Quentin"s Weeknotes: 9/7/19-9/13/19
This Week:
- I visited the Oneonta Grand and Glorious Garage Sale. Not as much loot as last year, but I did grab a few Stan Rogers records that I’m missing.
- I taught a lecture on collecting practices in ancient Mesopotamia, based on Allison Karmel Thomason’s fascinating book.
- I listened, rivetted, to Chris Hayes' conversation with ACLU attorney and LGBTQ- activist Chase Strangio. The interview was mind-blowing for me, with deep discussions of ‘Gender Trouble’ and the ways in which activism, the law, rights, gender, and sexuality fit uncomfortably together. Really great stuff from a really great podcast.
- I was a huge fan of Corey Robin’s book “The Reactionary Mind” which attempts to locate the core metaphors of conservative thought in a historical context. Last year, he announced that his next book would be a study of Clarence Thomas, perhaps one of the most interesting and mysterious figures in American political life. Now it’s out (or almost out) and this excerpt in the New Yorker makes clear that the book will not disappoint. In brief, Thomas' early commitment to Black Nationalism (he organized free Breakfasts modeled on the Black Panthers, and supported Angela Davis and Bobby Seale) has morphed into a deeply pessimistic view of American society and the possibilities of eradicating racial harms through policy.
