Rec | DON’T ONLY READ CLASSICAL THEORY BY DEAD WHITE DUDES

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one that changed the way I viewed humanity- explained with features of psychology- The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon it puts perspective onto so many global phenomena that are difficult to really wrap your head around (establish some self-serving cause and effect idea lol)

don’t only read classical theory by dead white dudes

i see you are reading machiavelli and i expect others can/will recommend you other classical political theory so i will recommend a mix of things that are not! those works can be useful but definitely should be read alongside a variety of other voices and perspectives books: - A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn - solid history book that intentionally avoids the nationalist lens in mainstream depictions of US history - Our History Has Always Been Contraband ed. by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor - great intro to Black social & political thought and the history of Black Studies - Normal Life by Dean Spade - very dense, a critique of the gay rights movement by a trans lawyer - Mutual Aid by Dean Spade & The Care Manifesto by The Care Collective - accessible, short books that criticize contemporary social services and div of labor in care work - Elite Capture by Olúfémi O Táíwò - critique of identity politics - Transgender History by Susan Stryker - very accessible book on the history of trans politics and culture - The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Du Bois - foundational text for critical race theory a few books on my tbr list i see freq recommended that you may find useful: - A People’s Guide to Capitalism by Hadas Thier - more accessible than Marx etc - Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Davis, Gina Dent et al. - the overlap of feminism and prison abolition - The Case for Open Borders by John Washington - self-explanatory - An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - self-explanatory - The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan - of its time but foundational 2nd wave feminist text - The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein - self-explanatory - Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick - criticism of progressive left-wing politics inability to be consistent on Palestine some other misc media: - Democracy Now news station/podcast - far better than most mainstream media IMO - 5-4 podcast - fun, accessible critical analyses of supreme court cases - Southlake podcast - case study on modern right-wing school board politics in the US - Amended podcast (i have not finished yet) - more nuanced history of women’s fight for equality - The 1619 Project essay collection - uses a critical lens to analyze American historical figures and events - Working Class History & Making Gay History podcasts - self-explanatory - 13th documentary dir. by Ava DuVernay - looks at the US prison system and the central role of racism in its construction/maintenance - Crip Camp documentary dir by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnhan - follows part of the disability rights movement

@marxinista

Jun 17, 2024

@elodiem

Mar 17, 2025

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wretched of the earth by frantz fanon

colonialism, imperialism, etc... makes u take a good hard look at yourself and the true circumstances that led to your existence and lifestyle - amazing intro by my favorite white boy jean paul sartre as well

@gia

Aug 3, 2024

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frantz fanon

currently reading black skin, white masks which looks at the violence of the coloniser in the production of Blackness. as well as the violence of the colonised in rejecting their Blackness to approach proximity to whiteness. it explores all this in a sort of auto ethnographical way. and even though it was written in the context of the 50s afro francophone perspective, it’s still so incredibly important! it‘s also a good starting point for afro pessimistic theory.