I’m pleased to make note here that my book ‘Shyam Benegal: Filmmaker and Philosopher‘ has been released by Bloomsbury Books. Here is the book cover and the jacket copy: For almost fifty years now, Shyam Benegal has been a leading artistic, political, and moral force in Indian cinema. Informed by a rich political and philosophicalContinue reading “Book Release Announcement: ‘Shyam Benegal: Filmmaker and Philosopher’”
Tag Archives: feminism
Letter To A Young Girl
Dear A__,. The decision to have you, to bring you into this world, was not an easy one; your mother and I agonized about it a fair amount. We went for it in the end because we were excited to see how our lives would turn out with someone like you in our lives. OurContinue reading “Letter To A Young Girl”
Jordan Peterson Is A Sexist Tool
Jordan Peterson gets quite upset when he is accused of being sexist and misogynist. Unfortunately, his latest response in the ongoing series of debates over whether he is the reincarnation of Nietzsche or merely the latest in a long line of privileged provocateurs claiming the mantle of ‘radical’ while committing themselves to defending conservative socialContinue reading “Jordan Peterson Is A Sexist Tool”
Space Exploration And The Invisible Women
Yesterday being a snow day in New York City–for school-going children and college professors alike–I spent it with my daughter at home. Diversion was necessary, and so I turned to an old friend–the growing stock of quite excellent documentaries on Netflix–for aid. My recent conversations with my daughter have touched on the topic of spaceContinue reading “Space Exploration And The Invisible Women”
Dear Men, Shut Up About ‘Due Process’ Already
From sea to shining sea, on social media pages nationwide, brave men are taking up cudgels on behalf of their brothers-in-sex-and-gender, the ones whose lives are facing ruination because of this country’s #MeToo moment, as accusation after accusation of sexual harassment and assault issue forth from women who’ve previously remained silent. In each case, theirContinue reading “Dear Men, Shut Up About ‘Due Process’ Already”
Anita Hill, Harvey Weinstein, And National Amnesia
In October 1991, I, along with millions of other curious viewers, watched the Senate nomination hearings for the Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas. My curiosity, like that of many others, had been piqued by the presence of Thomas’ former assistant, Anita Hill, who had accused him of sexual harassment at her workplace. On the secondContinue reading “Anita Hill, Harvey Weinstein, And National Amnesia”
Catharine MacKinnon’s Feminist Jurisprudence In The Classroom
Next week, students in my Philosophy of Law class will read and discuss Catharine MacKinnon‘s ‘Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: Toward Feminist Jurisprudence‘ (Signs, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Summer, 1983), pp. 635-658). MacKinnon’s writings have featured once before on my reading lists–for my graduate ‘Nature of Law’ seminar at the City University Graduate CenterContinue reading “Catharine MacKinnon’s Feminist Jurisprudence In The Classroom”
#MeToo Shows Sexual Harassment And Abuse Is A Feature, Not A Bug
The Facebook status is simple: Me too. If all the people who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Please copy/paste, if you’re comfortable doing so. And effective: it has produced a deluge of “Me too” statuses. The vast majorityContinue reading “#MeToo Shows Sexual Harassment And Abuse Is A Feature, Not A Bug”
Robert Talisse On ‘Too Much Democracy’ And The Public-Private Distinction
Over at Aeon Magazine Robert Talisse worries that “our social lives” are being “tyrannised by democracy” because “choices about mundane matters…are all deeply tied to [our] political profile…social worlds are shaped by the travails of contemporary politics” and builds to the conclusion that “there is such a thing as too much democracy,” that “we must reserveContinue reading “Robert Talisse On ‘Too Much Democracy’ And The Public-Private Distinction”
Anticipating Another Encounter With Books And Students
This coming fall semester promises to be a cracker: I have the usual heavy teaching load of three classes (including two four-credit classes whose lectures will be one hundred minutes long, thus making for a very exhausting Monday-Wednesday sequence of teaching running from 9:05 AM to 3:30 PM, with an hour break between the secondContinue reading “Anticipating Another Encounter With Books And Students”