Study tools for “Propaganda, false consciousness, and the normalization of marginalization”
Study tools for “Propaganda, false consciousness, and the normalization of marginalization” Overview Below are some tools that will help you explore the content in my essay “Propaganda, false consciousness, and the normalization of marginalization”. One of my more dense essays, in about 4500 words I deepen the use of Critical Hydra Theory and use the current situation in Israel/Palestine and a key example of how false consciousness is a key factor. These tools were generated by NotebookLM from Google. I have edited for accuracy and usefulness. Summary The text explores the concept of “false consciousness” and how it perpetuates systems of oppression. It argues that powerful elites, often white males, use propaganda to manipulate the public’s perception of reality and justify their actions, such as colonialism and genocide. The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing and challenging these false narratives, highlighting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a contemporary example. The…
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FollowConfronting Toxic Otherings begins with therapy
Confronting Toxic Othering begins with therapy In Russell Means’s autobiography Where White Men Fear to Tread, he offers profound insights on the process of decolonization and healing. On page 531, he reflects: “I had often wondered how best to decolonize my people. Treatment made me realize that there is no need for all of them to get into the whys and wherefores of colonization that have led them down the path of self-destruction. It must be done one human being at a time. Without that kind of help, Western society does not allow people to come to terms with their feelings. With honesty and with therapy, my people can be made whole again.” This perspective is remarkably insightful, particularly when applied to various global injustices and issues within the United States. It leads me to consider the potential positive impact of mandatory or strongly encouraged therapy, both individual and…
Read MoreAddress at opening ceremony for LEAF event 2010
A blast from the past I recently came across this address I delivered in Sri Lanka 14 years ago, long before I imagined critical Hydra theory. The optimism and faith in human agency I exhibit in this essay are for affect; in reality my faith in humanity is weak, especially given the genocides occurring in Gaza and Myanmar -and elsewhere. Are we a failed species? Only time will tell, but we seem incapable of tamping down gluttony and greed and these sins will surely lead us to a environmental future incompatible with human life. The Leaders in Environmental Advocacy Forum (LEAF) event was an academic summit on global environmental issues co-organized by the Periclean Scholars class of 2011 at Elon University and faculty at the University of Colombo. My comments touch on environmental issues, policy changes, the failings of capitalism/neoliberalism, and the hope of human action to make fundamental change….
Read MoreGuest post: My Palestinian/Polish Story
Note Natalia is a rising junior majoring in biology at Elon University. Her story is unique and compelling, bringing together both the Nakba and the Holocaust. [Arabic version below added 30 May] My Palestinian/Polish Story by Natalia S. We all have parents Like most, I am fortunate enough to have two parents and two sets of grandparents. Mine came from different parts of the world, two worlds that were both torn apart by violence and oppression. My mom originates from Poland, specifically from Lezajsk. My dad was born into occupation and raised in Gaza. Below I share a few stories regarding the tragedies of the Holocaust and the Nakba, narratives which are part of my family’s history. Growing up Polish and Palestinian Growing up, when asked about my ethnicity, I would proudly say I am Polish and Palestinian. However, I was often met with puzzled looks; few knew where…
Read MorePropaganda, false consciousness, and the normalization of marginalization
Propaganda, false consciousness, and the normalization of marginalization [See this page for a detailed study guide for this essay.] [updated 28 September 2024] “Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” -F. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” K. Marx, The German Ideology “Families and churches and schools adapt to modern life; governments and armies and corporations shape it; and, as they do so, they turn these lesser institutions into means for their ends.” –C.Wright Mills, The Power Elite “Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Prelude Starting…
Read MoreUsing Critical Hydra Theory to understand the Palestine-Israel confrontation
Using Critical Hydra Theory to understand the Palestine-Israel confrontation [Updated 14 February 2024 “Silence is consent.” -Plato Overview As I write this we are in day 100 of the Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza that was prompted by an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. To date there have been approximately 1200 Israeli and over 23,000 Palestinian deaths, among them thousands of children. Given the lack of food, water, medicine or other critical humanitarian aid, the number of deaths from disease, exposure, and hunger are dramatically on the rise. On 29 December 2023 the Republic of South Africa submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) an application initiating proceedings on the charge of genocide against the state of Israel. The application included “…provisional measures to protect the rights invoked herein from imminent and irreparable loss” and requested an immediate response from the ICJ. This…
Read MoreSurvivor: a book review
Survivor: a book review Getting my hands on Survivor This past August I was able to secure several copies of Ziaur Rahman’s stunning memoir Survivor: My Life as A Rohingya Refugee. I had gotten to know Ziaur two years ago through numerous online conversations and was honored to be among the many who assisted him in the process of getting his story published. Holding the book in my hands for the first time felt like a dream coming true. As I began my fall semester, I shared with my sociology classes details of my summer travel to Bangladesh and what I had learned about the Rohingya. My most intense learning took place by meeting with many Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh, not far from the Myanmar border. Though most of the Rohingya diaspora is located in Cox’s Bazar, those fleeing the genocidal Myanmar military now live all…
Read MoreSecond Edition of Confronting Toxic Othering available now!
Second Edition of Confronting Toxic Othering available now! The journey continues My journey understanding and taming the Hydra has been ongoing since I published the first edition in 2021. This new edition contains many chapters I have written over the last two years based on classroom experiences both at Elon University, in Bangladesh, and online with refugees from Myanmar, Somalia, and Syria. Several useful classroom exercises have been added and the final section of the book now deepens explanation of the basic tenets of Critical Hydra Theory. I will be using the book in all my classes for the remainder of the school year, making these classes fulfill all the requirements for Elon University’s Advancing Equity Requirement (AER). Overview of the Second Edition Confronting Toxic Othering embarks on an ambitious quest to interrogate the root causes of all global social and environmental problems. Drawing upon the myth of the Hydra,…
Read MoreCHT: A theoretical perspective for the 21st Century
CHT: A theoretical perspective for the 21st Century A new theory for a new century Being a 21st-century social scientist is a perhaps Sisyphean task; so much happens in such an unclear way, and trying to stay current with local, national, and international social and political news is akin to drinking from a firehose. Modern social scientists cannot ignore the fact that we live in a globalized, intricately, and infinitely interconnected social world made ever more seamless by increasingly ‘smart’ technologies that make national boundaries irrelevant. The increasing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) makes the future of humanity ever more complex and unpredictable. At their core, all critical theories begin with the assumption that power and privilege asymmetries are at the root of most global social problems. Critical Hydra Theory (CHT) offers an explicitly pan-disciplinary and globally applicable approach capable of addressing 21st-century questions about the myriad social and, importantly,…
Read MoreExploring the canon inspiring Critical Hydra Theory
“It would be advisable to think of progress in the crudest, most basic terms: that no one should go hungry anymore, that there should be no more torture, no more Auschwitz [or Gaza or Cox’s Bazar]. Only then will the idea of progress be free from lies.” -Theodor Adorno Critical theory, Critical Race Theory, and Critical Hydra Theory Though I could not have described it as such, I began my journey confronting toxic othering many decades ago0. It was the mid 1970’s in a graduate level sociological theory course when I was first exposed to critical theory. Our professor was passionate about sociologists Theodore Adorno and Antonio Gramsci, both associated with the Institute for Social Research at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, founded in the early 1920’s. I too was attracted to these sociologists and the Frankfort School because I found reinforcement for my urge to understand and address…
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