December 8, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Rethinking Relationships Between Theory and Action
Over the last few months, I’ve struggled with how to reconcile the seemingly wide terrain between theory and activism. I’ve been frustrated by Judith Butler’s tendency to be overly verbose, her penchant for extremely hypothetical discussions, and the disconnection between … Continue reading
December 1, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Ethical Solicitation and Activism
Judith Butler’s most recent lecture was fascinating to watch on Thanksgiving, a national day of (supposed) reflection and gratefulness. She made astute commentary on ethical obligations, ethical solicitation, and how people are moved to action. She asked, are we ethically … Continue reading
November 17, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on How to be in alliance with each other
This week Butler asked one question that really resonated with me: what does it mean to ally with one another? Live with one another? This is a question that any movement has to wrestle with over and over again to evaluate … Continue reading
November 14, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Who is eligible to appear in activist circles?
I was thrilled to listen as Judith Butler discussed the Occupy movement during her first lecture at Bryn Mawr. To see her wax philosophical about the importance and profundity of this movement comforted me in that she continuously blurs the … Continue reading
October 27, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Is marriage equality true social justice?
Butler makes several provocative claims in this essay, which is very timely considering that just this year, New York became the largest state to pass marriage equality legislation and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed effective mere weeks ago. Butler’s … Continue reading
October 13, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Dismantling Melancholia
This week’s essay made me think of power and politics. I’m not going to pretend that I understood all of it, but two pieces stick out to me: — Breaking news for homophobic, closeted politicians!: “The act of renouncing homosexuality … Continue reading
September 30, 2011
by Steph Herold
1 Comment
“I want to suggest that the court’s speech carries with it its own violence, and that the very institution that is invested with the authority to adjudicate the problem of hate speech recirculates and redirects that hatred in and as its own highly consequential … Continue reading
September 16, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Theory and Violence
I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. – Tupac on the LA riots after the Rodney King trial. Nothing that has happened to Rodney King is new. America has always been about this. – … Continue reading
September 2, 2011
by Steph Herold
Comments Off on Is “coming out” a useful frame to reduce abortion stigma?
Almost a year ago, I launched a campaign on twitter called #ihadanabortion. I asked women who were comfortable doing so to “come out” about their abortion experience using the hashtag to aggregate all the responses. I hoped that this would … Continue reading
August 19, 2011
by Steph Herold
1 Comment
Judith Butler totally saw me coming. In her preface to this week’s essay, Butler addresses my critique from two weeks ago that theory and reality are fundamentally disconnected. To explain to the reader that “there is someone here,” behind the … Continue reading