The University of Chicago’s Paul Poast claims that G. Lowes Dickinson is was the OG “modern” theo…
Episode 26: Anarchy vs. The Anarchy
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Recent Posts
Call for Guest Posts: How Should the Discipline Change?
We are going to begin calls for contributions to thematic series. The Monkey Cage for example had a terrific series on the gender gap in political science. The first in our call for contributions is...
Wait…what about Iran?
Remember this summer, when we were about to go to war with Iran? Iran seized an oil tanker passing through the Persian Gulf. Iran also shot down a US drone. The United States responded by shooting...
Moscow in the Meddle
Between the burning Amazon and burning Siberia, Brexit clustercoitus and Hurricane Dorian, there is still some space in the tired news cycle for the tear gas in Hong Kong and broken limbs in Moscow...
More Recent Posts
PTJ on The Hydrogen Sonata: Actors on the Sci-Fi Stage
So the Culture appears to both want to pursue this knowledge for the sheer joy of knowing, and for the contribution that knowledge can make to deciding on a course of action. Both constitute recognizable grounds for action, both in the Culture and in our world, but as the novel unfolds, both are called into question.
Awards Update
If you haven't seen it, I did a (text) interview with SAGE about academic blogging and the awards. This was the source of my sense of déjà vu during my discussion with Rob Farley: some of the points overlap. Regardless, time is growing short. Here's where things stand: Nominees for Best Blog...
Iver B. Neumann on The Hydrogen Sonata: Religion and the Sublime
General Warning: this is emphatically not a spoiler-free Forum! Hence all of the text all of the contributions will be safely below the fold, and only the identifying information for the author of the contribution will be here for even causal browsers to see. If we are to begin with author...
Friday morning linkage
Some random findings for the day.... Putin's idea of transparency. Look for more private security firms profiting in the post-Benghazi world... Also, the IDF's use of Twitter during its recent operation in Gaza was just the beginning. The Naval Postgraduate School is working on Dynamic Twitter...
Gerard van der Ree on The Hydrogen Sonata: “Learning From Utopia”
Three particular themes stand out when reading The Hydrogen Sonata as a utopian narrative. The first is that whatever happens, politics seem to be an inevitable feature of human life. Second, that however advanced technology may become, nothing beats human communication. Third, that purpose is essential.
Chris Brown on The Hydrogen Sonata: “A Triumphant Return to Form”
General Warning: this is emphatically not a spoiler-free Forum! Hence all of the text all of the contributions will be safely below the fold, and only the identifying information for the author of the contribution will be here for even causal browsers to see. Chris Brown is Professor of...
Sex is Better Thursday Afternoon Linkages
Here's your daily roundup of sex/gender links. First, NPR has reported that sexual assaults have spiked at military academies (a 23% increase with continued evidence that victims are resisting litigation). Yikes. A well-known anti-gay Ugandan (the land of the new and terrible anti-homosexuality...
A Christmas present: a Forum on Iain M. Banks’ new novel
Introducing a new Duck of Minerva forum!
Some Thoughts on the Korean Election: Left Blew a Good Chance to Win
This pic is from the TV election coverage on the Korean version of CNN. That would be the two main candidates (the liberal Moon Jae-In on the left, and conservative Park Geun-Hye, who won, on the right) as dancing electronic cartoon avatars. Yes, they do look like boogying Nintendo Miis, and yes,...
Crooked Timber Petition
As I sorta implied below, you don't need to agree with Erik's political views or his manner of expressing them to recognize that the President of the University of Rhode Island's statement is all kinds of appalling. The good folks at Crooked Timber have put together a petition to that effect. Go...
Podcast No. 16 – Interview with Robert Farley
The sixteenth Duck of Minerva podcast features Robert Farley of the University of Kentucky and Lawyers, Guns and Money.
Why no Cuban Spring?
I am currently at the Social Science Research Center in Berlin to present a paper on norm suppression. While here, I had the opportunity to learn more about some of the work being done by the Civil Society, Conflicts, and Democracy research unit. Listening to these folks talk about the stability...