[Linganth] Talking Politics Roundtable: Afterlives of 'Left' and 'Right, ' Beyond Tankie

[SLA Online]

Talking Politics Roundtable“Afterlives of ‘Left’ and ‘Right’, Beyond Tankie”
Featuring Taras Fedirko, Jessica Greenberg, Sarah Muir, and Yukun Zeng |
Moderator: Yukun Zeng Friday, May 26, 2023 | 11:00 am Central (U.S.) | On
Zoom
<https://bit.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d422ccbea39a741b7e5cd13d7&id=47ccd2f555&e=d859389166>



*About the Roundtable*: What do “left” and “right” mean today? As words,
how are “left” and “right” used, and toward what political ends? How can we
think about politics beyond the leftright binary? And just what (or who) is
a “tankie”? In this roundtable, our experts share examples of how the
leftright paradigm has appeared during their research, and how it organizes
politics in different contexts around the world.

Panelists will deliver a series of short (510-minute) flash presentations
before a collective discussion and audience Q&A.

Flash Presentations

*Taras Fedirko*
If U.S. imperialism is the answer, what is the problem? Many left-wing
groups in NATO have focused on NATO expansion as the cause of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. By formulating the basis for their political response
in this way, they have presented their domestic political enemy as the
universal adversary for the left. I will discuss what the “cultural
imperialism” of the left reveals about the political legacy of U.S. global
hegemony precisely at the moment when this hegemony is declining.

*Jessica Greenberg*
How does the meaning of left and right change when political expression
circulates outside the social context it is intended to critique? I analyze
the Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv’s performance at the World Forum for
Democracy at the Council of Europe (France). The band’s leftist critique
relies on irony and parodic critiques of nationalism. Yet in the Council
context they are also read as an example of Balkan cultural difference.
Analyzing how left or right politics circulates in this case reveals what
institutions and actors have the power to define what ‘real’ democracy
looks like.

*Sarah Muir*
In Argentina, “left” and “right” do not play a significant role in
organizing politics. However, they are not simply absent. Where they do
appear is in reflexive analyses of politics, in which people ponder their
absence in political practice. This presentation explores the paradoxically
absent presence of “left” and “right” in Argentine political life.

*Yukun Zeng*
Originally used to describe Communist Party of Great Britain members who
defended Stalin’s use of tanks to repress uprisings in Hungary (1956) and
Czechoslovakia (1968), "tankie" continues to recur whenever "global"
leftists defend "leftist" states' repressions of their own people, from
ethnic minorities, Hong Kong, and social movements in China to the
Russia-Ukraine War and debates over leftist legacies and policy in
Venezuela. This presentation will consider the urgency of developing a new
political (meta)language to change not just how we talk or do politics, but
also how we talk about how we talk and do politics today.


*Moderated by **Yukun Zeng**, University of Chicago.*





*Join the Webinar*
<https://bit.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d422ccbea39a741b7e5cd13d7&id=7b5cd4bc86&e=d859389166>



This virtual series is free and open to the public. Events will be followed
by a live Q&A session where you can ask questions and engage in dialogue
with the speakers.

*All events in the Talking Politics 2023 series will use the same Zoom link*.
Check out the full schedule on the *Talking Politics 2023 website*
<https://bit.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d422ccbea39a741b7e5cd13d7&id=0799294659&e=d859389166>
and
use the button or link below to join the event on May 26:

*Zoom link*: *bit.ly/TP2023webinar*
<https://bit.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d422ccbea39a741b7e5cd13d7&id=8c895b4e1c&e=d859389166>
*Passcode*: 494955

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*Society for Linguistic Anthropology Online*
Digital Media Directors: Catherine Tebaldi (Universite du Luxembourg),
Shannon Ward (University of British Columbia Okanagan)
SLA Social Media Manager: Nora Tyeklar (University of Texas at Austin)
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