Some reflections on the Dissident Academy Text of a Talk given to the Social Sciences faculty of Melbourne University November 2018 INTRODUCTION : WHERE WE ARE NOW AND HOW WE GOT HERE The recent decision by the Federal minister for education to block a number of major grants for research in the arts and humanities has been greeted with howls of outrage from what … [Read more...] about SKIN IN THE GAME
Pictures from a not quite gone city: A field trippers rambling guide to San Francisco
Near Views from Afar Schoolboys of my generation learnt one thing that stuck in our minds about San Francisco : earthquakes. The frequent earthquakes which devastated large parts of the city had something to do with the San Andreas fault and meant inhabitants went about in daily dread of the world collapsing about their ears. Later, watching the eponymous Hollywood … [Read more...] about Pictures from a not quite gone city: A field trippers rambling guide to San Francisco
‘1968’ , THE COMING OF AGE STORY AND THE VIEW FROM LEFT FIELD
Note: This is the text of a keynote address to the 'Rethinking 1968' Conference on September 21st 2018. There is a video of this presentation and a linked powerpoint elsewhere on my website. The party spirit Googling Festschrift ( as one does) I discovered that it is a relatively recent practice, inaugurated by intellectual emigres from Germany to … [Read more...] about ‘1968’ , THE COMING OF AGE STORY AND THE VIEW FROM LEFT FIELD
CONFERENCE : RETHINKING THE LEGACY OF 1968
left fields and the quest for common ground A day of discussions and debates bringing together different generations of writers, researchers and activists to consider the political and cultural legacies of 1968, their bearing on the future prospects for a more democratic, equal and participatory society and for modes of research in the arts, humanities and social … [Read more...] about CONFERENCE : RETHINKING THE LEGACY OF 1968
After 1968 :Left legacies and the politics of remembrance
There is an old saw about the so-called swinging sixties: if you can remember it you weren’t there. This has the rather interesting corollary that if you were’nt there, if you have to consult the archive or rely on second hand accounts rather than your own experience, then you are more likely to grasp the events in more detail, depth and accuracy than someone whose … [Read more...] about After 1968 :Left legacies and the politics of remembrance