Tag Archives: english language

The importance of language as tool of the colonization in Homi K. Bhabha and Frantz Fanon (in english / по-английский)

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Jury wrote a new paper called “The importance of language as tool of the colonization in Homi K. Bhabha and Frantz Fanon”: This paper elaborates on the idea of Homi K. Bhabha that teaching English serves as a tool for the colonizing of certain culture. In particularly, Bhabha speaks about the importance of the English book as a sacred commodity fetish that not coercively forces certain culture silently accept the domination of the other culture. However, Fanon develops this idea by saying that language itself serves as a tool of constructing power-relations between Master (the colonizer) and Slave (the native). In sum, this paper will suggest that language itself as a tool of the epistemological domination serves as a powerful mechanism for the colonization of the certain territory combined with economical imperialism, when the possibility of your visibility as a native depends on the studying of the language of the Master. You can read it here – https://www.academia.edu/9761233/The_importance_of_language_as_tool_of_the_colonization_in_Homi_K._Bhabha_and_Frantz_Fanon

Some thoughts on Laclau and Mouffe “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy” (in english / по-английский)

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In quite complex work called “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy” Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe try to challenge the essentialist tendency in the Marxist theory by exploring the concept of hegemony. They try to apply it to the Left movements and call their theory ‘post-Marxism’ (Laclau and Mouffe IX). In particularly, they think that Antonio Gramsci is a watershed figure who challenged essentialist, Leninist category of the class alliance with his concept of hegemony (Dallmayr 38). Indeed, Gramsci didn’t invent this concept, as Laclau and Mouffe show in the first chapter, but simply introduced revolutionary new meaning to that concept: “the category of hegemony was originally elaborated in Russian social democracy as an attempt at addressing the autonomous political intervention which was made possible by the structural dislocation between actors and democratic tasks that resulted from the late development of capitalism in Russia; how, later, the notion of ‘combined and uneven development’ extended it to the general conditions of politics in the imperialist age; and how, with Gramsci, this hegemonic dimension was made constitutive of the subjectivity of historical actors (who thus cease to be merely class actors)” (Laclau and Mouffe XII). Gramsci tried to go beyond the essentialist interpretation of the working class as the only possible agent of liberation, focusing his attention on “historical bloc” (which is synthesis of the Leninist concept of ‘hegemony’ and the concept of ‘bloc’ derived from Sorel (Laclau and Mouffe 36)) and in a way subverting traditional (orthodox) Marxist distinction between base/superstructure stating that ideology is dispersed in a social structure (Dallmayr 38). Thus, Gramsci developed revolutionary strategy that could be relevant for the present day when the singular actor of struggle indeed can’t be identified. And also his non-essentialist concept of hegemony should become, according to Laclau and Mouffe, “cornerstone of a ‘radically democratic’ political theory” (Dallmayr 38).

WORKS CITED:

Dallmayr, Fred. “Laclau and Hegemony. Some (post) hegelian caveats” Laclau: A critical reader. Edited by Simon Critchley and Oliver Marchart. London/New York: Routledge, 2004. 35-53.
Laclau, Ernesto and Mouffe, Chantal. Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London/New York: Verso, 2014.

You can download book here – http://www.juryurso.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Hegemony___Socialist_Strategy_by_Erneto_Laclau_Chatal_Mouffe._Second_Edition_small_size.pdf

Presentation about Belarus was rescheduled for next week (in english / по-английский)

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An event called “Presentation of the radical side of the post-soviet Belarus” (https://www.facebook.com/events/1415366922064697/) was rescheduled for next saturday New York Anarchist Book Fair. It will be from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. in Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square S) in Garden Room! Everyone is welcome! More info about Book Fair Workshops – http://anarchistbookfair.net/2014%20Workshops

A few thoughts about Lenin / Пару мыслей о Ленине (in english and russian / по-русский и по-английский)

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I have finally read tonight book by Lenin “Imperialism as the last stage of capitalism”. This was complementary reading to the class “Literature and Revolution in Latin America” that I take right now. Lenin obviously influenced on José Carlos Mariátegui (we were assigned to read his short article “Anti-Imperialist Viewpoint” – https://www.marxists.org/archive/mariateg/works/1929-ai.htm), great Peruvian political writer and philosopher, that proclaimed independence of Latin America (Peru, in particularly) from foreign (western) ideas. I realized that I was somewhat Leninist in my entire life. After reading this book it is not difficult to understand the Soviet Union and its agenda of isolating itself from fucking imperialist West and its exploitative empires (or, Negri and Hardt, will put it ‘Empire’). Also, it comes up Red Army Fraction in Germany and their agenda to burn and robe banks (chapter dedicated to the banks by Lenin). Though I didn’t like that Lenin instead of giving an argument, gives a lot of emprical data. It is so boring to read. Also some random pictures in my head: Chicago (hi-hi, Chicago friends, I will be there soon!), some rebels struggling against private property. Some of them anarchists. Seminar dedicated to the squatting aka expropriation of the private property. Books by Lenin on the shelf. Class struggle, brother.

Сегодня наконец прочитал книгу Ленина “Империализм как высшая стадия капитализма”. Это было дополнительное чтение к курсу “Латиноамериканская Литература и Революция”, который я сейчас прохожу. Ленин, очевидно, повлиял на Хосе́ Ка́рлос Мариа́теги (нам нужно было прочитать к семинару его текст “Антиимпериалистическая точка зрения”), величайшего перуанского политического писателя, философа, который провозгласил независимость Латинской Америки (в частности, Перу) от иностранных (западных) идей. Я понял, что я был, своего рода, ленинистом всю мою жизнь. После чтения этой книги несложно понять Советский Союз и его повестку дня изоляции от грёбаного империалистического Запада и его эксплуатационных империй (или, выражаясь в терминологии Негри и Хардта, “Империи”). Также возникает образ Фракции Красной Армии в Германии с их поветской дня сжигать и грабить банки (глава у Ленина посвящена банкам). Хотя мне не понравилось, что Ленин вместо аргументации много даёт эмпирических данных. Очень скучно читать. Также случайные картинки в моей голове: Чикаго, некоторые люди, бунтующие против частной собственности. Некоторые из них анархисты. Семинар, посвящённый сквоттингу aka экспроприации частной собствености. Книги Ленина на полке. Классовая война.

Event “Anarchism and Left-Wing Radicalism in Post-Soviet Belarus With Jury Urso, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, and Valerija Hotina” in New York (in english / по-английский)

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On 22nd of february at 2:00 P.M. in a radical bookstore called “Bluestocking’s” in New York Jury Urso will organize event called “Anarchism and Left-Wing Radicalism in Post-Soviet Belarus With Jury Urso, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, and Valerija Hotina”. More info – https://www.facebook.com/events/470164196439447/

Cinema lecture “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology” / Кинолекторий “Киногид извращенца: идеология” (in english and russian / по-русский и по-английский)

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You can watch video preview above with english subtiles (turn on captions). You can purchase the full version (remaining 30 minutes) and presentation in powerpoint in the shop – http://www.juryurso.org/shop-now-купить-работы/

On the 25th of december 2013, Christmas Eve, Jury Urso and his friend Vital Shchutski organized in the “Fisher’s House” in Minsk, Belarus cinema lecture dedicated to the latest movie with slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek called “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology”. They tried to apply analyze of ideology by Žižek to the Belarussian context, discussing the textbook of Belarussian ideology that is obligatory to study for all students in Belarus; Vital discussed Belarussian art and architecture that also can be analyzed as an expression of the Belarussian ideology; Jury compared ideology to the similiar concepts of hegemony, discourse.

Jury Urso (http://juryurso.org) is a Belarussian philosopher, writer, translator, explorer of the american underground. He is a founder of the noncommercial radical library “Rebel Studies Library” (http://rebels-library.org) in Minsk, Belarus. He is a philosophy student at the New School of Social Research in New York.

Vital Shchutski (http://artaktivist.org/author/schuzki/) is a graduate from European Humanities University. He is a student at prestigious École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.

Вы можете помотреть видео превью выше. Вы можете купить полную версию видео (ещё 30 минут), как и презентацию в powerpoint, в магазине – http://www.juryurso.org/shop-now-купить-работы/

25 декабря 2013 года Юрий Урсо и его друг Виталий Щуцкий организовали в “Доме Фишера” в Минске кинолекторий, посвящённый последнему фильму с словенским философом Славой Жижеком, который называется “Киногид извращенца: идеология”. Они попытались применить анализ идеологии Жижека к беларусскому контексту, обсуждая учебник беларусской идеологии; Виталий обсуждал беларусское искусство и архитектуру, которые могут быть проанализированы как выражение беларусской идеологии; Юрий сравнил идеологию со схожими понятиями гегемонии, дискурса.

Юрий Урсо (http://juryurso.org) – беларусский философ, писатель, переводчик, исследователь американского андеграунда. Он является основателем некоммерческой радикальной библиотеки “Rebel Studies Library” (http://rebels-library.org) в Минске, Беларуси. Он является студентом философского факультета Новой Школы Социальных Исследований в Нью-Йорке.

Виталий Щуцкий (http://artaktivist.org/author/schuzki/) – выпускник философского факультета Европейского Гуманитарного Университета. Он является студентом престижного заведения École Normale Supérieure в Париже, Франция.