Over the past week, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a back seat to other moments of global crisis tied to human rights and the rule of law. At first, there was the news of Beijing’s undermining of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” order by imposing sweeping laws prohibiting broad categories of democratic activity in the region. And then came news of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a white police officer—yet another incident in a long history and series of violent acts against African Americans, triggering memories for many of my generation of the death of Rodney King and the L.A. Riots. Now, as we bear witness to one of the broadest and widespread acts of civil disruption and protest in the US since the 1960s Civil Rights movement and global protests against the Vietnam War, we are left to ask critical questions of how we will act.
As a historian of revolutions and urban protest, I cannot help but look at these connected events through the lens of avant-garde tactics that seek to disrupt the normative social order and call institutions at all levels into question. After all, I was trained by a generation of scholars and thinkers who came of age during the social and political upheavals of the 1960s, and the theories and ideas that inform my own scholarship are deeply connected to the understanding and critique of neoliberalism, capitalism, and systemic racism, sexism, and violence. But as a white woman who lives a life of relative privilege and access, I am also feeling the weight of my obligation to amplify voices of those too often marginalized in the academic discourse. At moments like this, I also feel less guided by abstract political ideals and more by the sweeping effect of global realpolitik. In this spirit, I urge you to watch philosopher Dr. Cornel West give voice and resonance to the stakes and history of what we are seeing unfold in the United States. I have deep respect for West as an activist and academic— his words cut across the divide like few others.
A few more things…. before the round up
Historians have been hard at work on Twitter providing context for why certain monuments and statues have been targeted by Black Lives Matter protesters in highly symbolic acts of resistance. This particular thread on the targeting of a Louis XVI statue in Louisville, Kentucky was especially fascinating to learn about. Even as I routinely teach courses that cover art in the periods immediately before, during, and after both the French and American Revolutions, I had no idea about the backstory of this statue, and why it has created such tension in Kentucky. Fascinating and chilling, and an excellent example of academics utilizing Twitter in the best possible way.
For several years, I have screened Werner Herzog’s Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)—a film that examines how the Internet and emerging digital technologies affect human interaction and society, and there is great series of interviews and scenes involving Elon Musk when he was in the early stages of his Spacex project (which resulted in the launch of his Falcon 9 rocket this weekend) . Suffice it to say that Herzog does not buy what Musk is selling about his desire to colonize Mars. If you, like me, have your suspicions about Musk and his intentions, check out this film.
