Political Concepts: History | Jason Stanley

This world is on a razor’s edge. Glaciers are melting, seas are warming, and species are disappearing at unprecedented rates. Authoritarianism, racism, book-banning regimes, anti-abortion legislation, and political closures of all kinds are on the rise. Mass violence is taking place in numerous contexts across the globe.
And yet there are new openings, too. This world is also a place where popular movements, novel initiatives, and advances in science make it possible for us to imagine a carbon neutral future. The global uprisings of 2019, the Black Lives Matter movement, and countless demonstrations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia confirm that social change, though its pursuit may be arduous, is possible.
What really is this world “we” are called to heal? Who is the “us” whose futures are radically entangled in it? The 2024 edition of the Political Concepts conference brought together a cohort of scholars to reflect on concepts that may be revised, deconstructed, or invented to face this world’s critical challenges.
Concept: “History”
Presenter: Jason Stanley (Yale University)
Abstract: humanities.brown.edu/events/p...
Conference playlist:
• Political Concepts 202...
Recorded on March 8 and 9, 2024. Presented by the Cogut Institute’s Political Concepts initiative. Convened by Timothy Bewes (English), Ainsley LeSure (Africana Studies, Political Science), Brian Meeks (Africana Studies), Adi Ophir (Cogut Institute, Middle East Studies), and Vazira Zamindar (History).