Social media despots“The purpose of the state is really freedom” (B. Spinoza, Theologico-Political Treatise)Apr 22, 20231Apr 22, 20231
Finding 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…Feb 25, 202312Feb 25, 202312
How 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…Feb 10, 2023Feb 10, 2023
2022 — 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…Dec 29, 2022Dec 29, 2022
Property, ownership and the Twitter conundrum“If only we had taxed the rich maybe none of this would have happened," Alexandra Ocasio Cortez tweeted.Nov 18, 2022Nov 18, 2022
What makes Melville’s Le Samourai cool?“I like to take risks. My films never follow the current trend.”Sep 5, 2022Sep 5, 2022
The 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…Apr 29, 2022Apr 29, 2022
A 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)Jun 12, 2021Jun 12, 2021
Piranesi: 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…Feb 4, 2021Feb 4, 2021
Some 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…Oct 29, 2020Oct 29, 2020
