This is a section where we will discuss the problem of politics understood in broad terms. This will include, of course, discussions of politics parties, elections, policy matters, and the like. But it can also include discussions of how political questions are imbedded in realms of our lives we rarely think of as politically situated, and can touch on everything from problems we encounter in our everyday lives to how power, knowledge, and desire relate to one another in theoretical, methodological, and practical terms.
By Sean Callaghan.
I was listening to a segment on CBC recently about a Palestinian cartoonist who, much like the artists and editors at Charlie Hebdo, found himself persecuted for publishing cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Unlike the tragically fated workers at the French magazine
Read more "Ceci n’est pas le Prophète."By Mark McConaghy
What lies next for Canada after last week’s terrorist attacks? Some thoughts on security, openness, and the nature of Canadian society in our age of terror.
Read more "Canada, In the Shadow of a Gunman"By Mark McConaghy
President Obama has taken the United States to war once again. I analyze how progressive humanists around the world should feel about America’s latest intervention in the Middle East.
Read more "Mr. Obama Goes to War"By Mark McConaghy
Due to some travel mishaps, I recently spent 16 hours in the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. I had plenty of time to observe the bustling scene before more: a profoundly vulnerable America that remains deeply uncertain over its place in the world.
Read more "The Scene: Deep in the Heart of Texas at DFW Part 1"By Mark McConaghy
On how we are processing the terrible events of last week, even as we remain caught in our web of digital existence.
Read more "Clicking with Rage: On the Loss of Flight MH17"By Mark McConaghy
As we approach the end of the Ontario provincial election, one would be forgiven for wondering just why it is that so many politicians come off as so profoundly disingenuous. Why can’t they seem even somewhat genuine to us?
Read more "Why Do Politicians Seem So Fake?"By Mark McConaghy
Who are we to turn to to understand the complex and brutal forces shaping the situation on the ground in Russia and Ukraine today?
Read more "Reading Crisis: Ukraine and our Search for Knowledge"By Mark McConaghy
Two stories appeared in the NYTimes last week: a 14 year old Brooklyn boy mistakenly gunned down an innocent bystander on a bus, while in Manhattan luxury real estate prices hit new all time highs.
What does the mind-bending incongruity between these two stories tell us about the nature of the society we live in?
Read more "Apartment Sells for 88 Million, 8th Grader Shoots Bystander on Bus"By Mark McConaghy
What does the online coverage of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death tell us about the culture of the internet today?
Read more "Digital Fracture: How We Mourned Philip Seymour Hoffman"By Mark McConaghy
How can we move beyond all of our petty sorrows and vulnerabilities to gain a truly meaningful form of social existence?
Read more "The Urgency of the Unknown Future"
The 14th Floor 