Decolonizing Latin America as Social Geography: Comments on Charles Mann’s 1491.

[Image: Presencia de América Latina (Presence of Latin America, 1964–65) is a 300 square meters (3,200 sq ft) mural at the hall of the Arts House of the University of Concepción, Chile. It is also known as Latin America’s Integration (Wikimedia Commons)] The origins of Latin America and the Caribbean as a place involve layers of designations of… Read More Decolonizing Latin America as Social Geography: Comments on Charles Mann’s 1491.

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The Capitalist Peace, Dependency Theory, and Imperialism

This piece by Scott Patrick originally appeared on Bakunin Matata. Patrick is a PhD candidate studying comparative politics at the American University in Washington, DC. While some of its observations are dated given the upheavals that have defined the Trump administration, it is nonetheless a worthwhile short read:  We are living in an age of capitalist… Read More The Capitalist Peace, Dependency Theory, and Imperialism

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America’s “Good Guys” in Venezuela: Terrorists and racist lynchers

[Pictured: Oscar Pérez, a disgruntled Venezuelan police intelligence officer, reads an anti-government manifesto in a video he posted on Instagram. Pérez and his compatriots hijacked a police helicopter and lobbed grenades at the Venezuelan supreme court.]  Oppositional Performance Art, Democratic Farce Last weekend, on Saturday the 29th of July, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela officially opened elections… Read More America’s “Good Guys” in Venezuela: Terrorists and racist lynchers

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Mussalaha (Reconciliation) in Syria

“Reconciliation” has become something of a buzzword in Canada, the country of my birth, underpinning much of the mainstream discourse around the historical mistreatment of indigenous people and the future of relations between settlers and natives. One might be surprised to learn that Reconciliation is also a buzzword in Syria, but for rather different reasons.… Read More Mussalaha (Reconciliation) in Syria

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Canada 150, Ricardo Duchesne, and the Genocidal Impulse

My university harbors a white supremacist. Dr. Ricardo Duchesne is a tenured professor in the Department of Social Science at the University of New Brunswick, on its Saint John campus. Duchesne’s belief system is based on a belief in the uniqueness of “western civilization” and the inherent superiority of “European” and white culture in relation… Read More Canada 150, Ricardo Duchesne, and the Genocidal Impulse

Abram Lutes4 Comments

Americanization from a European Perspective

A change of pace to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Canadian academic year, what follows are two European pop radio hits which deal with the Americanization of European culture.  Americanization as a concept has been popular since the 1960s and refers to claims that European media forms are exhibiting direct influence by and a… Read More Americanization from a European Perspective

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The Revolutionary Distemper in Syria That Wasn’t

In celebration of the release of his outstanding book Washington’s Long War on Syria, I am republishing an excerpt written by Canadian writer Stephen Gowans, originally published in October 2016 on his blog What’s Left. The book is availiable to order from Montreal publisher Baraka Books and I encourage all our readers to get a copy and… Read More The Revolutionary Distemper in Syria That Wasn’t

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