I’m eager to begin a new semester at the University of Pittsburgh. This fall I am teaching a number of classes: Narrative and Technology (ENGLIT 0399), Introduction to Critical Reading (ENGLIT 0500), and Postmodern Literature (ENGLIT 1350). I have taught all three courses before and enjoy each one. The syllabus for Introduction to Critical Reading can be found on my Academia.edu page and I’d be happy to send along the others to interested parties, which tweak previous versions. I have decided not to do any blogs for any of my classes this semester, partially as an experiment, but also because I am trying to limit how much time I spend in front of a screen. For the blogs of previous classes, see the category “Teaching” to the right.
Humanities
The Seventieth Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Other Links
Nuclear and Environmental
Thomas Powers, “Was It Right?”
Jonah Walters, “A Guide to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Attacks.”
Colin Wilson, “The Slaughter of Hiroshima.”
The New York Times, “Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Revives Debate Over the Atomic Bomb.”
Christian Appy, “The Indefensible Hiroshima Revisionism that Haunts America to This Day.”
Rebecca J. Rosen, “Rare Photo of the Mushroom Cloud Over Hiroshima Discovered in a Former Japanese Elementary School.”
Paul Ham, “The Bureaucrats Who Singled Out Hiroshima for Destruction.”
August 2015 Links
Nuclear and Environment
Margaret Atwood, “It’s Not Climate Change–It’s Everything Change.”
Eric Schlosser, “Why Hiroshima Matters Now More than Ever.”
Ian Buruma, review of Nagasaki: Life after Nuclear War, by Susan Southard.
James Barron, “A Manhattan Project Veteran Had a Unique View of Atomic Bomb Work.”
Lydia Millet, “Save the Elephant.”
Heather Murphy, “Comparing Two ‘Blue Marble’ Photos of Earth.”
July 2015 Links
In addition to the release of The Rocking Chair by Blue Sketch Press on 1 August 2015, and “Poetics of Control,” my recent review of Alexander R. Galloway’s The Interface Effect (2012), I’ve completed a number of exciting projects over the last three months, so be on the lookout for a couple essays, another review, an interview, and more poems in 2015 and 2016. For now, however, some links have been piling up over this historic month.
US Politics
Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide.”
David M. Perry, “A New Right Grounded in the Long History of Marriage.”
Transcript: Obama delivers eulogy for Charleston pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney.
Claudia Rankine, “‘The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning.'”
Emma Green, “Black Churches Are Burning Again in America.”
The Editorial Board of The New York Times, “Take Down the Confederate Flag, Symbol of Hatred.”
Poetics of Control
I just wrote a review of Alexander R. Galloway’s The Interface Effect (Malden, MA: Polity, 2012) for The b2 Review. Check it out.
More June 2015 Links
Environmental, Nuclear, and Disaster
Stephanie Kirchgaessner and John Hooper, “Pope Francis Warns of Destruction of Earth’s Ecosystem in Leaked Encyclical.”
Andrew Hoberek, “The Post-Apocalyptic Present.”
Matt Langione, “Will Art Save Our Descendants from Nuclear Waste?”
Tim McDonnell, “Here’s Why Obama Is Cracking Down on Airplane Pollution.”
Eric Markowitz, “Poison Prison: Is Toxic Dust Sickening Inmates Locked Up in Coal Country?”
Christopher Daley, “On Nuclear Criticism.”
Margaret DeMarco, “Details of Malmstrom Missile Officer’s Court-Martial.”
June 2015 Links
National Security State
Edward J. Snowden, “The World Says No to Surveillance.”
The Guardian, “View on Surveillance after Snowden: An Outlaw Rewrites the Law.”
David Cole, “Reining in the NSA.”
Dan Froomkin, “USA Freedom Act: Small Step for Post-Snowden Reform, Giant Leap for Congress.”
Don Franzen interviews Erwin Chemerinsky, “The Legal Legacy of Citizen Four.”
Anne Richardson, “That Fine Line Between Hero and Traitor: What Can We Learn from the Snowden Disclosures?” review of After Snowden: Privacy, Secrecy and Security in the Information Age, edited by Ronald Goldfarb.
Glenn Greenwald, “Did Max Boot and Commentary Magazine Lie About Edward Snowden? You Decide.”
David Dayen, “The Scariest Trade Deal Nobody’s Talking About Just Suffered a Big Leak.”
Bryan Magers, “The War in Africa the US Military Won’t Admit It’s Fighting.”
Parts of the Patriot Act Expire and Other Links
National Security State
Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman, “Key Parts of Patriot Act Expire Temporarily as Senate Moves Toward Limits on Spying.”
Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman, “Senate to Take Up Spy Bill as Parts of Patriot Act Expire.”
James Ball, “End of Patriot Act Restrictions Is a Win But Vigilance Is Needed to Make It Real.”
May Links
It’s been a busy month, and a there’s a bunch of stuff to catch up on, so links:
Disaster and Environment
David Roberts, “The Awful Truth about Climate Change No One Wants to Admit.”
Sarah Resnick, “A Note on the Long Tomorrow.”
Phil Plait, “Jovian Armageddon +20.”
Jamie Lauren Keiles, “Millennial Revenge Fantasy.”
“Texas Governor Signs Law to Prohibit Local Fracking Bans.”
Maureen McHugh, David Rieff, Benjamin Kunkel, Joseph McElroy, Srikanth Reddy, and Ted Nelson: “Speculations Archive: Overextending Ourselves.”
Many April Links: Catching Up
Another semester is coming to a close, and I finally have a chance to sit down and sort through the backlog of links that have been piling up over the past few months. So, with no further ado, links.
Nuclear, Environment, Ruins
Thomas Erdbrink, “Iran’s Leaders Fall Into Line Behind Nuclear Accord.”
William J. Broad, “Hydrogen Bomb Physicist’s Book Runs Afoul of Energy Department.”
John R. Bolton, “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran.” Um, no.
Douglas Birch and R. Jeffrey Smith, “South African Nuclear Cache Unnerves US.”
“South Africa Rebuffs US Attempts to Take Over Its Nuclear Material.”
Jon Greenberg, “The Odd Reality of Iran’s Centrifuges: Enough for a Bomb, Not Power.”
Charlie Jane Anders, “Nanotech Could Make Nuclear Bombs Much, Much Tinier.”
Andreas Malm, “The Anthropocene Myth.”
99% Invisible, “Ten Thousand Years.”
The Hyperarchival Parallax 