State Of The Theory

This is Episode 57 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, the first of a two parter on sport, we focus on gender, labour and consumption, principally using the case study of Caster Semenya. Along the way, we refer to Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble” and Marx’s arguments about labour and commodification. Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (http://freemusic

This is Episode 56 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we focus on media representation of Universities. We critique the ways in which these representations help construct perceptions of Universities as places of privilege and corruption without ever exploring the power dynamics that structure the institutions. Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (http:

This is Episode 55 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we try to address our feelings about the election results in India. We discuss the nation, democracy and identity, and try to figure out what the Left can do in the face of a democratically elected far-right. The video we mention can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jf6pwtPqCs Our theme music is "The F

This is Episode 54 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we welcome friend of the pod, actor Gordon Houston to talk about spoilers. With the release of Avengers: Endgame and season 8 of Game of Thrones, we wanted to think more about the concept of spoilers – what they mean, why they bother some people like Anindya and Gordon, and why they don’t bother others, like Hannah.

This is Episode 53 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, the second of a two-parter on historic tourism, we continue our discussion from last week, by focusing on heritage and industry, through spaces such as the Whitney Plantation Museum, the Tenement Museum, the Tower of London, Verdant Jute Museum and much else. Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (ht

This is Episode 52 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, the first of a two-parter on historic tourism, we discuss the relationship between the past and the present in tourist attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg, Llancaiach Fawr, Edinburgh Dungeons and Cellular Jail, Andaman Islands. Along the way, we mention “Reading the Past” by Catherine Belsey (https://www.macmi

This is Episode 51 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we talk about Julian Assange. But because we didn’t really want to, we end up talking about some of the differences between the Left and the Right. The article we mention is by Ash Sarkar of Novara Media, and can be read here: https://novaramedia.com/2019/04/15/julian-assange-and-the-problem-of-solidarity/ Our the

This is Episode 50 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we talk about the recent fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, and think about the politics of religion, heritage, memory and culture. Along the way, we mention Bruno Latour and assemblages, and Pierre Nora and realms of memory (lieux-de-mémoire). Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (http://freemusicarchive.

This is Episode 49 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, the second of a two-parter, we explore the world of gyms, exercises, and bodies. We talk about our own relationships with our bodies, and think about how critical theory helps us understand, but does not necessarily gives us the tools to change the way we feel about ourselves. Our theme music is "The Face of God"

This is Episode 48 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, the first of a two-parter, we explore the world of food, dieting, and bodies. We talk about our own relationships with food, and think about how critical theory helps us understand, but does not necessarily gives us the tools to change the way we feel about ourselves. Along the way, we talk about Foucault and Audre Lo

This is Episode 47 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we force ourselves to revisit the ongoing trauma that is Brexit. We discuss the experience of living under the uncertainties that Brexit has involved, and think about what this level of uncertainty does to public and private life, to democracy and to the nation-state. Along the way, we discuss John Harris’s “Anywhere

This is Episode 46 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we talk about Disney’s trend of producing live-action remakes of animated films and explore what it says about our collective cultural nostalgia. We interrogate the boundary between animation and live action, and explore how we receive a film differently based on where it sits relative to this boundary. Our theme mus

This is Episode 45 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we continue last week’s discussion about the politics of childhood, but shift the focus to ideologies of science, specifically in the context of vaccination and the anti-vaxx movement. What does this strangely successful movement say about our cultural attitudes towards science, industry, capitalism, and the role of f

This is Episode 44 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we talk about the story of Shamima Begum, and connect it to a number of other news stories (such as the Trump administration’s family separation policy, and a number of high-profile shootings of African-African boys) to think about birthright citizenship and childhood. What kind of bodies does the nation-state feel ab

This is Episode 43 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. This week, we return to podcasting with our take on the growing hostilities between India and Pakistan. We focus on the coercive role played by the nation-state, and ask if the state is a rational actor or not? We discuss the use of social media in constructing patriotism, and developing a consensus around military violence. Theoreti

This is Episode 42 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. This week, we continue last week’s discussion about hierarchies within Higher Education by focusing on the norms and conventions of writing and reading recommendation letters – for student places, jobs, grant applications and peer-review. How does this help to continue the kind of structural inequalities that characterize the world of

This is Episode 41 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we discuss the upcoming strike action called by the University and College Union (UCU) about proposed changes to our pension scheme. We use this opportunity to reflect on labour politics in Higher Education, and the role of trade unions in contemporary employer-employee relations within our industry and beyond. Our

This is Episode 40 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In the week of the 25th anniversary of the demolishing of the Babri Mosque in India, and in the context of the debates about Confederate statues in the United States, we talk monuments, contested narratives of history, and the competing uses of history in the context of contemporary politics. Our theme music is "The Face of God" by T

This is Episode 39 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we talk families. In the week of Thanksgiving, and yet another Royal Family announcement in Britain, we look at the family as a political space. To what extent does the family insulate against oppression, and to what extent does it reinforce it? We interrogate the stereotype of the large, loud family, and explore its

This is Episode 38 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. In this episode, we look at the possibility or otherwise of left-wing nationalism, as manifested in Scotland, Catalunya, Kashmir, Palestine and elsewhere. Rarely for us, we end up disagreeing a fair bit, and both of us absolutely fail to convince the other of how right we are. We discuss hegemony and the nation-state, and to what exte