Modes of philosophizing

A round table debate

Should philosophy have something to say to non-philosophers? Should it be pursued only by those trained in philosophy? And should analytic philosophy reject continental philosophy or recognize it as another "mode of philosophizing"? [more]

Lithuania in Europe, Europe in Lithuania

Between mimesis and non-existence

Cultural and political life in Lithuania is marked by what Homi K. Bhabha, speaking of postcolonial nations, called "ironic compromise". The Lithuanian is "almost a European but not quite". [more]

May '68: a contested history

Despite the tendency of decennial commemorations to cement the "official version" of May '68, important questions remain unanswered. Chris Reynolds points out some blind spots in the increasingly stereotyped interpretation of the events in France forty years ago. [more]

"If I don't say what I think, what's the point of being mad?"

A conversation with Catalan philosopher Xavier Rubert de Ventós

"If my philosophy has been of any use to me, it's been to situate my monstrous condition within an order of general discourse." The Catalan philosopher and former MEP explains why he finds reactionaries more interesting than liberals and what he means by the "non-Fichtean ego". [more]

Archipelago Europe

Instead of two homogeneous European regions -- "the East" and "the West" -- there are now fragments, enclaves, and islands. From Baden-Baden to Bucharest, Majorca to Moscow, Karl Schlögel experiences Europe as a series of spaces both distinct and connected. [Hungarian version added] [more]

The politics of the global movement

In an extract from his new book "Social Movement", Swedish sociologist Magnus Wennerhag argues that the global justice movement differs from the '68 protests in being more political and aimed at international institutions and a globalized democracy. [more]

The daily state of emergency

Or: Necessity knows many commandments

The state no longer keeps its distance; invasion of privacy, surveillance, CCTV, and strip searches influence the daily lives of ordinary people. Has the state of emergency shifted into society's interior for good? [more]

The centre is everywhere

"Arche" looks warily at the Belarusian thaw; "Magyar Lettre" gets to the heart of the central European city; "Kulturos barai" criticizes the culture of groceries; "Fronesis" takes counsel on the "unhappy marriage" between feminism and the Left; "A Prior" looks at monuments that won't melt into air; "Revista Crítica" sees the political potential of bio-art; "Critique & Humanism" analyzes neophilia and neophobia; "Dialogi" lashes out at the Slovenian press; and "Glänta" is missing links. [more]

On the economy of moralism and working class properness

An interview with Beverley Skeggs

"Respectability is not only about cleaning your house but also, literally, about existing as a citizen." Beverley Skeggs criticizes theories of intersectionality for their tendency to group categories that are in complex relation to capital. [more]

"Water is more dangerous than the rise of Islam..."

Interview with Dutch writer Margriet de Moor

Although often using female heroines in her novels, Margriet de Moor finds pigeonholing literature into male and female categories is a pointless exercise. "The social issue of women suffering under a male dominance -- no, I don't find it terribly interesting." [more]

Russia at the crossroads

Logic and the end of "imitation democracy"

The Belavezha Accords in 1991, which dissolved the USSR without a democratic mandate, condemned subsequent presidents to rule by "imitated democracy". Putin's decision to step down after two terms has given Russia a chance to depart from that path of development, argues Dmitri Furman. [more]

Lithuanian intellectual Bronys Savukynas dies at 78

Bronys Savukynas, renowned Lithuanian linguist, translator, and editor-in-chief of "Kulturos barai", died on Saturday 20 April in Vilnius. He was 78. Savukynas's contribution to Lithuanian intellectual culture was considerable. [more]