The Political Economy of Policing. Commenced in January of 2024, the project aims to situate policing in the United States from the perspective political economy, i.e., as a phenomenon whose economic components (spending/budgeting, misconduct settlements, and so forth) must be seen in the context of broader political currents. Phase 1 of the project will aim to compile comprehensive, aggregate, and national data around police misconduct payouts in the United States. Additional phases will include theoretical work and policy recommendations around this data. [Track: Critical Theory]
Antisemitism and Logics of Exclusion. Instances of and claims about antisemitism are on the rise and in the news. Yet, antisemitism has a long history, both in the United States and in the (history of) the Western; relatedly, it is an evolving phenomenon. The aim of this project is to deepen our understanding of antisemitism but to do so in the context of other logics of exclusion, especially anti-Black racism and Islamophobia. The guiding assumption is that exploring antisemitism in a shared context with these other phenomena—how they function socially, politically, and economically; how they arise and persist; and how they shift and develop—will yield greater insight than examining antisemitism in isolation. The project is especially interested in developing practical as much as theoretical insights about antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and Islamophobia in such a shared context. Phases of inquiry may include qualitative data gathering, public programming, community engagement, and theory building. Commencing Spring 2025. [Track: Critical Theory]
Reading and Writing as a Spiritual Practice. This project aims to explore reading and writing as a spiritual practice, where that term is understood in the sense in which, Pierre Hadot, the scholar of ancient philosophy used it: a practice or concept capable of changing and/or transforming the self (it is not thereby exclusively linked to religion or spirituality as it is commonly understood). The project is especially responding to the rise of immediacy in the contemporary world, locating reading and writing as a potential bulwark–a site of deep mediation–against such broader trends. The first phase of this project will consist in writing workshops with experts. Later phases may include extended reading and writing groups and other public events. Commencing in Spring of 2025 or Fall of 2025. [Track: Philosophy]