S3E5 - Poetry

Does the prospect of reading a poem send you into panicked memories of 11th grade English class? FEAR NOT! Poetry doesn't have to be like that! In this episode we find out how it's secretly all around us in the best ways, use theory to kill the author and open up avenues for fun interpretation, and share love for viral poetry by women of color. Maria's pal and colleague Dr. Adhaar Noor Desai helps demo how to unpack a plum(b) poem (the results make Noorain blush!), and we discover how to put more poetry in our lives. Take a moment to listen - and maybe even start to write! 

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Roland Barthes, “The Death of the Author” (1967) http://www.tbook.constantvzw.org/wp-content/death_authorbarthes.pdf

Context

Román Castellanos-Monfil, "Yale senior wins the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship," Yale News, October 26, 2015.  http://news.yale.edu/2015/10/26/yale-senior-wins-individual-world-poetry-slam-championship. (video of Emi’s performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IspMMNR8EOo)

Ron Charles, Geoff Edgers and Brian Murphy, "‘Poetry for the ear’: Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize in Literature," The Washington Post. October 13, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/bob-dylan-wins-nobel-prize-in-literature/2016/10/13/d0c05ac4-90ea-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html    

J.G. McClure, “The Miseducation of the Poet: High School and the Fear of Poetry,” Clever Magazine. http://www.cleavermagazine.com/the-miseducation-of-the-poet-high-school-and-the-fear-of-poetry-by-j-g-mcclure/

National Endowment for the Arts, “How a Nation Engages with Art: Highlights from the 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts,” NEA Research Report #57, September 2013. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/highlights-from-2012-sppa-revised-oct-2015.pdf

Michelle Toglia, “Transcript Of Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Because The Words Are Just As Important As The Music,” Bustle, April 24, 2016. https://www.bustle.com/articles/156559-transcript-of-beyonces-lemonade-because-the-words-are-just-as-important-as-the-music YouTube video with all Lemonade poems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbV84ztUyuY (catch the lemonade recipe we play at 16:30 -17:48)

Bonus

A bonus close reading of Billy Collins's poem "Divorce" with Adhaar and Maria from their interview! Cutlery involved.

Poetry in Motion by MTA Arts & Design:  http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/poetry/

More on writer & artist Rupi Kaur:  https://www.rupikaur.com/  (on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rupikaur_/?hl=en) https://www.rupikaur.com/milkandhoney/)

Suggested poems for people who think they don’t like poetry:  https://www.bustle.com/articles/193723-8-poetry-collections-for-people-who-dont-like-poetry

Try writing your own poem! Here are some great English-language haikus: https://www.amazon.com/Haiku-Anthology-Third-Cor-Heuvel/dp/0393321185 Or write a poem based on a memory following these steps by Tara Skurtu: http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2016/01/i-dont-like-poetry-im-not-a-poetry-person-by-tara-skurtu.html

Guest speaker BIO! Adhaar Noor Desai is an Assistant Professor of Literature at Bard College who specializes in Shakespeare and early modern poetry. He completed his PhD in English at Cornell University, where he was a Fellow at their Center for Teaching Excellence. He has recently published in the journal Configurations and writes theatre reviews on contemporary stagings of Shakespeare. Follow him on Twitter at @adhaardesai

Poems

Helen Chasin, “The Word Plum”

Patrick Philips, "Heaven" 

John Stephenson, "Snowy night" and other haiku

William Carlos Williams, “Asphodel, That Greeny Flower”

Music this time by Corinne Bailey Rae, Bob Dylan, & Johnny Tillotson. 

S3E3 - International Activism

Want to go out and change the world? Great! WE NEED IT. But how to avoid doing more harm than good, especially when working for people from other contexts and cultures? We dig into this tricky question with Dr. Ryan Richard Thoreson: human rights lawyer, LGBTIQ activist, and one of our personal faves. Along the way we encounter white savior Barbie, grapple with the notion of cultural relativism, and each reveal some of our most facepalm-worthy moments abroad. Ryan also catches us up on the state of international LGBTIQ rights and activism, and we share some real talk about the colonialist legacy of the Rhodes Scholarships that Ryan, Noorain, and Maria all held. Theory helped shape how we approach making positive change, so join us for this ep and then get out there and make a difference where you can!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Jack Donnelly, “Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights,” Human Rights Quarterly 6.4 (Nov. 1984): 400-419. http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/Class%20Readings/Donnelly/Cultual%20Relativism.pdf

Ryan Richard Thoreson, Transnational LGBT Activism: Working for Sexual Rights Worldwide (University Of Minnesota Press, 2014) https://www.amazon.com/Transnational-LGBT-Activism-Working-Worldwide/dp/0816692742/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Articles

Teju Cole, “The White-Savior Industrial Complex,” The Atlantic. March 22, 2012. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/

Nadia Khomami. "Oxford scholars reject hypocrisy claims amid row over Cecil Rhodes statue." The Guardian. January 13, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/12/cecil-rhodes-scholars-reject-hypocrisy-claims-amid-row-over-oriel-college-statue

Courtney Martin, "The Reductive Seduction of Other People’s Problems," Medium. January 11, 2016. https://medium.com/the-development-set/the-reductive-seduction-of-other-people-s-problems-3c07b307732d#.944npi1zl

Sarah Schulman, “Israel and ‘Pinkwashing,’” The New York Times. November 22, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/opinion/pinkwashing-and-israels-use-of-gays-as-a-messaging-tool.html

Context

Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor, Cross-Cultural Filmmaking: A Handbook for Making Documentary and Ethnographic Films and Videos (University of California Press, 1997) https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Cultural-Filmmaking-Handbook-Documentary-Ethnographic/dp/0520087607 

Zeba Blay, "'White Savior Barbie’ Hilariously Parodies Volunteer Selfies In Africa," The Huffington Post. April 18, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-savior-barbie-hilariously-parodies-volunteer-selfies-in-africa_us_570fd4b5e4b03d8b7b9fc464 and Barbie Savior Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/barbiesavior/ 

"Government and Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Communities," 2013/2014 Global Resources Report. June 2016. http://www.lgbtfunders.org/files/2013-2014_Global_Resources_Report.pdf

Bonus

Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5478/

Maria's documentary Momentum: Math and Science Teachers in Zambia (2006) on YouTube:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWd1YQCdhEU
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMV8Pxux_5c

Statement from the Rhodes Trust on Cecil Rhodes’ legacy http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/rhodesandlegacy

Guest Speaker BIO! Ryan Richard Thoreson is the author of the book Transnational LGBT Activism: Working for Sexual Rights Worldwide, and has worked with a number of sexual rights groups including OutRight Action International and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association. He completed his doctorate in Anthropology at the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and holds a JD from Yale Law School. He is currently completing a two-year fellowship researching and writing about LGBT children’s rights at Human Rights Watch.  

Music this time by the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, and MJ. 

S2E7 - Do-It-Yourself Theory and the Crafting Comeback

From craft brewing to knitting, when did acting like we’re home on the range get so cool? And why is it so satisfying to can your own jar of jam, hand-build a table, or make a quilt? This week we take on the history, culture, and politics of hipster crafting and DIY. With the help of our trusty friend Marx and a theory of "new domesticity," we dig into what modern-day maker throwbacks can tell us about our work lives and gender identities. Sociologist and beer whisperer Dr. Allison McKim helps us unpack the homebrewing explosion and its gender-troubled history, PLUS we get into Maria's love of Renaissance Faires, Noorain's once-but-no-more work alienation, and high-concept housekeeping. Pour yourself a beer (or a cold brewed coffee if you're Noorain) and come talk crafting! If you can make it, we will talk about it!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Karl Marx, “Estranged Labour,” in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/labour.htm (Marx's theory of alienation explained in everyday language here and here) 

Rachel Lee Rubin, Well Met:  Renaissance Faires and the American Counterculture (NYU Press, 2012) http://www.amazon.com/Well-Met-Renaissance-American-Counterculture/dp/1479859729

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html (on division of labor and the rise of capitalism) 

Articles

Krystal Baugher, “Women and Beer: A 4,500-Year History Is Coming Full Circle,” The Atlantic. November 11, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/women-and-beer-a-4-500-year-history-is-coming-full-circle/281338/ 

Emily Matchar, “The New Domesticity: Fun, Empowering or a Step Back for American Women?” The Washington Post. November 25, 2011. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-new-domesticity-fun-empowering-or-a-step-back-for-american-women/2011/11/18/gIQAqkg1vN_story.html

Bonnie Rochman, “Handmade in America: Crafting's Comeback,” Parade. October 19, 2013. http://communitytable.parade.com/214945/bonnierochman/handmade-in-america-craftings-comeback/ 

Context

“2012 State of the Craft Industry” Craft & Hobby Association Presentation. 2012. https://www.craftandhobby.org/eweb/docs/2012.State.of.Craft.Industy_Key.Insights.pdf

“Indie Craft Inspiration.” Craft & Hobby Association’s Portfolio Magazine. Winter 2009. https://www.craftandhobby.org/EWEB/docs/cha/Portfolio-Pdfs/2009%20Winter%20Portfolio.pdf

Shannon Hayes,  Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture. Left to Write Press. February 1, 2010. 
http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Homemakers-Reclaiming-Domesticity-Consumer/dp/0979439116/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51%2BGpPUHCPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=0FHRX0XDDE8PZFHJHF18

Bonus

Beer whisperer Allison McKim is also an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bard College; more on her here. 

Music this week from Billy Currington, Jewel, Lila Downs, The Cardigans, and Erykah Badu! 

S2E2 - Food for Thought

If you are what you eat...what does that make us as Americans today? In this MEGA-EP we're talking about food: how it gets produced, its impact on people, animals, and the environment, and how to make better decisions in the grocery store. We are super excited to feature an in-depth interview with food activist and all-around legend Kate Galassi. Then Maria and Noorain break open the world of assembly-line chickens, ask some questions about food deserts, and do their best to avoid slave shrimp. Hold on to your jicamas everyone, it's time to chow down on another episode of In Theory!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

On Fordism: Steven Tolliday & Jonathan Zeitlin, The Automobile Industry and its Workers: Between Fordism and Flexibility (New York: St.Martin's Press, 1987) http://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Empire-Americas-Advance-Twentieth-Century/dp/0674022343

Context

Lisa Ling takes us inside a slaughterhouse: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Inside-a-Slaughterhouse-Video
The US Department of Agriculture’s official definition of food deserts: http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts     

Articles

Roberto A. Ferdman, “The key difference between what poor people and everyone else eat.” The Washington Post. September 17, 2015.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/09/17/the-depressing-difference-in-what-poor-people-and-everyone-else-eats/?tid=a_inl

Becky Krystal, “How to find shrimp that’s not produced by slave labor in Thailand.” The Washington Post. December 16, 2015.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2015/12/16/how-to-find-shrimp-thats-not-produced-by-slave-labor-in-thailand

Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza, and Esther Htusan,“ Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves.” The Associated Press. December 14, 2015. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8f64fb25931242a985bc30e3f5a9a0b2/ap-global-supermarkets-selling-shrimp-peeled-slaves  

Margot Sanger-Katz, “Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It.” The New York Times. May 8, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/upshot/giving-the-poor-easy-access-to-healthy-food-doesnt-mean-theyll-buy-it.html

Bonus

BIO! The wonderful Kate Galassi started her career in food working on an organic produce farm in southern New Hampshire. She’s worked for a dozen small farms and food manufacturers, most of them involved with the New York City Greenmarket. She first trained as a produce buyer at The Spotted Pig and The Breslin. In 2013 she co-founded Quinciple, a home delivery service for curated farmers’ market boxes. She is now the New York Project Head for Natoora, a London based fruit and veg supplier committed to upending the traditional distribution model by working directly with farms of all sizes.

Check out artist Mishka Henner’s amazing/insane/gorgeous/horrifying aerial photos of the toxic runoff from American feedlots:
http://www.businessinsider.com/mishka-henners-photos-of-american-feedlots-2014-8

Music this week from Judy Collins, the Presidents of the United States of America, Weird Al, and our girl Mariah. Special thanks to Beth Pearson for being a brain trust on this week's ep!

Interview with Noorain & Maria: Part 2

Here it is, the exciting second half of our interview! Just one week away from the official start of S2...

Missed us? We’re (almost) back! In the weeks leading up to Season 2 we’re releasing this two-part interview with your co-hosts…and introducing our fab new team member Olive! Listen in for the inside scoop on how Maria and Noorain met, how the podcast came about, and reflections on growing up different in “flyover states.” (Olive’s family raised POT BELLIED PIGS!) We’re putting theory aside for the moment and just hanging out – come join! You know we won’t be able to resist nerding out, high fiving, and getting sentimental about our big-picture hopes for the future. 

Interludes in Part 2 from the Gorillaz and the Roots.

Interview with Noorain & Maria: Part 1

Missed us? We’re (almost) back! In the weeks leading up to Season 2 we’re releasing this two-part interview with your co-hosts…and introducing our fab new team member Olive! Listen in for the inside scoop on how Maria and Noorain met, how the podcast came about, and reflections on growing up different in “flyover states.” (Olive’s family raised POT BELLIED PIGS!) We’re putting theory aside for the moment and just hanging out – come join! You know we won’t be able to resist nerding out, high fiving, and getting sentimental about our big-picture hopes for the future. 

Interludes in Part 1 from Sylvan Esso and Little Dragon.

Episode 7: A Crash Course in Apocalyptic Prophecy

From the folks on the street distributing pamphlets about Armageddon to the rise of survivalists and doomsday preppers, the apocalypse seems to be everywhere. In this episode we get a crash course in the end of the world as we know it from Dr. Anbara Khalidi of Wadham College, Oxford. We find out what the Christian apocalypse is supposed to look like, why people get so passionate about it, and how Foucault's theories of discourses can help us make sense of it all. Dexter, exorcisms, and rains of frogs all make their appearances...so get prepped ya'll, In Theory's doing the Apocalypse--now! 

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

On discourses:
Michel Foucault, The Archeology of Knowledge & the Discourse on Language. Vintage, 1982. Helpful overview here.

On global-scale paranoia:
Emily Apter, “On Oneworldedness: Or Paranoia as a World System,” American Literary History 18.2 (2006) 365-389.
https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_literary_history/v018/18.2apter.html.  

On Muslim apocalyptic literature:
David Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature. Syracuse University Press, 2008. 

Context

The website Rapture Ready has an index of the signs and portents of the coming apocalypse.

The apocalypse is described in the final book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation. 

Left Behind is one apocalyptic book and film series that Anbara works on--it's not small beans, over 65 million copies of the books have been sold to date!

Articles

Tara Brady. “Fill the pool with fish and stockpile the guns: Up to THREE MILLION 'Preppers' in the U.S. are prepared for for the end of the world.” The Daily Mail Online. February 11, 2012.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099714/Meet-preppers-Up-3-MILLION-people-preparing-end-world-know-it.html#ixzz3jpr8OM9O.  

Anbara Khalidi. “Exorcism, Male Power, and the Murder of E'Dena Hines.” Jezebel.com. August 18, 2015. 
http://jezebel.com/exorcism-male-power-and-the-murder-of-edena-hines-1724638877.  

Chris Michaud. “One in seven thinks end of world is coming: poll.”  Reuters Online. May 1, 2012.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/us-mayancalendar-poll-idUSBRE8400XH20120501.

Stephanie Pappas. “The Draw of Doomsday: Why People Look Forward to the End.” Live Science. May 16, 2011. http://www.livescience.com/14179-doomsday-psychology-21-judgment-day-apocalypse.html.

Matt Ridley. “Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry About End Times.” Wired Magazine Online. August 17, 2012. http://www.wired.com/2012/08/ff_apocalypsenot/. 

Bonus

This week we're listening to R.E.M., Britney, and Whitney (RIP girl). And one of the best episodes of High Maintenance happened to be about a survivalist, so Noorain watched Season 2's Geiger.