Ricoeur and Castoriadis in Discussion

An excerpt from Suzi Adams’ new book

The dialogue is, however, peppered with some persistent misunderstandings. At one point, Castoriadis notes that they seem to be speaking ‘at cross purposes’. This can be attributed – at least in part – to the various seminar series that each had given in the years prior to the radio encounter, ...
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Selling Bad Therapy to Trauma Victims

Patients and therapists should ignore new guidelines for treating trauma

The guidelines are supposed to reflect the best scientific evidence. In fact, they ignore all scientific evidence except one kind of study, called randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs randomly assign people to treatment or control groups. They can answer certain questions (Is a medication more effective than a sugar pill?) and not others ...
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Grounding in Trump Time

Trump year 1

Since those first shocking days after the November 2016 presidential election, I’ve grounded myself by becoming, ironically, more radical and more alert to injustice. We’re now living in what I’ve taken to calling “Trump Time” -- a bizarre image of regular time wherein we’re all on alert for abuse. It ...
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Why Both Parties May Regret a Government Shutdown

The continuing resolution showdown has risks for everyone

Since Congress failed, as usual, to pass the appropriations bills by the October 1 deadline, legislators must extend existing spending levels to avoid a government shutdown. Despite the highly partisan atmosphere, virtually all extensions since 2011 have required the majority Republicans to seek Democratic votes because something less than 218 ...
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I Can’t Just Sit and Complain

Trump year 1

After my husband died last spring I opened his last credit card bill and discovered how much more than usual he was giving to candidates, and causes, in the wake of the election. That memory is one of many things that keeps me going as I grieve and carry on. ...
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The Politics of Selfies

Trudeaumania and the political spectacle

However, regardless of the origin of such contemporary phenomenon, I want to draw attention to the integration of the selfie as a tool for political ends, and, particularly, to use the emblematic example of Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada. The aim of this paper is thus to highlight ...
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Trump’s Head and Women’s Blood

Is Kathy Griffin’s controversial image a work of protest art?

Kathy Griffin released a picture of herself, wearing a navy or royal blue pussy-bow blouse and holding up a faux severed and bleeding head of Donald Trump. How to describe her gaze? Emotionless? Steely? Resolved. I am not going to spend this essay defending the image or deconstructing the fallout around ...
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Culture vs. Anti-Culture

What kind of cultural commitment provides constructive alternatives to “Tax Reform,” Access Hollywood Denial and Birther-gate Revival?

As I sit down to write this post, “tax reform” is on the verge of becoming the law of the land in the U.S., giving to the rich, taking from the poor, disfavoring those who work to live (including some of the relatively wealthier among us). And as Jeremy Safran ...
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Rethinking Academic Jargon

New tweets from an old culture war

This was, by and large, a well-received tweet. But there was some pushback from a couple of folks (okay, a couple of guys) who separately invoked the terrifying specter of "critical jargon" or "academic jargon" – without, ironically enough, defining what they meant. But whatever they thought they were saying, ...
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Becoming a Candidate Too Soon

Trump year 1

I ran for office two years too soon. When I was in high school, my fantasy was to be a U.S. Senator. I became a historian instead and got involved in local politics in Indiana, where we moved in 1999. Indiana went blue in 2008, and despite the rise of the ...
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