Judith Butler alludes to Althusserian ideology through her reference to Frantz Fanon in this essay.  In so doing, Butler shows a literal propagation of Althusser’s well-known illustration of interpellation.[1] Louis Althusser (famous for contribution to Marxist theory and infamous for … Continue reading →

It’s difficult to read Butler’s essay on the video of Rodney King’s brutal beating and the subsequent trial of the LAPD officers who beat him without thinking of the corrosive rhetoric surrounding President Obama. Butler’s eloquent explanation of the ways … Continue reading →

Seeing is not just one of our senses or a biological function—it is a means of knowing the world that is shaped by our history and socialization.  Butler explains how among the ever-present fear of the black male body, the … Continue reading →

This week, I have been in several conversations dealing with visual images, perception and race. The conversations have been respectful and filled with the desire to learn and to do the right thing. Unlike the interactions between the defense attorneys … Continue reading →

In Judith Butler’s “Endangered/Endangering: Schematic Racism and White Paranoia,” she unpacks another illusion for us: the difference between “seeing” and “reading.” We often think we’re doing the former, which suggests a neutral way of viewing an object, but more often … Continue reading →

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 →