From the Editors Archives - Page 32 of 172

Feature

Civil War by Other Means

Or: Somewhere, Carl Schmitt is Smiling

May 21, 2019 • by Laura Nelson

In a piece I wrote for Public Seminar in September 2015, I argued that Donald Trump’s campaign augured a turn to the kind of “Friends/Enemies” political imaginary cooked up by the Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt. Schmitt was unimpressed by the niceties of liberal democratic practice, and saw politics as a Kampf between irreconcilable parties, where ...

Education

A Secret Invasion

The University in Exile and conspiracy theories

May 20, 2019 • by Andrew Woods

Conspiracy theories offer alternative explanations for shocking historical events and sweeping cultural changes. They simplify complex socio-political factors and processes into seductive narratives of Good versus Evil. They are the opium of those who believe that they are on the wrong side of history, yet imagine that God is on ...

Feature

What Will Leftists Do if Biden Wins?

Nothing, probably, except vote for him in the general election.

May 19, 2019 • by John Stoehr

Bill Scher was my guest last night for a civics program in New Haven. We discussed and debated the ins and outs of impeaching Donald Trump. We disagreed, mostly, but I appreciated Bill’s take, because he works hard to see things with clear eyes. A contributing editor to Politico Magazine, Bill argued there’s little ...

Feature

The Trap Trump is Laying

Defer, deflect and delay

May 18, 2019 • by John Lawrence

Subtlety has never been one of Donald Trump’s strong suits, and I must confess, I have been loathe to attribute great strategic skills to this most incoherent and incompetent of presidents. Yet increasingly, one must begrudgingly acknowledge Trump’s strategy for countering the enhanced congressional oversight resulting from last November’s election. There ...

Feature

Prohibitions on Legal Abortion Are Not New

The Anti-Abortion Movement Has a Long History of Criminalizing Healthcare Providers

May 17, 2019 • by Lauren Gutterman

On Wednesday, May 15, 2019 Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation that prohibits abortion in nearly all cases. This new law could punish doctors who perform abortions with up to ninety-nine years in prison. Doctors convicted of performing abortions will be categorized as Class A felons joining the ranks of those convicted ...

Prohibitions on Legal Abortion Are Not New

Feature

The Anxiety Industry

At the limits of anxious consumerism

May 17, 2019 • by A.T. Kingsmith

Anxiety -- that chronic, widespread uncertainty proliferating out of the insecurities that exemplify modern life -- has become the lodestone of 21st century consumer capitalism. From fidget spinners, gravity blankets, CBD oils, air fresheners and skincare products to white noise machines, salt lamps, calming diffusers and the countless meditation apps inundating our ...

Feature

“Will Modi Return?”

The Inevitable Question from the Indian Elections 2019

May 16, 2019 • by Sarbani Sharma

For at least a few months now, most Indians in their workplaces, homes and within their communities have been unwittingly discussing the inescapable context of the 2019 General Elections. At the time I write this article, the 17th General Elections are underway in India and six out of the seven ...

Feature

What Criminal Justice Reformers Can Learn from the Green New Deal

The political inequalities reinforced by American criminal law require a transformative approach

May 16, 2019 • by Seth Mayer

The decline of America’s democratic institutions has emerged as a central issue in contemporary American politics. In response to voter suppression, manipulation through campaign finance, and foreign interference in elections, Democrats have proposed sweeping reforms to improve electoral integrity and accountability. With the For the People Act, for example, legislators proposed to improve ballot access, ...

What Criminal Justice Reformers Can Learn from the Green New Deal

Education

Dynamic Symmetry: A Mathematical Structure in New School History

While Orozco’s murals now speak of the past, students at Parsons today continue to learn about the Modular sequence in architecture and other courses.

May 15, 2019 • by Jennifer Wilson

In his autobiography, José Clemente Orozco described his murals at the New School for Social Research as an opportunity to investigate the “geometric-aesthetic principles of the investigator Jay Hambidge.” Hambidge, an aspiring writer, was the inventor and proselytizer of a newly-popular compositional theory, Dynamic Symmetry. Orozco learned of Hambidge’s ideas through his ...

Dynamic Symmetry: A Mathematical Structure in New School History

Feature

How to Bring Emotion back into Psychoanalysis

An excerpt from “Minding Emotions”

May 15, 2019 • by Elliot Jurist

In memory of Lew Aron, psychoanalyst, scholar, teacher and friend. Mentalization -- the effort to make sense of our own and others' actions, behavior, and internal states -- is something we all do. And it is a capacity that all psychotherapies aim to improve: the better we are at mentalizing, the more ...

How to Bring Emotion back into Psychoanalysis

Feature

Mothers Day at Grand Central Station

Granny Peace Brigade sings to an end of all wars

May 14, 2019 • by Jo Freeman

On Mother's Day the Granny Peace Brigade sang to commuters passing through New York’s Grand Central Station about the need to end all wars. About two dozen women joined by a couple men gathered in a semi-circle, where they sang such songs as "We Rage to End All War," "Take Me Out of ...

Feature

Electability, Caster Semenya, and Rachel Held Evans

Past Present Episode 179

May 14, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the concept of “electability,” the gender policing of South African runner Caster Semenya, and the legacy of Christian writer Rachel Held Evans. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: With over 20 Democratic candidates in the running, “ electability” is ...