Conjectural Journalism: John King is a Jerk
On April 15, after the terrorists attacked the Boston Marathon, we Bostonians rushed towards the explosions to help the injured, and we rushed to hospitals to give blood. In the chaos, we rushed to the internet to find out if our friends were safe. The media responded by rushing to conclusions. After the bombings, we […]
Judith Butler’s: Precarious Life
Judith Butler’s book Precarious Life was a subject of discussion in Prof. Bormann’s Contemporary Political Thought POLS 2332 class this past semester. This book puts human vulnerability and loss (the precariousness of life) at its center and Butler asks us, against the backdrop of 9/11, what – politically – might be made of our grief […]
Gallery: Boston Marathon Aftermath
All photographs in this gallery are courtesy of Delia Harrington.
Give Me Liberty: The Constitution in an Age of Terror
Benjamin Franklin has long warned Americans that “any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” His warning has been invoked throughout American history, as it has been in light of recent events. Yet it seems decidedly powerless in a country that so readily […]
Gallery: Philip Kravtsov’s Images of Watertown
Philip Kravtsov is a freshman journalism student at Northeastern where he is pursuing a B.A. in journalism. Philip is an editor at RIA Novosti. All photos in this gallery © RIA Novosti /Philip Kravtsov
Precarious Life-Katie Dillon
When your city is terrorized, how do you react? Judith Butler says that we ought not to react to violence with violence. We should take a different approach. Butler does not suggest that we ignore the perpetrator, or let him or her walk free. Instead, we ought to give the criminal a trial, and not […]
Precarious Life-Brendan Hill
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, the relevance of Judith Butler’s A Precarious Life is a topic worth discussing. Prompted by the attacks of 9/11, Butler’s critique of the US response to fear and mourning is indeed contrary to the average American sentiment. While the official response to the attack on the World […]
Precarious Life-Wendy Chu
I wrote the outline for this essay on Monday, April 15th. It had been an especially good day: I had even won myself a coveted window seat on the third floor at Snell Library. I was reading Judith Butler’s Precarious Life when I heard the news. I should have panicked. I should have been terrified. […]
Muslim American Women and the Hijab: Dismantling the Patronizing Narrative
The role of the hijab and its significance to the women who wear it is frequently oversimplified. Muslim American women must navigate multiple levels of pressures, social sanctions, and conflicting ideologies when they choose whether or not to veil. This article seeks to organize the various social dimensions of hijab into three spheres: the general […]
Next Stop Taxachusetts: Finding Funds for a 21st Century Transportation System
“In light of the significant financial challenges the MBTA is currently facing, specifically its tremendous debt burden, the precipitous decline in the receipt of projected and dedicated revenues since the inception of Forward Funding, and perhaps most importantly the inability to finance billions of dollars worth of critical state of good repair projects, the MBTA’s […]