interaction is sympathy which manifests as a personal quest for happiness with a conscience balanced against genuine beneficence toward others and a strong sense of justice.…
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Community Groups Work to Provide Emergency Medical Alternatives, Separate From Police
[Jens] Rushing says that during his time as an EMT for [a] small Texas city, police officers were dispatched with him on almost every call, sometimes becoming unnecessarily confrontational and problematic – especially, he said, on calls in which patients were struggling with mental illnesses… Though Rushing says there are occasions…
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Neoliberalist Humanities
It is not the humanities per se that are under attack. It is learning: learning for its own sake, curiosity for its own sake, ideas for their own sake. It is the liberal arts, but understood in their true meaning, as all of those fields in which knowledge is pursued…
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Concerning the Disciplinization of Language
It’s one of those aspects of the Society of Discipline that enclosures of experts form to put knowledge into hierarchical strata and assess who gets power and who does not based on the rules of the enclosure. Yes, I’m talking to you MLA and OED. It is indeed important to…
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‘Straight Outta Compton’: Rare Biopic
A rare film because it does not continue the tradition of celebrating a white man. Kudos to the industry power of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. It remains to be seen how much the film will touch on the existential struggles of the young black man in America. It could very…
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How Uber and the Gig Economy Are Making Voters as Disposable as Temp Workers
Temp politics is an outgrowth of the sweeping transformation of economic, social and political life over the past 35 years to fit the demands of global capital for “flexible,” nonunion labor markets that fuel growth in monopoly profits, irrespective of the social and environmental costs. In this new economic order,…
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We Gon’ Be Alright: Black Love, Black Resistance and Black Liberation
Coming together across different ideologies, generations, geographies and experiences, participants in the Movement for Black Lives have the potential, the brilliance and the power to get free and to stay free. More than 1,500 Black people came together in Cleveland, Ohio, last week for the Movement for Black Lives convening.…
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@nihilist_arbys: the perfect lunch for #anarchocynicism
Laugh at the absurdity of #consumption… let your laughter be the soundtrack of living from #Oblivion2Oblivion. Welcome to Arbys. Can I help you? JK. No one can. Which dead animal would you like to waste a few minutes of your useless life eating today? — Nihilist Arby's (@nihilist_arbys) June 30, 2015
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The Philosophical Importance of Algorithms
Interesting insights from a philosopher I will be keeping an eye on… Once we appreciate the increasing ubiquity of algorithms, and once we understand the two translation problems, the need to think critically about algorithms becomes much more apparent. If algorithms are going to be the lifeblood of modern technological…
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The Radical Solution is Absolution
We are exhausted by capitalism. The problem: how do I make a living without others taking advantage of me or without me taking advantage of others? This is a serious question and one that must be wrestled with at every age. A solution that makes any investment of self morally worthwhile…
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#Fracketeering: Solutions for the Society of Control
My colleague Adam Briggle has been very active intellectually and politically with local bans on fracking in my hometown of Denton. In a dialog we had recently, I mentioned to him that fracking bans–and the ban on bans–could be read differently than helping the oil and gas industry at the expense…
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Fracking and environmental (in)justice in a Texas city
Ecological Economics publishes a peer reviewed econo,if and environmental justice study of shale gas development in my hometown of Denton, Texas. The article is co-authored by my colleagues Matthew Fry, Jordan Kincaid and Adam Briggle. You can access the full text for free here until August 22nd. The authors encourage sharing far and…
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