Tatenda Mashanda

What does it mean to claim power is "legally limited" when those in power also shape the law? Do real limits require rules they cannot easily rewrite?

The Circulation of Rhetoric from Stall Walls to Social Feeds: Notes from the Analog Underground There is something profoundly democratic about a bathroom stall. No velvet rope, no blue check, no institutional imprimatur—not even a username. Just a flat surface, a stylus, and the uncorked bile of...

DRC Blog Carnival 23: Digital Circulation in Rhetoric and Writing Studies has begun!

The inaugural post, "The Circulation of Rhetoric from Stall Walls to Social Feeds: Notes from the Analog Underground" is from Jonathan Marine.

www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2025/06/09/t...

Technocreep | KPFA Many new and emerging smart technologies are characterized as creepy. What’s the basis for these claims, and how should we respond to them? Neda Atanasoski and Nassim Parvin consider creepy technologi...

What makes smart tech creepy?

Professor Neda Atanasoski, chair of @wgss-umd.bsky.social, recently joined KPFA's "Against the Grain" to unpack surveillance, ethics and the politics of "technocreep."

To be honest I haven’t thought of an alternative-suitable term. But the irritation has been to great to ignore

I dream of writing.
I want to write.
I need to write.
I should be writing.
I must write.
I can write.
I shall write.
I will write.
Writing must happen.
Writing will be done.

I am increasingly uncomfortable using the term Global South. The label flattens the complexity of cultures, histories, politics, & lived experiences of billions of people into a single, overly broad category. While there are shared struggles & moments of solidarity, the term is simply too imprecise.

“Zimbabwe did attain political power at the end of a national liberation struggle. But there was no liberation in terms of transforming state institutions to serve the interests of the black majority or in empowering that majority politically, economically, socially and culturally.” -Wilfred Mhanda

“My contention therefore is that post-liberation solidarity should not be based on common historical circumstances, but rather on the fulfilment of the objectives of empowerment and liberation. Anything to the contrary reduces a liberation struggle to a mere contest for power.” -Wilfred Mhanda

Zimbabwe can be such a paradox sometimes. Even the loudest comrades preaching decolonial, anti-Western rhetoric are often the first to line up, grinning ear to ear for European political rituals. The contradictions are wild.

Zero Poverty Society: Ensuring a Decent Income for All Abstract. This book is about preventing poverty. The notion that every person living amidst the relative affluence of the rich world has a right to a minim

We look V much forward to @ivemarx.bsky.social presenting (digitally) his new book *Zero Poverty Society* academic.oup.com/book/56424 to our @welmigntnu.bsky.social research group @ NTNU this Friday 14.00-15.00 CET. DM/email @robertoiacono.org if you wish to attend digitally. #minimumincome #poverty

Monday's Great Read The Nordic system. Why it reduces inequality

Over at the blog I go through a great new working paper on the Nordic system of labor market institutions.

Why the low inequality in these countries? According to Mogstad et al., it's mostly the market power. Very cool article.

asocial.substack.com/p/mondays-gr...

Comrade Pope, you were one of the good ones. Rest easy. The poor and oppressed will not forget your unwavering commitment. In a chaotic world, your voice stood firm against populism, neoliberalism, and injustice.

I just returned from an archival trip & brought back hundreds of photos. I'm hoping to find a better way to organize them. Have you used any tools or platforms that help with sorting, tagging, or managing this kind of material? I’d really appreciate hearing what’s worked for you.

Every time I return to the archives, it feels like the number of withdrawal sheets in the folders has multiplied. It’s disheartening.

“When the clown moves into the palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace instead becomes a circus.”

I get the feeling that far too many people have somehow forgotten that the Nazis were really, really bad, both for Germany and for the world. Last group you’d want to rehabilitate.

The draft program for #SHAFR2025 is available on the conference website! www.shafr.org/shafr2025

Amid Changes at the National Archives, the Carter Library Cancels a Civil Rights Book Event After President Trump put in new leadership at the National Archives, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta abruptly canceled several events.

The Carter Presidential Library canceled three book events, including for Elaine Weiss's Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement. 😖
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/a...

Announcement overlay on an image of the JFK Library, stating it will reopen to the public on Wednesday, February 19.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum will reopen on Wednesday February 19.

YouTube video by What Now? with Trevor Noah RIP… D.E.I. with Ruha Benjamin | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

This is absolutely brilliant! Listen to Trevor Noah interview Ruha Benjamin and how she unpacks DEI and its fallout.

Becoming a Member of the History Subject Panel for REF2029: A Guide This informal discussion brings together those interested in joining the History subject panel for REF2029 with members of previous panels.

On Friday 7 March, we're hosting an online event for those considering applying to join the History subject panel for REF2029. This event will bring together former panel members and those interested in applying bit.ly/3QeQlVI

Open to all: those working in fields other than #History are welcome 1/2

Sam Nujoma sleep well son of the soil.

It’s no surprise that apartheid advocates & white Afrikaners are cast as a persecuted minority despite being South Africa’s most economically privileged group. This follows a familiar pattern—just as U.S. conservatives once rallied behind Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

What IR Theory Predicts About Trump 2.0 An academic assessment of the U.S. president’s foreign-policy revolution.

Shooting at a moving target, but here’s what some IR theories say about Trump’s latest antics. Latest FP column: foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/03/i...

Festa in onore del dio serpente. Giovanni Antonio.

19th-century engraving depicting a festival in honour of Dangbe, the serpent-deity of Ouidah (Benin)

tomorrow's Patreon article is on the spread of African religions

Black joy is resistance

ESSAY | Courtroom Politics: How Lawyer-Politicians Are Helping Stall Zimbabwe’s Progress - newZWire The prominence of lawyers in Zimbabwean political spheres replaces substantive action with hollow courtroom theatre, writes Tatenda Mashanda

My latest article on Zimbabwe’s Lawyer-Politicians. newzwire.live/essay-courtr...