Russ Castronovo, Author at Public Seminar

The Right

The Furor over Critical Race Theory is 200 Years Too Late

Where were conservatives when theories justifying white racial supremacy propped up slavery, imperialism and genocide?

June 30, 2021 • by Russ Castronovo

_____ Following a script being used in at least 16 other states, lawmakers in my home state of Wisconsin are taking aim at “critical race theory.” The proposed GOP legislation would ban anyone teaching in a public classroom, from kindergarten to college from promoting the notion that “any race is superior ...

Creatures of Habit

From Our First Zombie President to Ling Ma’s Severance

December 17, 2020 • by Russ Castronovo

The main problem with zombies is that they lack self-awareness. The opening words of Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals— “We are unknown to ourselves”—could serve as a zombie manifesto. Driven by little more than the impulse to consume, zombies shamble along from meal to meal without ever pausing to ...

According to Nathaniel Hawthorne, We Should All Be Wearing Face Masks

July 1, 2020 • by Russ Castronovo

According to the nineteenth-century novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, we should all be wearing face masks. In the current moment where politics meets pandemic, the decision about whether or not to wear a face mask is a lightning rod for debates over governmental overreach and freedom of expression—and according to some, a smug ...