Critical and Cultural Theory

Review of Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in a New Age of War Retort - Boal, I. Clark, T.J. Matthews, J. and Watts, M (London: Verso, 2005)

by Christian Garland

Review of Retort - Boal, I. Clark, T.J. Matthews, J. and Watts, M. (2005) Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in a New Age of War (London: Verso) in In-Spire: Journal of Law, Politics and Societies Vol. 3, No. 2

‘Simulating events as they happen: media spectacle, ideology, and readymade boogeymen’

by Christian Garland

Text of a talk given at 'Hot Analysis - The streets of London’ Theme 3: Language and the media; presentation for discussion, ‘Simulating events as they happen: media spectacle, ideology, and readymade boogeymen’, UCL, London, 16 August 2011

The Death (and New Life?) of Critical Theory: The Frankfurt School Then and Now

by Christian Garland

Lecture notes for Methodologies, Cultural Turns (CVCS Stage 5), MA Contemporary Art Theory, Centre for Visual and Creative Studies (CVCS) Edinburgh College of Art, 2010

Something for all, so that none may escape: reworking the critique of consumption (2012)

by Christian Garland

Something for all, so that none may escape: reworking the critique of consumption in Fast Capitalism 8:2

‘Ernst Bloch’ entry in Encyclopedia of Political Science (2010)

by Christian Garland

‘Ernst Bloch’ in Encyclopaedia of Political Science (Washington DC: CQ Press, an imprint of SAGE) eds. Kurian, G.T. Alt, J.E. Chambers, S. and Garrett, G.
http://www.cqpress.com/product/Encyclopedia-of-Political-Science.html

Illegal evictions? Overwriting possession and orality with law’s violence in Cambodia

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. Forthcoming. Illegal evictions? Overwriting possession and orality with law’s violence in Cambodia. Journal of Agrarian Change.

The unfolding of a juridico-cadastral system in present-day Cambodia is at odds with local understandings of... more The unfolding of a juridico-cadastral system in present-day Cambodia is at odds with local understandings of landholding, which are entrenched in notions of community consensus and existing occupation. The discrepancy between such orally recognized antecedents and the written word of law have been at the heart of the recent wave of dispossessions that have swept across the country. Contra the standard critique that corruption has set the tone, this paper argues that evictions in Cambodia are often literally underwritten by the articles of law. Whereas ‘possession’ is a well-understood and accepted concept in Cambodia, a cultural basis rooted in what James C. Scott refers to as ‘orality’, coupled with a long history of subsistence agriculture, semi-nomadic lifestyles, barter economies, and–until recently–widespread land availability have all ensured that notions of ‘property’ are vague among the country’s majority rural poor. In drawing a firm distinction between possessions and property, where the former is premised upon actual use and the latter is embedded in exploitation, this article examines how proprietorship is inextricably bound to the violence of law.

Engels-Schwarzpaul 2011 Restless Containers: Thinking interior space - across cultures

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

Published as Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-Chr. (2011). Restless containers: Thinking interior space – across cultures. Interstices: Journal of Architecture and Related Arts, 12, 11-22. www.interstices.ac.nz

Is there a relationship between the ways we draw the line between interior and exterior space and the way we see... more Is there a relationship between the ways we draw the line between interior and exterior space and the way we see ourselves in relation to the world? If there is, understanding it might help unsettle a simplistic binary between interior and exterior, and between the exclusionary and hierarchical relationships that attend it. Intersecting concepts developed by German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk in his trilogy Spheres with Māori and Samoan ones in the Pacific, this paper considers the links between notions of self, collectivities and the spatial configurations that sustain them. While historically and locally specific systems of inclusion and exclusion undeniably shape our selves and our worlds, drawing close to the spatial worlds of others expands our capacity for making worlds-in-common.

Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended Boundaries: Performing Place and Identity.

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

This is the manuscript version of a paper accepted for Second International Meeting of EAHN European Architectural History Network, Palais Academies, Brussels, Belgium, 31 May - 3 June 2012. http://eahn2012conference.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/regionalism_redivivus.pdf

Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended... more Engels-Schwarzpaul, A.-C., & Refiti, A. L. (2012, 31 May - 3 June 2012). Fale Samoa and Europe’s Extended Boundaries: Performing Place and Identity. presented at the meeting of the EAHN European Architectural History Network, Second International Meeting., Palais Academies, Brussels, Belgium.

Globalised Desk‐top Skirmishes? Reporting from the colonies

by Tina Engels-Schwarzpaul

This is the final manuscript version. The text was published as Published as Engels‐Schwarzpaul, A.‐Chr. (2012). Globalised Desk‐top Skirmishes? Reporting from the colonies. In U. Brandes & M. Erlhoff (Eds.), My Desk is my Castle. Exploring Personalisation Cultures (pp. 210‐228). Basel: Birkhäuser Architecture. http://issuu.com/birkhauser.ch/docs/my‐desk‐is‐my‐castle

This chapter explores how some assumptions of the cross-cultural study “My Desk Is My Castle”, for instance that... more This chapter explores how some assumptions of the cross-cultural study “My Desk Is My Castle”, for instance that “desks substantially differ from country to country” since specific cultures have “an enormous impact” on organisation and arrangement of objects on a desk, play out in the specific local context of Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. In globalised cities like Auckland, as the fabric forming the “specific culture in which the … office work is located”, there are many distinct ethnic migrant communities. Further, the overlaps and distinctions joining or distinguishing the Māori Tangata Whenua (Indigenous) population from hegemonic New Zealand culture are not easily identified and interpreted, even by locals. The discussion explores such local conditions surrounding the photos taken by AUT student researchers, relates them to two theories that take an active view of the creation of identity and space, reflects on the limits and potentials of the Auckland part of the project, and suggests some interesting questions to be explored in the future.

The Propaganda Model and Sociology: Understanding the Media and Society

by Jeffery Klaehn

‘The Propaganda Model and Sociology: Understanding the Media and Society,’ Synaesthesia: Communication Across Cultures, 2010, Vol. 1(1): 10-23. Co-authored with Andrew Mullen.

This article unpacks reasons why the Propaganda Model represents a critical sociological approach to understanding... more This article unpacks reasons why the Propaganda Model represents a critical sociological approach to understanding media and society, explores the model’s potential within the sociological field, and considers the trajectory of its reputational reception to date. The article also introduces the three central hypotheses and five operative principles of the Propaganda Model and suggests that the model complements other (competing) approaches that explore the relationship between ideological and institutional power and discursive phenomena.

Superdiverse repertoires and the individual

by Jan Blommaert

Practice Theory in Folklore and Folklife Studies

by Simon Bronner

Appeared in the journal FOLKLORE, vol. 123 (April 2012).

The Most Talked-About Philosopher

by Anthony Gottlieb

Critical essay on the thought of Richard Rorty, a propos the publication of the first two volumes of his collected essays. Published in the New York Times on 2nd June, 1991

Polycentricity and interactional regimes in 'global neighborhoods'

by Jan Blommaert

2011 The three anthropological approaches to neoliberalism, in International Social Science Journal, Vol 61 (202) : 351–364.

by Mathieu Hilgers

International Social Science Journal, Volume 61, Issue 202, 2011: 351–364.

For around fifteen years now, anthropology has been engaged in the study of neoliberalism. What contribution does the... more For around fifteen years now, anthropology has been engaged in the study of neoliberalism. What contribution does the discipline have to make to a debate largely monopolized by economics and political science? To answer this question, the present article returns to the major texts and highlights the three perspectives from which anthropology has approached neoliberal expansion: culturalist, systemic and the approach based on governmentality. Each has its own epistemological presuppositions and a specific conception of anthropology, globalization and neoliberalism. The article highlights the relevance and limitations of these approaches.

2012, « The Historicity of the Neoliberal State », in Social Anthropology, volume 20, n° 1, pp. 80-94

by Mathieu Hilgers

Debate with Loic Wacquant “Three Steps to a Historical Anthropology of Actually Existing Neoliberalism." Social Anthropology, 20, 1, with responses in the next issue: Jamie Peck, Nick Theodore, and Neil Brenner, Stephen Collier, Daniel Goldstein, Johanna Bockman, Don Kalb...

Introduction to 'Secrecy and Transparency': The Politics of Opacity and Openness

by Clare Birchall

This article opens a special section on the politics of opacity and openness. The rise of transparency as a political... more This article opens a special section on the politics of opacity and openness. The rise of transparency as a political and cultural ideal has left secrecy to accumulate negative connotations. But the moral discourse that condemns secrecy and rewards transparency may cause us to misread the symbiotic relationship between these terms. After providing a historical account of transparency in public and political life, this article therefore makes the case for working with the tension between these terms rather than responding to the dyad as a choice. We need to find different ways of staying with the aporia of transparency-as-secrecy and secrecy-as- transparency. Despite common demands to support either transparency or secrecy in political and moral terms, we live with the tension between these terms and its inherent contradictions daily. The theoretical questions posed by this material reality need to be asked and responded to. This article and the special section as a whole begin such an enterprise.

Robertson, J. (1993). Critical Pedagogy and Questions of Conquest in the Curriculum. Canadian Social Studies: The History and Social Science Teacher. 27 (3): 111-115.

by Judith Robertson

Sole authored paper.

The article addresses the legacy of colonialism in teacher education classrooms and curricula through the metonymic... more The article addresses the legacy of colonialism in teacher education classrooms and curricula through the metonymic figure of Christopher Columbus, reporting on an actual experience incorporating street and store-front action taken by beginning teachers in the name of resistance during the Columbus Quincentenary in 1994.

Essay on Ideology and Gender in "The Oval Portrait" by Edgar Allan Poe

by benan orhon

Analysis of power of ideologies in the story as a cultural product and as a culture-producing instrument recruiting and naturalizing social gender roles.

Analysis of power of ideologies in the story as a cultural product and as a culture-producing instrument recruiting... more Analysis of power of ideologies in the story as a cultural product and as a culture-producing instrument recruiting and naturalizing social gender roles.

"Discerning Globalization through Translation as Postcolonial Identity" in Crossing the Disciplines: Explorations at the Interface

by Cynthia Sau-kuen Tsui

Doctoral Conference Paper, Centre for Translation & Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Warwick, UK. Warwick Working Papers Series 2008 (ISBN 0-954 2465-4-3), p.22-37.

An attempt towards cutting-edge theoretical explorations in translation studies. Starting from the identity crisis in... more An attempt towards cutting-edge theoretical explorations in translation studies. Starting from the identity crisis in cultural globalization known as “Jihad vs. McWorld” by Benjamin Barber, this paper draws inspirations from Annie Brisset's observation of the “deficient” target language in translation and Edward Said’s criticism on “Orientalism”. It then challenges Jacques Derrida’s “Différance” and points to a new view of cultural identity of negotiable differences, offering a philosophical solution to the global identity crisis.