This blog was one of those things, like reading and generally enjoying life, that fell by the wayside due to the pandemic and the related transition to online teaching. Although the pandemic isn't over, I'm looking forward to start blogging again from time to time, putting me back in the vanguard of the internet circa… Continue reading ERC Grant for DIGIPORTS
Tag: racism
Influences: Reclaiming
This post is part of my Influences series, which is explained here. Black Star’s song “Astronomy (8th Light)” is especially helpful for thinking about how to repurpose concepts that came before, because it is structured around a reclaiming of negative metaphors of Blackness such as phrases like “black sheep” and associations of Blackness with death,… Continue reading Influences: Reclaiming
Whale Falls: Making Opression Remote
A whale fall the carcass of a whale as it sits at the bottom of the ocean. A dead whale is a boon for local wildlife, and they swarm it in stages, sometimes reducing it to the bones in a matter of months, although the body can continue to be influential for decades. I first started… Continue reading Whale Falls: Making Opression Remote
Orcing the Other
The Power Dynamics of Role Playing The celebrated author N.K. Jemisin has written about her problem with orcs, which is related to the ways that orcs build on racist stereotypes. In her words: "Think about that. Creatures that look like people, but aren’t really. Kinda-sorta-people, who aren’t worthy of even the most basic moral considerations, like the… Continue reading Orcing the Other
Student of Segregation
An Israeli Professor's Trip through the Jim Crow South I've been thinking about the international circulation of racist expertise. James Q. Whitman has published a new book, Hitler's American Model. It's about how the Nazis of the 1930s and 1940s studied the racist legal system of the United States as part of their efforts to take away the rights of… Continue reading Student of Segregation
Magical Minions
Update: For a related post on orcs, see this related post, Orcing the Other. Magical Minions: Dominance and Diversity in the US Popular Media Privilege and Performativity Privilege is a complex concept that has different meanings in specific contexts. I’m just back from the Judith Butler conference at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and one of… Continue reading Magical Minions
Jess Bier 