Category Archives: Politics

Working to Contract

Posted on October 2, 2011 by stuartelden

The British Universities and College Union is in dispute with employers over pensions (USS), and hasn’t managed to get anywhere through its attempts at negotiation. A ballot was held that voted for industrial action. (I voted yes, by the way.) … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Universities | 3 Comments

Shapiro on Foucault

Posted on September 29, 2011 by stuartelden

Recording of an interview with Stephen Shapiro – co-author of new book How to Read Foucault’s Discipline and Punish – is available here. Interesting discussion of what Foucault is doing, and links to contemporary events and questions. The discussion of higher … Continue reading →

Posted in Michel Foucault, Politics, Universities | Leave a comment

Judith Butler on Palestine

Posted on September 26, 2011 by stuartelden

Interesting piece by Judith Butler on the Palestine bid for statehood and the demise of the Oslo accords in the London Review of Books. One small excerpt: If nothing else, a new set of dynamics will be inaugurated through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Judith Butler, Politics, Territory | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Leibniz on the Death Penalty

Posted on September 26, 2011 by stuartelden

Just come across this when looking for something else. While the justification of torture is jarring, the rest is unfortunately all-too-relevant. The question is whether there are grounds for capital punishment if two witnesses are brought forward against a defendant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gottfried Leibniz, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nicholas Blomley on Sidewalks, Police and the City

Posted on September 24, 2011 by stuartelden

An interesting piece freely available here. The piece looks at ‘police’ in a broader sense than just the police force, and discusses Mark Neocleous’s work on this topic, especially his The Fabrication of Social Order: A Critical Theory of Police Power. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mark Neocleous, Nicholas Blomley, Politics | Leave a comment

Camus, ‘Reflections on the Guillotine’ (more)

Posted on September 24, 2011 by stuartelden

Thanks to the kindness of Nicholas Dahmann, I’ve been sent a copy of the Camus piece mentioned in the last post. (I already have the book it is in, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death, on order, so this merely sped up … Continue reading →

Posted in Albert Camus, Politics, Troy Davis | Leave a comment

Camus, ‘Reflections on the Guillotine’

Posted on September 23, 2011 by stuartelden

Eduardo Mendieta suggests that Albert Camus’s ‘Reflections on the Guillotine’ is worth another look. Of course the French debate happened some time ago, but not that long ago – one of the things Foucault did when involved with the Groupe … Continue reading →

Posted in Albert Camus, Eduardo Mendieta, Michel Foucault, Politics | Leave a comment

The Killings of Troy Davis

Posted on September 23, 2011 by stuartelden

Like many people I’ve been fascinated and horrified by the case of Troy Davis. Davis was found guilty of the 1989 murder of an off-duty policeman, who had gone to the defence of a man being beaten. Davis was convicted … Continue reading →

Posted in Jeremy Bamber, Politics, Troy Davis | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Israel/Palestine maps

Posted on September 23, 2011 by stuartelden

Whatever else the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN has achieved, it has brought discussion back to the centre of attention. The cartography of the region is, of course, highly political. This new piece in Political Geography (“Trapped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Henri Lefebvre, Neil Brenner, Politics, Territory | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stuart Hall on neoliberalism

Posted on September 13, 2011 by stuartelden

Interesting piece in The Guardian. [Update longer versionin Soundings here – thanks to Peter Gratton, via Paul Gilroy, for the link]

Posted in Politics, Stuart Hall | Leave a comment