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World Cup 2010

World Cup 2010
In this dossier, a series of football enthusiasts (who also happen to be social and cultural critics), offer their reflections upon the meaning and significance of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Commentators include Jennifer Doyle, Sean Jacobs, Nikhil Singh, Andrew Ross, Patrick Bond, Kwame Nyong'o, Ron Krabill, Mark Sawyer, Paul Silverstein, Karam Singh, Imani Perry and Eli Jelly-Schapiro.

Edited by Nikhil Singh.

Image: Moses Mabhida Stadium Fans, Brazil vs Portugal Game, June 25th, 2010.

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Cruising Utopia

Cruising Utopia
In this dossier, colleagues offer critical appreciations of long-standing Social Text collective member José Esteban Muñoz's recent book, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. Read responses from Lauren Berlant, Barbara Browning, Gayatri Gopinath, and Ricardo Ortiz. Muñoz responds to his responses, and performance art legend Vaginal Davis contributes an original illustration inspired by Cruising Utopia.
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After Copenhagen

After Copenhagen
Climate change is on every politician's lips, and every marketer is "going green." But is significant action in the cards? Periscope begins a series of articles that think beyond the impasse of Copenhagen.
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Ayiti Kraze / Haiti in Fragments

Ayiti Kraze / Haiti in Fragments
For some, Haiti is the "poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere," a "failed state," long on the brink of collapse. For others, Haiti is a beacon of freedom, evidence of the only successful slave revolt in modern history. This forum brings together scholars from different fields of study, and different parts of the world, for a conversation about ways to think about challenges that Haiti has faced since independence, challenges that have been international in scope since this sovereign nation's sudden and unexpected debut on the world stage. Thus besides considering Haiti's vexed political history and pressing social problems, we are concerned with the way prevailing forms of diplomatic recognition and patterns of international exchange have served to worsen, rather than improve, social institutions and their capacity to serve the people of Haiti.

The title of this forum "Ayiti kraze" stems from a Kreyol expression that often surfaces in moments when political institutions splinter apart (as when Jean-Bertrand Arisitide was ousted in 1991 during a coup détat). But, the idea of Haiti in fragments also suits this effort to piece together critical insights concerning this tragic predicament. The catastrophic events of January 12, 2010 have already transformed the way many researchers relate to their work. Scholars who typically take years to develop articles and books have organized symposia and published essays in a matter of days -- this forum is but one example. We hope this critical practice will endure long after Haiti is re-built. -- Michael Ralph, dossier editor

Contributors:

Sibylle Fischer; Laurent Dubois; Ferentz Lafargue; Michael Dash; Greg Beckett; Alex Dupuy; Karen Richman; Meg Satterthwaite; Millery Polyné; Gina Ulysse; Fabienne Doucet; and Chelsey Kivland.

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Periscope in Retrospect

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