Letter One to Germany: Visiting New York City Under Trump

In February 2019, Berlin-based author Esther Dischereit observes the State of the Union from NYC

This article was originally published in German in Deutschlandfunk Kultur on February 20, 2019 and has been slightly revised. It is reprinted with the kind permission of Deutschlandfunk Kultur. --- A man on West 14th Street in Manhattan is handing out free phone cards. A small line has formed of those in ...
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#OnArrive — But Where Are We?

Unpacking the electoral performance of Europe’s nationalist right

The last time citizens of European Union member states displayed enthusiasm for the European Parliamentary elections was in 1979 when turnout was 61.9 percent. 1979 was the year that the elections began and the year that the Union consisted of only nine members. In the five Parliamentary elections that have ...
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Forming a New Polish Political Consciousness

Part Three: Confronting Polish Responsibility for the Shoah in Paris

Editor’s note: in two prior essays on the challenges Polish scholars are confronting in their efforts to bring attention to Polish-responsibility for portions of the Shoah, Prof. Wagner discussed the origins of, and the historical and contemporary resistance to, the New Polish School of the History of the Shoah. In this ...
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Forming a New Polish Political Consciousness

How Media, Political and Religious Elites Shape Plebian Resistance

Part Two: Confronting Polish Responsibility for the Shoah in Paris

Editor’s note: in the first part of her essay on the challenges Polish scholars are confronting in their efforts to bring attention to Polish-responsibility for portions of the Shoah, Wagner discussed origins of – and the rise of resistance to – the New Polish School of the History of Shoah. In this ...
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How Media, Political and Religious Elites Shape Plebian Resistance

The Subtext of a Recent International Scandal

Part One: Confronting Polish Responsibility for the Shoah in Paris

In Paris, on February 22nd of this year, a conference entitled “The New Polish School of the History of the Shoah” (NPSHS) began. The conference was meant to be a celebration, particularly a celebration of all the research done over the past 15 years on the role that non-Jewish Poles played ...
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The Subtext of a Recent International Scandal

New School Gestalt and its Hidden Sociology

Anatole Broyard at The New School

Because they were displaced themselves, or angry with us for failing to understand history, the professors did their best to make us feel like exiles in our own country. … All the courses I took were about what's wrong: what's wrong with our government, with the family, with interpersonal relations ...
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New School Gestalt and its Hidden Sociology

The Globalization of White Supremacy

Countering the Spread of South African Apartheid Rhetoric

In classrooms, apartheid is often depicted as the last gasp of old-school racism, a throwback to an earlier era of European imperialism that took too long to die. Sometimes it’s compared to other racist systems, such as Jim Crow in the United States or the racial hierarchy in Nazi Germany. ...
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The Globalization of White Supremacy

How to Mark a Centennial

Telling the Story of the New School at 100

“In 1896, a minor event occurred in New York’s art world that would, in time, transform American art education.” So began the sample script sent to 60 Minutes by the consultant hired to help make the upcoming centennial an event of national significance. CBS didn’t bite, and the proposed segment never ...
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How to Mark a Centennial

A Few Quick Take-Aways

Reflecting on the 2018 midterm election

A short blog on the election; it will take a little while to fully digest the results. But some results seem clear and important to note. Obviously, the major news of the day is the Democratic resurgence in the House, with Democrats winning back the majority they lost so spectacularly in ...
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A Few Quick Take-Aways

A Minor National Disgrace

A New Low for David Brooks, Self-Important Windbag

David Brooks long ago appointed himself the moral scold and philosopher kinglet of American society. For years he has pontificated about the importance of “moderation” and “epistemic humility” and the dangers of “incivility.” Without any sense of irony or performative contradiction, this pseudo-philosophic prepster has lectured intellectuals, most of whom ...
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A Minor National Disgrace

Brett Kavanaugh Unhinged? Unlikely

Reflections on his testimony and on the need to resist his candidacy

Some reporters, bloggers, and pundits think that during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh just “lost it” and became "unhinged." I disagree. I have no doubt that he was angry and emotional, but his belligerent and partisan comments were also very strategic and calculated. He was not out ...
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Brett Kavanaugh Unhinged? Unlikely

Labor Day

Writers Examine the Past, Present, and Future of the Labor Movement

Very few high schools, and not many colleges, teach students about labor history -- the struggles of working people for a better life and a more decent society. Only a handful of newspapers and on-line sites have reporters who cover labor (or even work) on a full-time basis.  Except when ...
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Labor Day