The family is at the heart of neoliberalism. Thus argues Melinda Cooper in her 2017 book Family Values. Usually when I hear the term neoliberalism I think about the individual and personal responsibility. Yet, Cooper demonstrates, the family is central to its operations and maintenance. I think Arendt’s critique of the family can be especially helpful in illuminating this claim. But, she also naturalizes the family in a way — similar to neoliberalism. Personal responsibility equals family … [Read more...]
A state of unwelcome
It was chilling to read about Texas Governor Greg Abbott's statement that Texas would not resettle refugees in 2020. In recent years, Texas has been the state to resettle the largest number of refugees. Echoes of Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism The Governor's decision reminds me of Hannah Arendt's discussion of the decline of the nation-state in the Origins of Totalitarianism. The phenomenon of statelessness tested the limits of national sovereignty. Some states stripped their unwanted … [Read more...]
Introducing “At Home with Arendt,” a new blog series
Welcome to “At Home with Arendt,” a special series that explores questions of home and belonging. I welcome my collaborators in sharing this digital space: Dr. Rita A. Gardiner, an Assistant Professor in Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies (CPELS) in the Faculty of Education at Western University Harshita Jaiprakash, a PhD student in CPELS at Western Janet Jones, a PhD student in Applied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo Together, the four of us will … [Read more...]
Citizenship Week 2018: New Canadians are new workers are new family members
During Citizen Week (October 8-14), I attended a facilitated conversation at CIGI/The Balsillie School with the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship. Hussen gave a brief talk, answered some questions asked by Prof. Anna Esselment (Political Science, University of Waterloo), then answered general questions from the audience. Refugees are joining the family Given my research project on refugees and the family as a structure for political … [Read more...]
Human rights and the family
When people describe their workplace or community group as if they're "like family," my neck hair rises. I am suspicious, and immediately skeptical about the stability of the organization being described. If I were a Kelpien, my threat ganglia would extend whenever someone made this kind of reference. Let me be clear: I am not anti-family. I love families! Yay families! I'm just skeptical that family structures are good models for social or political groups to adopt. Arendt's critique of … [Read more...]