State in Time: The Crisis of Oppositional Politics Today

Thursday, March 16th, 6:30pm
The James Gallery, The Graduate Center

A workshop with Tanzeem Ajmiri, Vincent Crapanzano, Eda Čufer, Suzanne Herrera, Robin McGinty. Organized by James Sevitt and Katherine Carl at the James Gallery.

This workshop opens up a space to discuss the upsurge of mobilizations in response to Trump, Brexit and the rise of far-right nationalism across the globe by asking: What do oppositional politics and resistance mean and look like during a time when Trumpism and its European bedfellows are colonizing the notion of radical change and being anti-establishment, taking meaning to its very limit? How can and do we need to interrogate, rethink, and rejuvenate practices of β€œcritique” and β€œresistance,” of being β€œradical,” β€œin opposition,” and β€œin solidarity”? What unexpected and complementary strategies and actions could be developed? Where might common cause be found between bitterly divided communities, insulated in geographical, political and cultural echo chambers, who are each convinced of β€œbeing right” and view one another with increasing suspicion and anger? How can a broader movement be created by determining not only what it is fighting against, but also what it stands for? What is the role of art and imagination in this process?’

As part of the James Gallery’s exhibition, β€œNSK State Art: New York, The Impossible Return,” this workshop brings together international β€œState in Time” citizen-artists, students and faculty from the Graduate Center, Guttman Community College, artists, community organizers, journalists, activists and more. Speakers will start the conversation, which will then open to a collective discussion.

Free and open to the public. All events take place at The Graduate Center, CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave btwn 34th & 35th. The building and the venues are fully accessible. For more information please visit http://centerforthehumanities.org/ or call 212.817.2005 or e-mail ch@gc.cuny.edu.

Cosponsored by the Teaching and Learning Center and the Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center, CUNY.