I am going to be on
a panel with Professor Robbert Flick of the Roski School of Fine
Arts and Victoria Schwartz from History for the The College
Commons next week. We will be discussing “Humans In Transit.” I
should have referred the organizers to Professor Krieger, but alas,
I am now on the hook. I will be discussing the tensions inherent in
public and mass transit as both a potential emancipatory public
space, and yet a space of violent conflict between states and
citizenry.
So if you’d like to come and protect me from the smart humanists,
here are the details:
February 22, 2011
THE INFRASTRUCTURAL HUMAN
The Infrastructural Human: In Transit
2 – 4 p.m.
Doheny Memorial Library 240
To secure your spot please RSVP to: tcc@college.usc.edu
Walk-Ins welcome
Part II of the Infrastructural Series
As individuals and as collectives, humans are deeply reliant on
technological systems, or infrastructures, that serve to feed us,
salve our thirst, carry away our waste, keep us warm, and connect
us with others. The development and extension of these systems, in
turn, is fundamental both to individual experience and to the
capacity for collective action. Strangely, these complex, extensive
and fragile infrastructures of living typically do not enter into
discussions among humanists, social scientists and natural
scientists about the nature of the human, about our ethics and our
politics. This event will seek to address this gap, focusing on how
our systems of transportation — whether by air, land or sea — shape
us as individuals and as members of a collectivity.
Panel discussion:
Robbert Flick (Roski School of Fine Arts, USC)
Vanessa Schwartz (Department of History, USC)
Lisa Schweitzer (USC School of Policy, Planning and Development)