Theory & Philosophy

Walter Benjamin's "Critique of Violence"

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In this episode, I present Benjamin's approach to a critique of violence. To do this, he opposes Divine violence to Mythic violence, violence that manifests itself in the form of law as we know it.

Herbert Marcuse's "Repressive Tolerance"

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In this episode, I present Marcuse's concern about tolerance in its maintaining the present oppressive structures of our world.

Mao Zedong's "Dialectical Materialism"

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In this brief episode, I present Mao's views of dialectical materialism.

Byung-Chul Han's "Topology of Violence"

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In this episode, I present Byung-Chul Han's "The Topology of Violence" where he argues that our present "achievement-society" is burdened by excess positivity that contributes to our present collective and individual existential crises. 

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles' "The Communist Manifesto"

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In this episode, I present the seminal "Communist Manifesto." Here Marx and Engels establish both the necessity of the worker's revolution and how we can avoid being led astray by reactionary and conservative perspectives.

Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism"

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In this episode, I present Mark Fisher's "Capitalist Realism." Here, Fisher argues that we are immersed in a totalizing logic of capitalist exploitation that convinces us that it is the only economic, political, and social option. 

René Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy"

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In this episode, I turn my attention to Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy" where he lays out his process of 'doubting' the world to arrive at the only thing left to exist--the thinking mind. 

Kelly Oliver's "Witnessing: Beyond Recognition" (Part 2/2)

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In this episode, I continue my presentation of Kelly Oliver's "Witnessing: Beyond Recognition" where she considers race and the oppression of other minority groups in her proposed alternative--witnessing--to recognition.                                                                                               
Timestamps:
Ch. 5: False Witnesses (Beginning)
Ch. 6: History, Transformation, and Vigilance (8:40)
Ch. 7: Seeing Race (16:46)
Ch. 8: Vision and Recognition (20:17)
Ch. 9: Toward a New Vision (24:10)
Conclusion: Witnessing the Power of Love (30:02).

Kelly Oliver's "Witnessing: Beyond Recognition" (Part 1/2)

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In this episode, I begin my presentation of Kelly Oliver's "Witnessing: Beyond Recognition." In this book she tries to conceptualize an anti-oppressive political strategy that is not predicated upon difference, but that is focused on the similarities that bind people. I'm joined by Helene Bigras-Dutrisac to impart her expertise of chapter 4!
Timestamps: 
Introduction: Beyond Recognition (Beginning)
Ch. 1: Domination, Multiculturalism, and the Pathology of Recognition (21:15)
Ch.2 : Identity Politics, Deconstruction, and Recognition (28:45)
Ch. 3: Identity as Subordination, Abjection and Exclusion (37:36)
Ch. 4: The Necessity and Impossibility of Seeing (40:14). 
 

Theodor Adorno's "The Culture Industry" (Part 2/2)

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In this episode, I continue and finish my presentation of Theodor Adorno's "The Culture Industry." Some of the key takeaways from this half include Adorno's appropriation of Freud's theories to understand the rise of Fascism; Adorno's critique of Benjamin; and Adorno's faith in theory as a form of praxis.
Timestamps: Ch. 4: Culture & Administration (Beginning) Ch. 5: Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda (14:30) Ch. 6: How to Look at Television (29:30) Ch. 7: Transparencies on Film (36:20) Ch.8: Free Time (42: 09) Ch. 9: Resignation (46:41)