Wednesday, November 25, 2009

PETA's thanksgiving ad rejected.

PETA has engaged in a variety of ads that are often deemed controversial, to say the least. Either because of their comparisons to atrocities that occurred to human animals, or for their racy and/or sexist content. The later reason being why a PETA ad was nixed from the superbowl.

However, PETA has created a commercial to run during the Macey's Thanksgiving Parade, and it was refused for no clear reason by NBC. Watch the commercial yourselves, and realize this is a completely absurd decision.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Spam

So, my blog has increasingly been over run by spammers. I haven't wanted to do this, but I have increased comment security because of this. Now you have to fill in word verifications (which are very annoying, I know), and older posts are moderated.

If anyone has better suggestions, let me know. I hate word verifications, personally. But I am not sure what I should do, and I am getting about 3 or 4 spam comments a day.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

PIC Conference- Life: Politics, Resistance, & Beyond

Life: Politics, Resistance, & Beyond

The 20th Annual Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture (PIC) Conference

April 16-17, 2010

Binghamton University – Binghamton, NY

Life has increasingly become the focus of power and the site of resistance. On the one hand there has been an increasing ‘scientific’ examination and management of populations, with a constant manipulation of the lives of populations in the name of improvement and protection. Meanwhile, economic chaos, ecological destruction, transnational labor exploitation, international and domestic militarization, increasing criminalization, and globalization have contributed to turning entire populations into poblaciĆ³n chatarra, disposable peoples. On the other hand, life has become the basis of resistance against power and the possibility for other worlds in the present and future. We can see this in the various and often contradictory concepts like Catherine Walsh’s life-ing, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s materialist vitalism, the positive biopolitics of Antonio Negri or Roberto Esposito, and Enrique Dussel’s community of life. We welcome papers that seek to attend to the question of life itself, in its various powers, possibilities, and politics.

Life itself should be heard in its multivalent resonances: As a collective term, as an individual term, and as a molecular or genetic term. Furthermore life can be heard outside the anthropocentric register, referring to the affirmation of life in the face of ecological destruction and multiple oppressions; biopower and biopolitics; vitalisms; machines and cyborgs; bio-capital and the surplus value of life; and alternatives to ‘life’ emerging out of anti and non-Western cosmologies. This conference seeks to promote debates over and deepen alliances among thinkers concerned with methodologies of resistance, the examination politics and philosophy after (traditional) humanism(s), and the engagement of counter-hegemonic dialogues.

In keeping with the interdisciplinary emphasis of Binghamton University's Program in Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture, we seek work that flourishes in the conjunction of multiple frames of epistemological inquiry, from fields including, but not limited to: postcolonial studies, decolonial studies, queer and gender studies, ethnic studies, critical animal studies, media and visual culture studies, urban studies, science and technology studies, critical theory, continental philosophy, and historiography. Workers/writers/artists of all different disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, and non-disciplinary stripes welcome, whether academically affiliated or not. Submissions may be textual, performative, visual.

Submission Guidelines

Submission deadline: February 15, 2010.

Please submit a 250-500 word abstract along with a cover letter that includes your name, academic affiliation, contact numbers, complete mailing address, and e-mail address, as well as information regarding any technological equipment you may need for your presentation. Papers will be considered for a 20 minute presentation, followed by discussion, so please limit the length of paper to 10-12 pages.

Email address for inquiries and electronic submission of abstracts: pic.conference.2010@gmail.com

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Deleuze, Henry; Bacon, Kandinsky

Random thought. Someone should write an article (unless one already exists) that explores the differences in philosophy between Deleuze and Michel Henry by exploring their work on Francis Bacon and Vassily Kandinsky, respectively.

New blog

So, I've not really felt the academic blogging bug since getting back. I have, however, realized recently I wanted to blog about debate. So, instead of boring you all that don't care about debate, I've decided to create a blog for my debate chatter, Wrong Forum.

I'm sure I will be back to academic blogging shortly.