In Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation, six students worked together to explore how art and culture act as avenues for and sources of resistance and resilience. Art and culture present myriad of forms of resilience and resistance to oppression, in these pages: from music and dance to independent media to community-based cultural exchange.
In Butoh: the Intercultural Embodiment of Opposition, Lorena Macias examines Butoh, a Japanese dance form created out of the turmoil of the post-World War II period. Macias writes about this dance as a form of social examination and resistance, and traces the expansion of Butoh across the globe.
In Hip Hop, BRUJAS, and Urban Feminism, Lizzie Merrick looks at artistic and cultural expressions of urban, POC-led feminism. Using case studies of Princess Nokia, an artist/performer, and BRUJAS, a skate collective, Merrick discusses the way in which femmes of color in urban centers resist patriarchy, white supremacy, and gentrification.
In Anti-Authoritarian Traditions: Activism and Media, Zach Yandrich looks at music, across all genres, as a vehicle for revolution and a form of resistance to capitalism, colonialism, and authoritarian regimes. Yandrich also explores revolutionary themes in popular animated movies, and looks at current organizations and movements that uphold anti-authoritarianism.
In Muslim Watch: A Media Analysis Under Trump, Zak Soeria-Atmadja discusses the Islamophobia industry in the U.S. past and present. Soeria-Atmadja examines how Muslims in the United States resist the depiction of Islam as a monolithic religion by creating their own media, whether as podcasts, websites, or blogs.
Finally, in The Anti-Contra Movement and Transnational Solidarity, Natasha Higbee looks at how communities in the U.S. and Nicaragua worked together to oppose the Contra (counterrrevolutionary) terrorism that the U.S. government sanctioned against the Nicaraguan people.