Esthesis

14/11/2021

An event you won't want to miss! Critical Conversation 12 taking place TOMORROW from 9-11 AM MT will feature Audrey Truschke of Rutgers University and Dheepa Sundaram of the University of Denver. and will explore how the rise in ethno-nationalist ideologies like Hindu nationalism increasingly are regarded as a threat to academic freedom. Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva, is a political ideology that advocates for Hindu rashtra (rule) in India . It seeks to exclude religious minorities, caste-oppressed peoples, and anyone that opposes Hindu supremacy both politically and socially.

Learn more and find the registration link at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/10/22/critical-conversation-12-hindu-nationalism-and-the-growing-threat-to-academic-freedom-announcement/

01/11/2021

Mark your calendars for Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, 9-11 am, Mountain Standard Time for Critical Conversation 12: "Hindu Nationalism and the Growing Threat to Academic Freedom."

This event will feature Audrey Truschke of Rutgers University and Dheepa Sundaram of University of Denver, critics of Hindutva, explaining to a Western audience how Hindu supremacy operates in transnational contexts, why South Asian-Americans, who often identify with liberal values in the context of US politics, continue to support Hindutva politics, the growing support for Hindutva ideology within college campuses in the US, and the ways in which Hindutva advocates have challenged academic freedom both within and outside of India.

Learn more and register for this virtual event at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/10/22/critical-conversation-12-hindu-nationalism-and-the-growing-threat-to-academic-freedom-announcement/

21/09/2021

Taking place THIS THURSDAY!

We'll be joined by Soong-Chan Rah, Fuller Seminary; Jason Alvis, University of Vienna; Scott Coley, Mount Saint Mary’s University; Joshua Ramos, Houston Community College; and Todd Littleton, Pastor, Snow Hill Baptist Church (Oklahoma) opening up dialogue to address the questions:

- What really do we mean by “race” and “racism”, and how has it manifested, and continued to manifest over the years?

- What exactly is “critical race theory” (slogans and simplisms aside) and what genuine role should it play in coming to grips with racial oppression and inequity, then as well as now?

- How do changing demographics and new socio-political constellations challenge the debate itself?

Learn more and register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/07/26/difficult-discussions-christian-evangelicalism-and-critical-race-theory-announcement/

14/09/2021

Let's Get Real About Race. We are excited to host two online seminars which will address questions related to race and racism and critical race theory in the current socio-political climate.

Please join us on Zoom on Tuesday, September 23 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT for the premier of our Difficult Discussions seminar, "Christian Evangelicalism And Critical Race Theory," which will feature: Soong-Chan Rah, Fuller Seminary; Jason Alvis, University of Vienna; Scott Coley, Mount Saint Mary’s University; Joshua Ramos, Houston Community College; Todd Littleton, Pastor, Snow Hill Baptist Church.

We also invite you to join us on Tuesday, September 28 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM MT for our next Critical Conversation, "Critical Conversations – “Whiteshift,” Or The The Dynamics Of Race And Populism With Eric Kaufman," which will engage world-renowned Canadia demographer Eric Kaufman, Professor of Political Science at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Learn more and register for both events at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/08/23/lets-get-real-about-race-two-very-timely-upcoming-online-seminars-announcement/

Announcements / Critical Conversations / Difficult Discussions / Race and Racism Let’s Get Real About Race – Two Very Timely Upcoming Online Seminars (Announcement) - August 23, 2021September 9, 2021 - thenewpolis It’s time to get real when we talk these days about race and racism. Ever since ...

14/08/2021

"Though these aspects of “right” and “ethical” may be convoluted, theorists like Søren Kierkegaard and Frantz Fanon identify what is decent in terms of a very specific type of Other: The Euro-Christian and the colonial. Subjectivity and individuation of a subject are achieved by rejecting that which results in feelings of despair, shame, and otherness and, instead, assimilating to the dominant, Euro-Christian culture, through the use of language, as demonstrated by Fanon, and the Kierkegaardian notion of rejection of a non-Christian non-self, and by deploying Kristeva’s method of abjection for identity formation within the Euro-Christian power matrix." https://thenewpolis.com/2021/05/10/i-abject-julia-kristeva-and-the-colonial-gaze-alyssa-putzer/

Critical Theory / Decoloniality “I Abject” – Julia Kristeva And The Colonial Gaze (Alyssa Putzer) - May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 - Alyssa Putzer We have all built up walls, established boundaries, “Do Not Merge” lanes, rules and regulations that we set our lives up according to. We do this bec...

28/07/2021

We are excited to debut a new event this September! Join us for the first Difficult Discussion: Christian Evangelicalism and Critical Race Theory.

Difficult Discussions is a project of Whitestone Publications, which includes The New Polis. It is designed both to probe surgically and courageously into the sources of these differences and to seek a modicum of rational conversation with the aim of extracting some slender threads of agreement, even among the most hardened partisans.

Each Difficult Discussion focuses a current topic that has already generated considerable publicity and intense controversy. It brings both experts and educated lay persons together from different sides of the ideological spectrum to engage with each other in a thoughtful, civil, and hopefully constructive manner.

Learn more and register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/07/26/difficult-discussions-christian-evangelicalism-and-critical-race-theory-announcement/

28/06/2021

Taking place TOMORROW at 10:00 AM MT! This can't-miss conversation will feature Isabella Guanzini and Kieryn Wurts who will discuss "'Tenderness,' Or Putting Neoliberalism On The Analyst’s Couch." For more information and to register, please visit: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/06/04/critical-conversations-10-tenderness-or-putting-neoliberalism-on-the-analysts-couch-announcement/

We're coming back with another Critical Conversation on Tuesday, June 29, 10am Mountain Standard Time! Join us for "Tenderness, or Putting Neoliberalism on the Analyst's Couch" which will feature Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Catholic Private University (KU) Linz, Isabella Guanzini, as well as Kieryn Wurts, a graduate student in philosophy of religion(s) at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany.

Please register in advance at: https://udenver.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pfuyhpjgpHdD9Q6WnILxJi64XICWHkaaN

16/06/2021

We're coming back with another Critical Conversation on Tuesday, June 29, 10am Mountain Standard Time! Join us for "Tenderness, or Putting Neoliberalism on the Analyst's Couch" which will feature Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Catholic Private University (KU) Linz, Isabella Guanzini, as well as Kieryn Wurts, a graduate student in philosophy of religion(s) at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany.

Please register in advance at: https://udenver.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pfuyhpjgpHdD9Q6WnILxJi64XICWHkaaN

30/04/2021

Join us and The New Polis for another Critical Conversations event on Tuesday, May 18 at 10:00 AM MT with Philip Goodchild and Devin Singh who will discuss "Economic Theology And The Indebtedness Of Everyday Life."

Learn more and register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/04/25/critical-conversations-9-economic-theology-and-the-indebtedness-of-everyday-life/

23/04/2021

Call for article submissions!

Are you interested in writing for Esthesis? Esthesis is an electronic magazine that publishes thoughtful, innovative, sometimes provocative, and even quirky articles on the arts and contemporary ideas and culture. Esthesis draws on a variety of contributors, including artists and academics as well as community, business, and thought leaders. Esthesis also explores certain unexplored dimensions of consumer trends and the world of fashion and advertising.

Submit your ideas or articles at: https://esthesis.org/submissions/

If you have an article you would like considered for Esthesis, please fill out and submit the following form:

06/04/2021

We are just over a week away from The New Polis's virtual conference, "Decoloniality And Disintegration Of Western Cognitive Empire – Rethinking Sovereignty And Territoriality In The 21st Century," taking place on April 14-16. This international conference will bring together scholars and students from around the globe to discuss what is meant by such increasingly familiar terms as “decoloniality” or “decolonization.”

Some of our featured speakers will include Walter Mignolo, Catherine Walsh, Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Tink Tinker.

There's still time to register! Check out the program and sign up at https://thenewpolis.com/2021/03/22/decoloniality-and-disintegration-of-western-cognitive-empire-rethinking-sovereignty-and-territoriality-in-the-21st-century-international-conference-program/

23/03/2021

We invite you to join us on April 14-16 for Decoloniality And Disintegration Of Western Cognitive Empire – Rethinking Sovereignty And Territoriality In The 21st Century, an online conference bringing together scholars from around the globe to discuss what is meant by such increasingly familiar terms as “decoloniality” or “decolonization.” It will explore the relationship between these themes and issues of nationality, territoriality, and sovereignty as they concern the struggles of indigenous peoples.

A few of our featured speakers will include premier global theorists Walter Mignolo, Catherine Walsh, and Tink Tinker.

This event is free, though donations are encouraged.

Learn more about the event, check out the schedule and register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/03/22/decoloniality-and-disintegration-of-western-cognitive-empire-rethinking-sovereignty-and-territoriality-in-the-21st-century-international-conference-program/

02/03/2021

We are still taking paper and presentation proposals for our upcoming conference, hosted by The New Polis and Metropolitan State University of Denver, "Decoloniality And Disintegration Of Western Cognitive Empire – Rethinking Sovereignty And Territoriality In The 21st Century,” taking place on April 14-15.

Send proposals in the form of Word, or Word-compatible documents (no more than 700 words) along with one’s name, email, professional affiliation, and telephone number (optional) no later than March 15, 2021 to [email protected]. For security sake please email a second copy to [email protected].

For more information about the conference, please visit https://thenewpolis.com/2021/01/12/decoloniality-and-disintegration-of-western-cognitive-empire-rethinking-sovereignty-territoriality-in-the-21st-century-conference-announcement/.

11/02/2021

Part 4 of "How Humor Works – A Clear Proposal For A Classic Question" is the final installment of a paper that lays the groundwork "for the theory’s function as a potential logical basis for investigating and understanding humor in all of its forms in the future." https://esthesis.org/how-humor-works-a-clear-proposal-for-a-classic-question-part-4-e-garrett-ennis/

The following is the fourth of a four-part series. The first can be found here, the second here, the third here. Sayings Another unique property of Status Loss Theory is that, in addition to demons…

09/02/2021

Part 3 of "How Humor Works – A Clear Proposal For A Classic Question" is here! Check it out online: https://esthesis.org/how-humor-works-a-clear-proposal-for-a-classic-question-part-3-e-garrett-ennis/

The following is the third of a four-part series. The first can be found here, the second here. Chappelle’s Show. While not running as long as Stern’s, Dave Chappelle’s TV show wa…

28/01/2021

The next Critical Conversations, "An American Indian Critique Of Sovereignty" hosted by The New Polis is taking place on Tuesday, February 9th at 10:00 AM MT. This event will feature two speakers:

- Professor Glenn Morris whose areas of expertise are indigenous peoples in the international legal and political arena, public law, civil liberties, and race/gender and the law.

- Dr. Tink Tinker, a former professor of American Indian Studies for 33 years at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, where he still holds the title emeritus professor.

Learn more and register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2021/01/21/critical-conversations-7-an-american-indian-critique-of-sovereignty-announcement/

This conversation held at this event will also be a topic discussed at our upcoming virtual conference, "Decoloniality And Disintegration Of Western Cognitive Empire – Rethinking Sovereignty And Territoriality In The 21st Century." We are currently calling for papers and presentations for this conference taking place April 14-15. Please send us a direct message or email us at with proposals or for more information: [email protected].

11/01/2021

Don't miss our Critical Conversation with Walter Mignolo TOMORROW at 10:00 AM MT. Mignolo is a William Hane Wannamaker Distinguished Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University and his research and teaching have been devoted to understanding and unraveling the historical foundation of the modern/colonial world system and imaginary since the 16th century. In his research, modern/colonial world system and imaginary is tantamount with the historical foundation of Western Civilization and its expansion around the globe.

This Critical Conversation will focus on Mignolo's book, "On Decoloniality," and the concept of decoloniality as a way to fundamentally (re)situate and reconfigure how human beings are being “ruled.”

Register to reserve your spot at: https://thenewpolis.com/2020/12/23/critical-conversations-on-decoloniality-with-walter-mignolo/

05/01/2021

Part 2 of "How Humor Works – A Clear Proposal For A Classic Question" is now on Esthesis. Learn some of the ways that humor expresses itself. https://esthesis.org/how-humor-works-a-clear-proposal-for-a-classic-question-part-2-e-garrett-ennis/

The following is the second of a four-part series. The first can be found here. Alright, let’s apply this to some common examples. Pranks. The basic point of pranks is to fool the victim into…

03/01/2021

New on Esthesis! Check out Part 1 of "How Humor Works – A Clear Proposal For A Classic Question" and learn what laughter is, why we do it, and new ideas on previously incomplete theories on laughter. https://esthesis.org/how-humor-works-a-clear-proposal-for-a-classic-question-part-1-e-garrett-ennis/

30/12/2020

The next The New Polis Critical Conversations is coming up on Tuesday, January 12 at 10:00 AM MT. This conversation will feature esteemed professor, philosopher, semiotician and literary theorist Walter Mignolo who will discuss his book, "On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Praxis" and the concept of the "decolonial imaginary."

Registration for this event must be done in advance and can be completed at the link below:

https://thenewpolis.com/2020/12/23/critical-conversations-on-decoloniality-with-walter-mignolo/

07/12/2020

Tomorrow's Critical Conversations, "American Indian Worldview And The Twinned Cosmos Of Indigenous America" hosted by The New Polis, will feature two renowned speakers:

Barbara Alice Mann (Onondawaga, Bear clan) is an Associate Professor in the Jesup Scott Honors College at The University of Toledo. She has published widely in the areas of Native American history, women's studies, and literature. She lives and works in her traditional western Seneca homeland of Ohio, at the western tip of Lake Erie. Her books include Iroquoian Women: The Gantawisas (2000), Native Americans, Archaeologists, & the Mounds (2003), George Washington’s War on Native America (2005), The Land of the Three Miamis (2006), and many more.

Tink Tinker is wazhazhe, a citizen of the Osage Nation. For 33 years he was a professor of American Indian studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, where he still holds the title emeritus professor. During most of that time, Tinker also was the (non-stipendiary) director of Four Winds American Indian Council in Denver. Tinker has abandoned christianity as a colonialist and Genocidal imposition on Indian Peoples in favor of recapturing the traditional worldview of Native Peoples. He is the author of American Indian Liberation (Orbis, 2008).

Learn more and register at: http://jcrt.org/religioustheory/2020/11/18/critical-conversations-american-indian-worldview-and-the-twinned-cosmos-of-indigenous-america-announcement/

Participants are invited to join us live in the fifth of a monthly series of “Critical Conversations” (Zoom webinars) with eminent scholars from around the globe. 

02/12/2020

The next Critical Conversations hosted by The New Polis will take place next Tuesday, December 8 at 10:00 AM CT. In this conversation, Barbara Alice Mann (Onondawaga, Bear clan) and Tink Tinker (wazhazhe, Osage Nation, Eagle clan) will critique politics of identity and euro-forming by addressing what Barbara Mann has termed the Twin Cosmos of Turtle Island and which Tink Tinker has addressed as deeply framed worldviews among American Indians.

Register at: https://thenewpolis.com/2020/11/23/critical-conversations-american-indian-worldview-and-the-twinned-cosmos-of-indigenous-america-announcement/

23/11/2020

"Her methodology relies on the existing values, norms, and modes of behavior to produce the desired effect. She does not create anything new. The existing forms constantly lurk in the background as the essential referent for her experiments in transgression. Without these referents, her performance simply would not work. They lack the essential autonomy possessed by genuine works of art." https://esthesis.org/the-phenomenon-of-marina-abramovic-as-re-enactment-of-the-passions-of-the-contemporary-elite-part-2-gennady-shkliarevsky/

The following is the second of a two-part series. The first can be found here. Contemporary artists (including Abramovic) and critics tend to overlook this critical difference between transgression…

17/11/2020

"Works of art in many ways reflect artists’ approach toward art practice. Although true for any art form, this is particularly true in the case of performance art where practice is the very essence of the work it produces. Art practice reflects the philosophy of art to which the artist subscribed. Therefore, a brief overview of Abramovic’s philosophy of art is in order." https://esthesis.org/the-phenomenon-of-marina-abramovic-as-re-enactment-of-the-passions-of-the-contemporary-elite-gennady-shkliarevsky/

The following is the first of a two-part series. Marina Abramovic is arguably the most celebrated contemporary artist in the world. She works in performance art that is currently regarded as the mo…

13/11/2020

Part 2 of "Longing For An Impossible Past – Derrida’s 'Of Grammatology' And The Coronavirus" discusses how longing for the reopening the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic equates to the "impossible past," and "an originary presence that never really was." https://esthesis.org/longing-for-an-impossible-past-derridas-of-grammatology-and-the-coronavirus-part-2-jared-lacy/

The following is the second of a two-part series. The first can be found here. Furthermore there is an element of nostalgia implicit in this desire. Like the armed protestors who stormed city …

10/11/2020

The New Polis November Critical Conversations is taking place on November 17 at 10:00 AM MT. Using his book “Neoliberalism and Political Theology,” Dr. Carl Raschke of the University of Denver will discuss current economic and political crises in the United States in the aftermath of the Presidential Election and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Register at: https://thenewpolis.com/.../critical-conversations-2020.../

06/11/2020

Join Dr. Carl Raschke, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Denver, as well as Ward Blanton and Kieryn Wurts for their discussion of the current state of the economy and government in the wake of the 2020 Presidential Election through a neoliberalist lens during our next Critical Conversations taking place on November 17 at 10:00 AM MT. Register and learn more at: https://thenewpolis.com/2020/11/02/critical-conversations-2020-and-the-catastrophe-of-the-global-neoliberal-order-announcement/

Critical Conversations – 2020 And The Catastrophe Of The Global Neoliberal Order (Announcement) November 2, 2020November 4, 2020Announcements Participants are invited to join us live in the fourth of a monthly series of “Critical Conversations” (Zoom webinars) with eminent scholars from around...

30/10/2020

Wrapping up the four-part series "Forms of Enchantment - Literary Conversations" with Jennifer Denrow, Mathias Svalina and Dr. Roger Green. Read the transcript or watch the video recording at: https://esthesis.org/forms-of-enchantment-literary-conversations-part-4-jennifer-denrow-and-mathias-svalina-with-roger-green/

The following is republished from The New Polis, and is the last of a four-part series. The first installment can be found here, the second here, the third here. The video version can be found here…

28/10/2020

We invite you to check out Part 3 of Forms Of Enchantment – Literary Conversations with Dr. Roger Green, Jennifer Denrow and Mathias Svalina who discuss the notion of "innocence" in their writing and its relation to white supremacy and privilege. https://esthesis.org/forms-of-enchantment-literary-conversations-part-3-jennifer-denrow-and-mathias-svalina-with-roger-green/

The following is republished from The New Polis, and is the third of a four-part series. The first installment can be found here, the second here. The video version can be found here. Jennifer Denr…