Decolonizing Futures: Imagination, Inclusion and Institutional Change
An unfolding global polycrisis has accentuated the critique of contemporary urbanism which has failed to be inclusive and developmental, especially in the Global South. A shift in trajectory will require a shift in our imaginaries, inclusionary processes and institutions.” (Karuri-Sebina, from An urban revolution that doesn’t make me a statistic, Nature Cities World View, 2024)
Decolonizing Futures: Imagination, Inclusion and Institutional Change
An unfolding global polycrisis has accentuated the critique of contemporary urbanism which has failed to be inclusive and developmental, especially in the Global South. A shift in trajectory will require a shift in our imaginaries, inclusionary processes and institutions.” (Karuri-Sebina, from An urban revolution that doesn’t make me a statistic, Nature Cities World View, 2024)
The American Civil War brought catastrophic costs to our nation and wrought serious internal changes. In addition to the staggering loss of life, the war erased billions of dollars of wealth and disrupted conventional patterns of life. However, these descriptions miss the most fundamental significance of the war - that it preserved the nation so that democracies could defend themselves against internal instability.
What is the value of a liberal education? Traditionally characterized by a rigorous engagement with the classics of Western thought and literature, this approach to education is all but extinct in American universities, replaced by flexible distribution requirements and ever-narrower academic specialization. Many academics attack the very idea of a Western canon as chauvinistic, while the general public increasingly doubts the value of the humanities.
We all learned in school about “how a bill becomes a law.” But most of the laws that govern our lives aren’t actually written by elected representatives at all. Instead, they’re written by unelected officials in bureaucratic agencies. Is this a threat to democracy? Or is it the best way to ensure that government policies are based on scientific knowledge and expertise?
H. L. T. Quan will discuss her latest book, “Become Ungovernable: An Abolition Feminist Ethic for Democratic Living” (Pluto Press). “Become Ungovernable” is a provocative new work of political thought setting out to reclaim 'freedom,' 'justice' and 'democracy,' revolutionary ideas that are all too often warped in the interests of capital and the state. Revealing the mirage of mainstream democratic thought and the false promises of liberal political ideologies, H. L. T.
Bring your torn and ripped garments, toys and belongings with you to fix them! We will provide materials and tools. The mobile Fixer Studio will be in front of the Memorial Union.