Category Archives: Politics

You And What Army?

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Perhaps “check your privilege” is just a form of in-group signalling, a move that distributes discursive power between people who see themselves as belonging to the same social and political community. It functions as a kind of progressive Robert’s Rules … Continue reading →

Posted in Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 8 Comments

An Ethic of Care

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Timothy Burke

There’s an odd thing about privilege-checking as it has evolved into a shaming slogan, a sort of taunt. Shame only works if the target has an internal sense that the moral argument of the shamers is valid, or if the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 13 Comments

Nobody Expects the Facebook Inquisition

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Timothy Burke

Another day, another story of busybodies calling the police to punish another citizen for doing something that the busybody doesn’t approve of. Or in this case, not doing something, namely, not keeping their children inside and under 24/7 monitoring. 21st … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments

The Soft Target

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Timothy Burke

The 20th Century was more than a literal graveyard for almost uncountable millions of people, it was also a mausoleum for the idea of taking on the hardest targets. Overthrow a tyrant by force of arms? Here come a bunch … Continue reading →

Posted in Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments

The Increment

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Timothy Burke

“We have to do something. Anything is better than nothing.” A standard topos in political rhetoric that to me usually signals desperation. Let’s get started! Let’s not think too much! What, are you happy with the status quo? It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Grasping the Nettle, Politics | 3 Comments

Turning the Camera Around

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Timothy Burke

Through an improbable chain of events, I had an opportunity as an undergraduate to work as a summer intern at the Los Angeles Times. It was a great, life-changing gig–I found that I both liked journalists a lot and yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Politics | Comments Off

On The Invisible Bridge

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Timothy Burke

I’ve been following some of the discussion about Rick Perlstein’s new book on the 1970s. I agree with many scholars that the basic problem with online endnotes is the persistent danger of the main text and the sourcing becoming disconnected … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Production of History | Comments Off

It Is Better to Have Wanted and Lost Than Never to Have Wanted At All

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Timothy Burke

Kickstarter is, not at all on purpose, saying some interesting things about this moment in the history of capitalism and about this moment in terms of the availability of disposable income. About capitalism, I think this: people will give to … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumerism, Advertising, Commodities, Politics | 5 Comments

Subtraction Stew

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Timothy Burke

If the greatest trick the Devil ever played was convincing people he didn’t exist, the greatest trick of a certain kind of neoliberalism has been to convince people that in all circumstances and times we live in the shadow of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Politics, Swarthmore | 1 Comment

King of Pain

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Timothy Burke

As Jackson Lears and many other scholars and observers have noted, many Americans throughout the cultural history of the United States have accepted that the circumstances of life are inevitably determined by luck, that economic life is a matter of … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Miscellany, Politics | 9 Comments