Tag: sj

Medieval Studies (Yes, Medieval Studies) Is Actively At The Heart Of Debates Over White Supremacy

The fault lies in contemporary politics, of course, but also in the origins of the discipline: “In Europe, academic study of the Middle Ages developed in tandem with a romantic nationalism that rooted the nation-state in an idealized past populated by Anglo-Saxons and other supposedly distinct ‘races.’ In the United States, universities, cultural institutions and wealthy elites drew on Gothic architecture, heraldry and other medieval trappings to ground American identity in a noble (and implicitly white) European history. So did Southern slaveholders and the Ku Klux Klan.” – The New York Times

Another WWII Movie? Yes, And A Necessary One

The movie Where Hands Touch is about a young adult romance – about what happened to the generation of biracial young Germans who were born to white German mothers and French colonial African soldiers during and after WWI. Director Amma Asante (Belle, A United Kingdom) “poured into it her fears that racism and bigotry are flourishing today. ‘We wonder about Nazi Germany and how it got that way. It started with language and scapegoating, and we’re using a lot of [that same]language today,’ she says.” – The Guardian (UK)

Controversial Sponsor Withdraws From Turner Prize After One Day Of Criticism

Stagecoach South East, a bus company that offers service to the host city of this year’s prize exhibition (the seaside town of Margate), has for a chairman Sir Brian Souter, who spent heavily in campaigns to maintain bans on same-sex marriage and discussion on homosexuality in classrooms. The backlash against Stagecoach’s sponsorship was swift and effective. – The Guardian

Creative Versus Not Creative? Start With The Culture

“Why does it actively hurt to work in some places?” I have asked myself. “And why doesn’t it hurt to work in others?” I wanted to know what the organizations behind the positive spaces were doing that made me feel valued, respected, and like my presence mattered. How have these places reinvented what professionalism means under the confines of the non-profit industrial complex? – HowlRound

Student Activists Demand Camille Paglia’s Dismissal

The ever-controversial writer and social critic has been teaching at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts for 30 years and is one of the few faculty members there with tenure. Now, a petition begun by a group of students declares that “Camille Paglia should be removed from UArts faculty and replaced by a queer person of color” because of opinions she has expressed on transgender issues and campus sexual assault. (Paglia identifies as transgender.) Others, including writer Conor Friedersdorf, argue that the activists’ demands pose a danger to freedom of expression. – The Atlantic

Using Chickens, Kate Winslet, And Theatre To Help Fight Climate Change

Australian theatre artist David Finnigan’s first piece on the subject was, perhaps imprudently, titled Kill Climate Deniers. (It was about an attack by, er, highly motivated environmental activists on the parliament in Canberra.) Reporter Steve Dow has a look at Finnigan’s new show, You’re Safe Til 2024, which, yes, involves chickens and Kate Winslet (Titanic version). – The Guardian

Theatre Needs To Tell Bold Stories Of Those Who Stood Up To Power And Survived

A young director who had three weeks to devise a musical with 14 over-50 LGBTQ-identified actors says that her generation needs to hear more about the past, and that they’re good for theatre. “Stories from untold perspectives– with one hand in reality and one in imagination – are what interest me. As a writer, they unlock the immeasurable potential within a subject. As a director, they challenge you to avoid the deadly valleys of stereotype and assumption and implore you to take the tricky hillside treks through discomfort and authenticity.” – The Stage (UK)