oppression within movements

“Neither is oppression limited to only mainstream or hegemonic socio-political and economic relations and institutions. In fact, oppression can and often does inhabit those formations — such as social movements — avowedly or allegedly fashioned to confront and abolish it.” (Haiven and Khasnabish, The Radical Imagination, Loc 1920 of 4059)

“A concrete, critical engagement with oppression was (perhaps unintentionally but no less problematically) denied in favour of a highly abstracted and intellectualized discussion of politics that became dominated by many of the young white male activists in attendance.” (Loc 1959 of 4059)

“movements that fail to engage oppression critically and systematically (and its connections to exploitation and economic power) not only fail to challenge the dominant order effectively, they reproduce it.” (Loc 3098 of 4059)

When are academic disciplines valuable?

“the fetishization of ‘public’ research is, more often than not, a means by which academic inquiry is domesticated and defanged in the name of pleasing a spectral mass of people ‘out there’ who represent ‘mainstream’ interests, concerns, values and ideals. With increasing frequency, the requirement to ‘make work public’ is demanded by funders and administrators keen to instrumentalize or commercialize research. Speaking to constituencies beyond the ivory tower is clearly important. But we would all do well to remember that academic disciplines of any stripe are only valuable so long as they offer critical insights into our world, particularly insights that offer something tangible in terms of addressing the most pressing problems of our time.” (Haiven and Khasnabish, The Radical Imagination, Loc 900 of 4059)

university in post-industrial cities

“In many post-industrial cities, the university sector is the largest single employer; integration into the pharmaceuticals, security, weapons, finance and medical sectors has been expansion of the university’s scope and influence. Numerically speaking, more people may today pass through the doors of a university (as students, as workers, as contractees, etc.) than ever passed through the gates of a factory in years gone by.” (Haiven and Khasnabish, The Radical Imagination, Loc 538 of 4059)