democracy

Wed 5.30.12 | Democracy: A Labor of Love?

Michael Hardt

Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri, Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire Penguin, 2005 (paper)

Hardt & Negri, Commonwealth Harvard U. Press, 2011 (paper)

Is love a political concept? Can evil be explained -- or be explained away? What's the significance of a proletariat that includes millions of workers who produce not physical things but rather feelings of well-being in the people they help or serve? Michael Hardt discussed his and Antonio Negri's conception of the multitude and its relation to labor, love, and the concept of evil. (Audio not for public mp3 distribution.)

Tues 8.23.11| When People Take Over

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In these times of crisis and calamity, where can we look for hope and encouragement? According to David McNally, people are coming together and creating exciting new democratic practices in locales around the globe. He points to grassroots experiments in radical democracy and truly participatory decision making in places like Tunisia, Egypt, Oaxaca, and Cochabamba.

Mon 9.13.10| Pictures, Politics, and the Suburbs

Hinderliter et al., eds., Communities of Sense: Rethinking Aesthetics and Politics Duke U. Press, 2009

David Joselit, Feedback: Television Against Democracy MIT Press, 2007

What happens to people in suburbs and exurbs? What kind of political community is produced there? And what role do, and can, pictures and images play in situating humans as isolated and aloof, or communal and democratic? David Joselit shares his perspective on these and other issues. (Encore broadcast.)

Wed 5.05.10| Can Journalism Be Saved?

McChesney & Nichols, The Death and Life of American Journalism Nation Books, 2010
Reporters by the thousands are being let go; newspapers and foreign bureaus are disappearing. Why is this happening, and what impact does journalism's crisis have on democracy? At a recent event, Robert McChesney and John Nichols addressed these questions and cited early US governmental support for journalism.

Wed 2.10.10| C. Wright Mills Reconsidered

C. Wright Mills liked to think big. His analyses of power elites, white collar workplaces, the Cuban Revolution, and potential sources of radical social transformation were influential with thinkers, activists, and concerned citizens in many parts of the globe. Daniel Geary describes Mills's ideas and their impact on a number of social movements, especially the New Left.

Mon 12.07.09| Pictures, Politics, and the Suburbs

Hinderliter et al., eds., Communities of Sense: Rethinking Aesthetics and Politics Duke U. Press, 2009

David Joselit, Feedback: Television Against Democracy MIT Press, 2007

Listen to this Program:

Download program audio (mp3, 46.68 Mbytes)
What happens to people in suburbs and exurbs? What kind of political community is produced there? And what role do, and can, pictures and images play in situating humans as isolated and aloof, or communal and democratic? David Joselit shares his perspective on these and other issues.
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