Uncategorized – Page 7 – University of Minnesota Press Blog

#DeleteFacebook: Users always have the option of disconnecting—right?

October 18, 2018

BY TERO KARPPIAssistant professor, University of Toronto Want to #DeleteFacebook? You can try.Deleting Facebook is easier said than done. These are examples of headlines written after the news about Cambridge Analytica harvesting the data of 50 million Facebook profiles. These suggestions do not speak of getting rid of Facebook, Inc. – the company and its … More #DeleteFacebook: Users always have the option of disconnecting—right?

Heidegger’s thinking today is, perhaps, the possibility of the world

October 8, 2018

MICHAEL MARDERUniversity of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain In the 1957 lectures he delivered in Freiburg under the title “Basic Principles of Thinking,” Martin Heidegger speculated that “dialectics today is, perhaps … the actuality of the world [Weltwirklichkeit]” (GA 79: 88). For all its hyperbolic thrust, one should not take his statement lightly, dismissing … More Heidegger’s thinking today is, perhaps, the possibility of the world

You cannot have a just farm bill and eat it too.

September 28, 2018

JOSHUA SBICCAAssistant professor of sociology at Colorado State University Congress is in the midst of reconciling the House and Senate versions of the 2018 Farm Bill. Time is short. On September 30, the current law expires. No matter what transpires it will still not be enough to fully regulate the food system. The public debate … More You cannot have a just farm bill and eat it too.

Life on the edge in northern Minnesota border country.

September 25, 2018

BY SARAH STONICH The title of this novel might sound like the answer to a trivia question—points for anyone who can draw the Laurentian Divide on a bar napkin, extra to mark where it meets the St. Lawrence in northern Minnesota. At this juncture, rivers flow in three directions: east to the Gulf of St. … More Life on the edge in northern Minnesota border country.

“Wherever he is! Wherever he is!”: Jim Walsh on the world’s rediscovery of “The Gold Experience” and the funky powerhouse joy that is the New Power Generation

September 21, 2018

BY JIM WALSH The New Power Generation was on the second encore of its first-ever appearance at First Avenue on September 14, when lead singer MacKenzie and rapper Tony Mosley (a.k.a. Tony M) implored the crowd to pay respects to their fallen leader, Prince. As the crowd and band cheered at the night’s first mention … More “Wherever he is! Wherever he is!”: Jim Walsh on the world’s rediscovery of “The Gold Experience” and the funky powerhouse joy that is the New Power Generation

Occupy Surplus-Value: Toward the Revaluation of Value

September 13, 2018

BY BRIAN MASSUMI It is hard not to despair. The enormity of the problems dwarf the human scale, even though it is we, humans, who have created them. We seem to have fallen under the wheels of an economic system whose signature products are inexorably increasing social inequality, periodic crises from which only the top … More Occupy Surplus-Value: Toward the Revaluation of Value

Outsider Theory, Ruggles of Red Gap, and unforgetting: On the unfinished, ongoing work of political and intellectual struggle.

September 6, 2018

JONATHAN P. EBURNEPennsylvania State University When I was in graduate school, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to a movie called Ruggles of Red Gap. Released by Paramount in 1935, the film—a quirky comedy—features the Canadian actress Maude Eburne (no relation), who made a career playing characters named “Ma.” Ruggles of Red Gap is perhaps … More Outsider Theory, Ruggles of Red Gap, and unforgetting: On the unfinished, ongoing work of political and intellectual struggle.

"History is nothing if not a collection of antecedents, one leading to the next": Michael Schumacher on the 1968 election and the war for America’s soul.

August 15, 2018

BY MICHAEL SCHUMACHERExcerpt from The Contest: The 1968 Election and the War for America’s Soul***** A political campaign is a dehumanizing rite. Its only purpose is power, and tends to bring out the worst in men. Repetition, exhaustion, anxiety, and pressure must be endured cheerfully. Instincts have to be disguised. Sleep and privacy are elusive. … More "History is nothing if not a collection of antecedents, one leading to the next": Michael Schumacher on the 1968 election and the war for America’s soul.

Jack Zipes: "Fairy tales evolve and spread in strange ways."

August 3, 2018

BY JACK ZIPESUniversity of Minnesota I first came across Pyotr Yershov’s fairy-tale poem, The Little Humpbacked Horse, when I was preparing my fairy-tale postcards for publication in my book Tales of Wonder. Among the Russian postcards in my collection, I kept finding cards illustrating The Little Humpbacked Horse by different gifted artists, often with short texts … More Jack Zipes: "Fairy tales evolve and spread in strange ways."

Wildflowers Series #5: "All of it magical."