I have a new blog/essay up at the Critical Theory Research Network called “Obscure Subjects: Myth and Metapolitics on the alt-Right.” Here is an overview: In this…… Read more “Obscure Subjects: Myth and Metapolitics on the alt-Right”
Insurrections Vol. 1 (SHORT FILM)
You can watch a new short film I directed on the theory of insurrections and resistance. This film project has been a passion of mine for some…… Read more “Insurrections Vol. 1 (SHORT FILM)”
Lukács, labor and the humanization of man
The premise that the economic sphere impacts the moral sphere of society is well accepted. Marxists claim such a separation of these spheres, whether in functional or…… Read more “Lukács, labor and the humanization of man”
A post clash of civilizations framework?
What if Trump’s upcoming speech in Saudi Arabia signifies a shift at the level of discourse — one that effectively propels international relations into a new, post clash…… Read more “A post clash of civilizations framework?”
The best books I read in 2016
With 2016 now entering its final days, it’s time to give this brutish year a proper send off by taking inventory of some of the best books…… Read more “The best books I read in 2016”
Jameson on Badiou: Ships Passing in the Night
The American Marxist literary theorist Fredric Jameson’s latest article in the New Left Review, “Badiou and the French Tradition” (full PDF here) ends by noting the most…… Read more “Jameson on Badiou: Ships Passing in the Night”
The Theory of the Social Bond in Gauchet
I finished a careful reading of Marcel Gauchet’s The Disenchantment of the World: A Political History of Religion. He works with a method that is quite innovative,…… Read more “The Theory of the Social Bond in Gauchet”
Theory Without an Enemy
Enemy-creation is the enterprise of contemporary politics. Temporary enemies proliferate all around us, from the immigrant, the bureaucrat, to the Mexican, to the Muslim–we all know these…… Read more “Theory Without an Enemy”
Islamophobia and the Coming Trump Era
What we know right now is that the Trump era lies ahead of us. The immediate intervallic period between now and late January when he assumes office…… Read more “Islamophobia and the Coming Trump Era”
Help Fund My Documentary Film on Philosophy and Revolt
Dear Reader, I am writing you a more personal post to ask for your help. If you have enjoyed my writing, if it has been helpful to you… Read more "Help Fund My Documentary Film on Philosophy and Revolt"
Is Conversion Possible?
What if we began to view leftist revolutionary thought as inextricably tied up with the problem of religious conversion? After all, a convert to revolutionary positions is far… Read more "Is Conversion Possible?"
Insurrections and the Role of Philosophy
Here is the abstract of my talk at the upcoming Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World conference happening July 23rd-27 at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.… Read more "Insurrections and the Role of Philosophy"
The Political Appeal of Ibn Taymiyyah
Ibn Taymiyyah looms large in today's imaginary; he is an untouchable authority in the minds of many Muslims. If you watch Salafi videos on YouTube, you'll notice… Read more "The Political Appeal of Ibn Taymiyyah"
The Psychopolitics of the Oriental Father
Review of The Psychopolitics of the Oriental Father: Between Omnipotence and Emasculation by Bülent Somay
Equality and Nihilism
We are ambivalent about calling today's far right movements fascist. The verdict will remain out on this for some time. But as we speculate into our own… Read more "Equality and Nihilism"
Philosophy in Saturated Times
Frank Ruda's For Badiou: Idealism Without Idealism probes the question that has driven a number of interventions into Badiou's thought: what is the role of philosophy in non-evental… Read more "Philosophy in Saturated Times"
Badiou’s Revision of Sartre’s Fused Group
In his late Marxist work, Critique of Dialectical Reason, Sartre was pessimistic about revolutionary politics. He theorized the subject of history in the figure of the group in… Read more "Badiou’s Revision of Sartre’s Fused Group"
Mehdi Belhaj Kacem: A Catharsis of Pleonexia
Mehdi Belhaj Kacem is a highly enigmatic thinker: an autodidact in the history of philosophy, a well known actor in French cinema and self-proclaimed anti-philosopher who had a major public… Read more "Mehdi Belhaj Kacem: A Catharsis of Pleonexia"
How to Win an Aesthetic War: On Bernard Stiegler’s Symbolic Misery
How do we think political conflict that impacts all aspects of social life, from the family to public institutions? What domains of private and public life are… Read more "How to Win an Aesthetic War: On Bernard Stiegler’s Symbolic Misery"
Time and Voluntarism in Badiou and Lazarus
How do we locate voluntarism in the political thought of Sylvain Lazarus and Alain Badiou? First, what do I mean by voluntarism. Two things mainly: voluntarism posits that consciousness declares… Read more "Time and Voluntarism in Badiou and Lazarus"