State of the Theory

This is Episode 86 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This episode marks our return in lockdown. In the light of renewed global anti-racist protests, we do a two-parter on race and education. In this, the first part, we focus on race in Higher Education, and think a bit about what precisely decolonising universities would imply.

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

As members of the University and College Union, we are currently withdrawing our labour in opposition to the devastating cuts to our pension scheme, as well as our pay which has been in decline in real terms for the past ten years, the gender and race pay gaps, the rapid casualisation of universities’ work forces and our ever increasing, unsustainable workloads.

You can read more about the strikes here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10648/Help-UCU-achieve-a-huge-victory-for-staff---support-the-strikes and here: https://medium.com/@katecross_88138/ucu-strike-2020-a-guide-for-perplexed-students-a247e2a01b88

You can also listen to our previous episode on the UCU dispute here: https://soundcloud.com/stateofthetheorypodcast/episode-41-strike

This is Episode 85 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

In this episode we talk about the media coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and think about the role played by race in its depiction. We connect this story to previous analogies such as SARS, Swine Flu and the AIDS epidemic and think of the connections between infection and European conceptions of the non-European Other.

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 84 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

We mark our 4th birthday weekend by focussing on the figure of the White Saviour. Via Katy Perry, Prince Charles, Ellen DeGeneres and Opra Winfrey, we discuss race and class hierarchies in the philanthropy industry.

You can read about Prince Charles and Katy Perry here: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/katy-perry-british-asian-trust-ambassador-prince-charles-twitter-a9318451.html

You can watch Joammaji’s videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtOQ-3CqNoIM0Q023kS_VEA

You can read “Cultural Identity and Diaspora” by Stuart Hall here: https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/sites/default/files/free-chapter/Stuart%20Hall_Cultural_Identity-and_Diaspora.pdf

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 83 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

Recording on the day the United Kindom leaves the European Union, we try to think about our own emotions and then use it to analyse the events leading up to the referendum, the vote itself, and its legacy through the lens of emotion.

You can watch the “Auld Lang Syne” video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ki1Earlvo

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 82 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This week we mark the recent announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations with our thoughts about diversity in awards nominations. Is it important that the work of filmmakers and actors of diverse backgrounds be recognised through awards? And, if so, why, exactly?

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 81 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This week we take on #Megxit and Andrewgate, two of the scandals that have rocked the British royal family in recent weeks. Are the stories working in a similar way? And what do they have to say about the nature and role of the royal family in today’s Britain.

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 80 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This week we re-visit the rising tide of Fascism in India and explore the narratives of history at play. We look at partition, independence and nation-building in the immediate post-independence period and interrogate the narrative of secularism that has been associated with postcolonial India.

You can listen to Iqbal Bano’s rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ghazal “Hum Dekhenge” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxtgsq5oVy4

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 79 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This week we look at the humble cup of tea and how on earth it managed to become such a symbol of the British nation.

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors

This is Episode 78 of the State of the Theory Podcast.

Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably.

In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call.

This week we look at famous images of famous politicians and try to understand how and why politicians use the power of the image. Who are they trying to convince, and of what?

You can see the photograph of Narendra Modi and his mother here: https://twitter.com/FriedrichPieter/status/1189649532025528320

You can see the photograph of Narendra Modi praying here: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-in-uttarakhand-to-offer-prayers-at-kedarnath-shrine/story-M52WZnEawYecbsLpRD4ZZO.html

You can see Boris Johnson stuck on a zip wire here: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/16/stuck-zip-wire-boris-johnson-london-2012-olympics

You can see the photograph of Barack Obama here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/us/politics/indelible-image-of-a-boys-pat-on-obamas-head-hangs-in-white-house.html

Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Agrarians/The_Jovial_Shepherd/The_Face_of_God)

State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR)

Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors