Aloha America: Hula Circuits through the U.S. Empire
Berkeley anthropologist Laura Nader argues that most oppressive systems of power, including classical Western colonialism and proponents of globalization, all use the idea of social harmony as a control mechanism. There is a vast difference, Nader points out, between social harmony and harmony ideology, between positivity and being genuinely positi
... See moreChris Hedges • Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Was it important that the United States possessed, to take one example, Howland Island, a bare plot of land in the middle of the Pacific, only slightly larger than Central Park? Yes, it was. Howland wasn’t large or populous, but in the age of aviation, it was useful. At considerable expense, the government hauled construction equipment out to Howla
... See moreDaniel Immerwahr • How to Hide an Empire
The Bahamas took a distinctly different course in relationship to the history of money-making than much of the region. African Americans who fought for the British in the Revolutionary War settled there to be free. Many of them came from the Low Country. In 1818, Great Britain declared that all enslaved Africans who set foot in the Bahamas would be
... See moreImani Perry • South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
Cultural tourism is often charged with being inauthentic. Sometimes it is. But sometimes it is very authentic, even if only because it makes plain the negotiation between native and tourist. In either instance, when it comes to long-standing inequalities, the “hustle” is a necessary choreography of redistribution. The monied folks want an experienc
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