by Brian Bergen-Aurand The purpose of Aikido is to elevate ourselves from the world of matter to the world of spirit. Matter descends, spirit ascends. Aikido is a wonderful flower that blooms in our world and bears great spiritual fruit. Aikido should be the basis of our lives, and we should strive to establish true … Continue reading
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It’s Philip and Bartholomew: On Religion, The State, and Same-Sex Unions
by Brian Bergen-Aurand O Lord our God, who made humankind in thine image and likeness and gave it power over all flesh everlasting, and who now has approved thy saints and apostles Philip and Bartholomew becoming partners, not bound together by nature, but in the unity of the holy spirit and in the mode of … Continue reading
Sex Work in Our Midst?
by Brian Bergen-Aurand A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me if I would be okay with sex workers “plying their trade” in my back yard. Since I’ve been asked to run this thought experiment no less than three times in the past month, by three different friends, all with slightly different queer perspectives, … Continue reading
Inciting Poetry: A Lesson in Tearing Things Together
by Dave Arenas Component Poetics1 Explaining also example2 remove context whittle down to command3 * surrender model maximal giving in minimal narrative shorn of links4 * not what does this mean but how will you tear at it use turn against its originator5 * to start poem critique contort neither me nor counterfeit * speaks … Continue reading
ZOMIA MUST BE DEFENDED! (PART 3 / FINAL)
by Brian Bergen-Aurand The argument, in short, is that the history of hill peoples is best understood as a history not of archaic remnants but of “runaways” from state-making processes in the lowlands: a largely “maroon” society, providing that we take a very long historical view. Many of the agricultural and social practices of hill … Continue reading
Zomia must be defended! (part 2)
by Brian Bergen-Aurand State rulers find it well nigh impossible to install an effective sovereignty over people who are constantly in motion, who have no permanent pattern of organization, no permanent address, whose leadership is ephemeral, whose subsistence patterns are pliable and fugitive, who have few permanent allegiances, and who are liable, over time, to … Continue reading
Zomia must be defended! (part 1)
by Brian Bergen-Aurand At a time when the state seems pervasive and inescapable, it is easy to forget that for much of history, living within or outside the state–or in an intermediate zone–was a choice, one that might be revised as the circumstances warranted. A wealthy and peaceful state center might attract a growing population … Continue reading
“Once I’ve devoured your soul, we are neither animal nor human.”
by Brian Bergen-Aurand Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2004 Tropical Malady (Sud pralad) is a film that essays much of what concerns those of us who work at the intersection of Film Studies and Body Studies. In Tropical Malady a young soldier, Keng (Banlop Lomnoi), falls in love with a young man from the country, Tong … Continue reading
The Organization of Gender & Sexuality Across Time and Place
by Brian Bergen-Aurand Gender and sexuality are located in time and place. While the two are not just one thing, never the same thing, and should never be conflated, they remain entangled and mutually constituted. These two points organize the essays collected in Historicising Gender and Sexuality, edited by Kevin P. Murphy and Jennifer M. … Continue reading
Burası Türkiye; Burası Odun Değil
“We still have chaos here, and you need chaos to create something. There’s no chaos in Europe and you’ve lost your innovation. We have it, it’s dangerous but it’s very hopeful. We need your wisdom, your discipline and will-power, and you need our chaos and our energy, our emotions and our ambition.” Near the end … Continue reading
Foreign Influence 