The Trouble with Unity

Just out from the University of Kentucky Press and sporting a dazzling cover design is Radical Future Pasts: Untimely Political Theory, edited by three extraordinary scholars: Rom Coles, Mark Reinhardt, and George Shulman. It's a wide-ranging collection of essays inspired by the work of UCSC and Duke political theorist Peter Euben. The publisher characterizes the book as seeking "to open up new possibilities for theoretical inquiries and engagements with practical political struggles.… Rather than accept traditional ideas about the political past, the contributors reinterpret canonical and current texts to demonstrate fresh interpretations and narratives."

Peter Euben is the person primarily responsible for my becoming a political theorist—especially the kind of political theorist who puts contemporary race and culture in conversation with canonical work—and has remained a close friend and mentor; I was honored to participate in the 2012 event "Tragic Vision, Democratic Hope: A Conference in Honor of J. Peter Euben" and to contribute to this volume. My chapter is titled "Distinguishing Racial Presence from Racial Justice: The Political Consequences of Thinking Aesthetically."

On Melissa Harris-Perry on May 4, with Marc C. Alexander, Kavita Patel, and Katon Dawson to talk about politics ("Can Republicans still run against Obamacare?"—I'm on at 4:00, and "Why poll numbers count for fundraising"—on at 2:20) before moving on to the Donald Sterling scandal and the topic of race in professional and college sports, a little bit out of my comfort zone but a great discussion ("NBA players flex their political muscle"—on at 6:30) with Jemele Hill, Michael Skolnik, and Swin Cash.

Like most academics I know, I regularly get invitations to join LinkedIn and have never been sure what to do with them. So it was nice to see Jonathan Rees's Vitae essay headlined, "What the Heck Am I Supposed to Do With My LinkedIn Account?" He writes: "LinkedIn’s value to scholars is nothing short of a complete mystery to me," and explains why. (So it's settled for now: Twitter, OK, but not LinkedIn!)

Terrific discussion on Melissa Harris-Perry on April 6, largely taking off from a fascinating print and online debate on race between The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates and New York's Jonathan Chait. Got to join Ta-Nehisi, Jamelle Bouie, Brittney Cooper, Tanner Colby, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad.

In March, got to spend a terrific week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a guest of the Havens Center for the Study of Social Justice., and work out ideas with Ben Marquez, Annie Menzel, Jimmy Casas Klausen, and other scholars and grad students. (Plus was great to see Madison, as charming a college town as I've always heard, not to mention the presence of deep-fried cheese curds and Paul's Pel'meni.)

My two talks, co-sponsored by Global Studies and Chican@/Latin@ Studies, were both captured on video: on “Latino Republicans: Oxymoron or Future of Conservative Movement?” and “How Does It Feel? Race, Representation, and Diversity on the Right,” if you have a lot of time.

The Fort Lee bridge scandal was the big topic on the Jan. 11 Melissa Harris-Perry. I got to chat with Linda Killian, Mark C. Alexander, and Ron Christie here and here as well as about independent voters here and, briefly, about "How climate change echoes the smoking debate."

A lively time on Melissa Harris-Perry Sunday, with Ron Christie, Igor Volsky, Angela Rye, Shannon Watts, and Jonathan Metzl.

Links:

"Boehner versus conservative interest groups" (comments at 9:50), "Has party infighting strengthened the GOP?" (at 3:00), "How GOP voters differ from leaders at the top" (at 1:00), "Gun reform and the compulsion for protection" (at 3:40), and "The importance of setting new gun laws" (at 5:50 and 8:30). 

Was also fun to return home and discover that Twitterers had picked up, endorsed, and retweeted several things I'd said; I guess that's what social media is supposed to be about, right? Anyway, I'm still not all that active on Twitter, but my followers rose from 107 to 170 in a day, which feels like a vote of confidence. Thanks!

Great to be on Melissa Harris-Perry again, chatting about the McAuliffe/Cuccinelli race and other things political with Ari Berman, Katon Dawson, and Mark C. Alexander. For the first time, a couple of things I said got picked up on Twitter and retweeted, which was kind of exciting. (And I'm up to eighty-four Twitter followers!)

Show links are here, here, and here.

Media Matters for America updated its ongoing monitoring of Sunday-morning talk shows, finding—no surprise—a continuing "white male stranglehold" on cable and network TV. The notable exception—also no surprise—is the show on which I've been privileged to be an occasional guest. Media Matters' subhed: "White Men Still Represent The Largest Proportion Of Guests Except On Melissa Harris-Perry."

Next week I'm moving back to New Jersey! Part-time, anyway, for the 2013-14 academic year. Was incredibly fortunate to be named a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, "a tranquil environment for scholars engaged in theoretical research and intellectual inquiry." Excited to meet my IAS colleagues and having the time and space to write my book on Latino conservatives.

So for this academic year, I am on leave from NYU and away from my home department. Fortunately, we'll be living part-time in Princeton and New York, so we'll be able to spend time with friends old and new.

Looking forward to thinking deep thoughts in the piney woods!