Helen De CruzSocial media despots“The purpose of the state is really freedom” (B. Spinoza, Theologico-Political Treatise)6 min read·Apr 22, 2023--1--1
Helen De CruzFinding strength in vulnerabilityA new headline in the Atlantic reads, "Are colds really worse, or are we all just weak babies now?" The writer, Katherine Wu, argues that…6 min read·Feb 25, 2023--12--12
Helen De CruzHow to (really) learn from what far right politicians are doingEvery so often, an opinion piece appears with a structure so set it might have been written by an AI. Invariably, these pieces draw the…8 min read·Feb 10, 2023----
Helen De Cruz2022 — The delight of solitarinessWell, 2022 was interesting. It’s late in the evening, almost new year, and since this blog only has a small audience I do not feel bad…6 min read·Dec 29, 2022----
Helen De CruzProperty, ownership and the Twitter conundrum“If only we had taxed the rich maybe none of this would have happened," Alexandra Ocasio Cortez tweeted.6 min read·Nov 18, 2022----
Helen De CruzWhat makes Melville’s Le Samourai cool?“I like to take risks. My films never follow the current trend.”6 min read·Sep 5, 2022----
Helen De CruzThe Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe is pretty good!Dreamy, feverish, introspective, psychoanalytic, Ann Radcliffe’s Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) is the perfect read for when you have Covid…9 min read·Apr 29, 2022----
Helen De CruzA dazzling multiplicity of worlds : summary of de Fontenelle’s Plurality of Worlds (1686)Frontispice of De Fontenelle’s Entretiens Sur la Pluralité Des Mondes (1686)11 min read·Jun 12, 2021----
Helen De CruzPiranesi: philosophical meditations on freedom, horror and the mystical sublimeI wasn’t sure what to expert of Piranesi. I enjoyed Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, a large-scope ambitious novel, and…5 min read·Feb 4, 2021----
Helen De CruzSome thoughts on white women academics passing themselves off as women of color2020, it’s been quite the year. One of the minor story lines in this ongoing bizarre-fest are reports of white women academics passing…6 min read·Oct 29, 2020----