If America Fails?

Read “Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs,” by David Ikard

@JaniceOCG #LovableRacists by @blkeducator & @UChicagoPress resonates in today’s battles over CRT. Dr. David H. Ikard is live on Thurs., Jan. 13 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on TWN’s YouTube page, for discussion on democracy in The Handmaid’s Tale & threats in current American culture.

Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs by David Ikard was published in 2017, yet holds such resonance today. With battles playing out in schools across the country over teaching CRT and actual history, one wonders:

What white supremacist narratives are being told that might be dislodged if schools were free to #TeachTheTruth?

What’s at stake in the curricula we teach our children?

What’s a good strategy for adults who have been nurtured on lies, half-truths, and distortions of fact, for gaining a more accurate view of reality?

You know the drill…help us craft questions for the good doctor! — LMO P.S. The University of Chicago Press is the publisher and I LOVE that they describe themselves on Twitter as a “Distinguished publisher of scholarly books and journals. Refining minds since 1891!” We are living with the consequences today of the minds they didn’t reach! 🙂

WATCH Dr. David H. Ikard, Professor and Chair, African-American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University– LIVE – Thursday, January 13, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when he joins the PREMIERE of “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on democracy as seen in The Handmaid’s Tale and threats to America’s system.

“In this incredibly timely book, David Ikard dismantles popular white supremacist tropes, which effectively devalue black life and trivialize black oppression. Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs investigates the tenacity and cultural capital of white redemption narratives in literature and popular media from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to The Help…” — Publisher

“Professor Ikard is Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies. His research and teaching interests include African American Literature, black feminist criticism, hip hop culture, black masculinity and whiteness studies. He is the author/co-author of four books, including Breaking The Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism (2007), Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama’s Post-Racial America (2012), co-authored with Martell Teasley and winner of the Best Scholarly Book Award by DISA in 2013, Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in 21st-Century America (2013), and Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs (2017). His essays have appeared in African American Review, MELUS, Palimpsest, African and Black Diaspora Journal, The Journal of Black Studies, and Obsidian III.” — Vanderbilt University

David Ikard also has a passion for creating Black art. Inspired largely by the motherland – Africa – and using acrylics, oils, wood, cloth, and archival paper for mixed media, Ikard focuses on creating images that have “something to do with black folks, social justice, self-determination, nature, and the rawness of our collective humanity.” You may see his artwork online at the Ikard Gallery. — If America Fails: The Coming Tyranny, a TruthWorks Network Production

CONTACT US “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny” for access to the Zoom chatroom—L. Michelle Odom, Senior Producer
LMOdom@OurCommonGround.com or TWN@TruthWorksNetwork.com
Watch Thursdays, 8 pm ET, January 13 to April 7, 2022, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube Channel. All Are Welcome!

READ | Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes, and White Messiahs | by David Ikard | University of Chicago Press | 10/19/2017

Watch “Nation-Building & Birth Control in Modern China” by TIR

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Birth control practices in modern China is real-life handmaid’s tale. See THIS IS REVOLUTION podcast @TIRShowOakland by @probert06 & @LaFinAbsolute w/@s_mellors. Watch Thursdays, 8 pm ET, 1/13 – 4/7/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”

This was an intriguing conversation, from the perspective of how reproduction is managed in The Handmaid’s Tale. Practices of enslavers included controlling the reproductive capacities of Black women in the early history of the U.S. In our modern-day, access to birth control and abortions, as well as forced sterilizations and prenatal care/infant mortality rates, reveal the hand of the state in efforts to control when and how often women give birth. So the control of women’s bodies depicted in the fictional Handmaid’s Tale may look outrageously extreme, but actual practices show the real capacity of state and economic power to exert control over the timing and frequency of childbirth. For examples of what this looks like on the other side of the world, the linked episode of THIS IS REVOLUTION considers birth control in modern China and its intersection with the desires of the state. — LMO

“In 1982 China’s population crossed the one-billion-mark, only three years after the promulgation of its famous, or in some quarters infamous, ‘One Child Policy’, a policy that was only abolished in 2015. That China’s ruling communist party might be concerned with questions of overpopulation in the world’s most populous country seems to make intuitive sense. However, such a perspective is perhaps over simplistic as it obscures the complex history of birth control in modern China. For instance, upon assuming control of China in 1949, the initial stance of the Communist Party was one that favored high fertility rates. What factors have shaped both the attitudes of the Chinese state and Chinese society towards the issue of birth control? How have policies and attitudes change[d] regarding this issue since the Communist Party assumed power? And what have been the implications for gender relations in the world’s most populous nation? We ask these questions and more, This is Revolution.

“About Dr. Mellors Rodriguez…Sarah Mellors Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of East Asian History at Missouri State University. Her forthcoming book (Cambridge University Press, 2022) examines birth control and abortion in China from the early twentieth century to the present.” — THIS IS REVOLUTION

WATCH | Birth Control in Modern China: Examining the One Child Policy w/Sarah Mellors Rodriguez | THIS IS REVOLUTION podcast | 10/14/2021

Follow Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Twitter or Instagram

@JaniceOCG Learn more on threats to democracy by following @ruthbenghiat on Twitter or Instagram. Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is live on Thurs., Feb. 10 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TWN YouTube page for discussion on race & ethnicity in The Handmaid’s Tale & relationship to current challenges to democracy.

Follow @ruthbenghiat on Twitter or Instagram, where the “expert on fascism, authoritarianism, war, propaganda, and Donald Trump” regularly posts about threats to democracy. — LMO

WATCH Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of Italian and History, New York University | Arts & Sciences– LIVE – Thursday, February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when she joins “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on Race & Ethnicity evoked by The Handmaid’s Tale and modern American culture.

“Any society can be susceptible to strongman figures if it’s the right time,” says Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, is a historian, educator and commentator “on fascism, authoritarian leaders, and propaganda — and the threats these present to democracies. As author or editor of [seven] books, with over 100 op-eds and essays in CNN, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, she brings historical perspective to her analyses of current events. Her insight into the authoritarian playbook has made her an expert source for television, radio, podcasts, and online events around the globe,” according to her website. Her most recent publication in Strongmen: Mussolini To The Present (2020).

Dr. Ben-Ghiat also maintains a blog on Substack – Lucid – where she writes and chats about current threats to democracy in America and abroad, and interviews other prominent voices in this arena. She is a historical consultant for film and television productions; a big fan of electronic music; and a yoga practitioner. “Ruth Ben-Ghiat… specializes in male menace. What interests her is the manufactured drama of world-historical strongmen—their mannerisms, speech patterns, stagecraft, and mythomania,” wrote Jon Blitzer of The New Yorker. Follow her Twitter feed @ruthbenghiat. — If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny

FOLLOW | Ruth Ben-Ghiat on Twitter or Instagram | by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

View Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s CV & Profile at NYU

@JaniceOCG See the CV of @ruthbenghiat at NYU. Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is live on Thurs., Feb. 10 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TWN YouTube channel, for our discussion on race & ethnicity in The Handmaid’s Tale & relationship to current challenges to democracy.

Learn more about IAF #DemocracyDefender Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat by viewing her CV and profile at New York University.

“Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a historian and cultural critic. The recipient of Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other fellowships, she’s an expert on fascism, authoritarianism, war, propaganda, and Donald Trump. She writes frequently for the media on those topics and has provided podcast and on-camera political commentary for Sky News, Slate, Salon, KCRW, Democracy Now!, Al-Jazeera, and other outlets.” — NYU We’re excited about meeting Dr. Ben-Ghiat soon. — LMO

“Any society can be susceptible to strongman figures if it’s the right time,” says Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

SEE Guest Bio | Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s CV & Profile at NYU | New York University

“And God Said, Billy! – A Novel,” by Frank Schaeffer

@JaniceOCG And God Said, Billy! by @Frank_Schaeffer & @OutskirtsPress about a fundamentalist making a soft-porn movie in apartheid-era SA, is reviewed as LOL funny. Schaeffer is live Thurs., Jan. 27 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on TWN YouTube channel, for discussion on gender issues.

And God Said, Billy! is a 2013 novel by Frank Schaeffer. I haven’t read it, but it’s reviewed as being LOL funny. It also sounds like it draws on Schaeffer’s actual experience making movies. FYI. — LMO

WATCH Mr. Frank Schaeffer, Artist, Filmmaker & Author, Fall in Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy – LIVE – Thursday, January 27, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when he joins “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on Gender in The Handmaid’s Tale and American culture.

“’Billy!’ is a darkly comic coming-of-age story written by the master story teller that House of Sand and Fog author Andre Dubus III hailed as the funniest American writer since Mark Twain. The story is set in the 1980s and is about Billy, a young fundamentalist Christian who feels called to go to Hollywood to make ‘God’s movie.’ But everything goes off the rails when he accepts a job to direct a soft-porn slasher/exploitation film in apartheid-era South Africa. He makes this ‘It’s a deal not a movie’ picture even though he has to bust the US entertainment industry’s anti-apartheid sanctions in hopes his ‘worldly movie’ will be ‘used by God’ as a ‘stepping stone’ to making his own divinely sanctioned ‘End Times’ picture. In the process Billy loses his fundamentalist faith, his film career, his family and more…” — Publisher

“I love this novel. And God Said ‘Billy!’ is laugh-out loud funny from page one. It’s downright insightful throughout and takes readers deep into the shallow psyche of a sincere Charismatic-Evangelical whose God fails him. That failure turns out, through a hilarious series of tragic-comic reversals, to be – let’s just say something close to miraculous.” — Brian D. McLaren

“It is one thing to suggest, in a literary way, what an authentic spiritual seeker should be wary of and free from. It is quite another thing to articulate, in a convincing and persuasive manner, to a generation of skeptics and new atheists, why the spiritual quest is worth the doing.” — Ron Dart Department of Political Science, Philosophy and Religious Studies at University of the Fraser Valley BC

“And God Said, ‘Billy!’ is honest, very funny and very serious. It’s sure to rankle those who believe that being human means being certain.” — Kevin Miller director of Hellbound?

“Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as ‘pretty terrible.’ He is also an acclaimed author of fiction and nonfiction and an artist with a loyal following of international collectors who own many of his paintings.

“Frank has been a frequent guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on NBC, has appeared on Oprah, been interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and appeared on the Today Show, BBC News and many other media outlets. He is a much sought after speaker and has lectured at a wide range of venues from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Hammer Museum/UCLA, Princeton University, Riverside Church Cathedral, DePaul University and the Kansas City Public Library.” — FrankSchaeffer.com

SEE | And God Said, Billy! – A Novel | by Frank Schaeffer | Outskirts Press (September 4, 2013)

Read “The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage” by Jared Yates Sexton

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @HandmaidsOnHulu #ThePeopleAreGoingToRiseLikeTheWatersUponYourShore by @jysexton & #CounterPointPress documents 2016 election & democracy’s sicknesses. Prof. Jared Yates Sexton is live on Thurs., Jan. 13 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, for our discussion on democracy in The Handmaid’s Tale & threats in current American culture.

The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage (2017) is the first non-fiction book published by Jared Yates Sexton – and it covers the 2016 Presidential Election and “sicknesses that plague our democracy,” wrote the publisher. Now I want to ask Sexton:

Given the divisions of racism, misogyny, violence, fake news, deep-rooted political polarization, and self-constructed echo chambers you document in The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore, what do you see as a path out of this mess, if any?

Since we are still living with the presence of Donald Trump and consequences of the 2016 Presidential Election, when do you predict “the people” will let go of this madness and come to their senses – or is that too wild an expectation?

What startled you inside the fascist world you witnessed during the campaign – and what, if anything, did you find reasonable?

Prof. Jared Sexton brings an intimate knowledge of this world that has come so thoroughly to dominate the news cycle. Let’s pick his brain about what we’re seeing and how we might achieve a more psychologically healthy environment. Your questions? — LMO

WATCH Prof. Jared Yates Sexton, Associate Professor, Writing and Linguistics, Georgia Southern University-Statesboro – LIVE – Thursday, January 13, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when he joins the PREMIERE of “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on democracy as seen in The Handmaid’s Tale and threats to America’s system.

“The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore is a firsthand account of the events that shaped the 2016 Presidential Election and the cultural forces that powered Donald Trump past Hillary Clinton and into the White House. Featuring in-the-field reports as well as deep analysis, Sexton’s book is not just the story of the most unexpected and divisive election in modern political history. It is a sobering chronicle of the sicknesses that plague our democracy―a divided nation drowning in racism, misogyny, violence, fake news, and deep-rooted political polarization as a result of our self-constructed, technologically-assisted echo chambers. Like the works of Hunter S. Thompson and Norman Mailer―books that have paved the way for important narratives that shape how we perceive not only the politics of our time but also our way of life―The People Are Going to Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore is an authoritative depiction of a country struggling to make sense of itself…An instant classic.” — Publisher

Jared Yates Sexton is the author of three nonfiction books – The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage, The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Making, and American Rule: How A Nation Conquered the World But Failed Its People – as well as four works of fiction. He co-hosts The Muckrake Political Podcast with Nick Hauselnan, has a newsletter on Substack, live streams from YouTube, and is Associate Professor of Writing and Linguistics at Georgia Southern University-Statesboro. Sexton has gone undercover into the fascist world and documented the 2016 Presidential Election, gaining himself a national profile after a tweet on the campaign went viral. His political writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, and Salon.com, and he is a strong voice warning Americans on threats to democracy. He is now working on a new book. — If America Fails: The Coming Tyranny, a TruthWorks Network Production

See “Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation,” by Cynthia Baron, Diane Carson, and Mark Bernard

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG #AppetitesAndAnxieties by #CynthiaAnnBaron leads us to ask: How is food represented in @HandmaidsOnHulu & what does it suggest to us about the culture being created in Gilead? Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron is live on Thurs., Jan. 20 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, for our discussion on cults, cultures & religion in The Handmaid’s Tale & other films.

Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron published Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation in 2014, and uses this space to consider “how films do and do not represent food procurement, preparation, presentation, consumption, clean-up, and disposal,” according to the publisher. Her experience with this topic makes me want to add to our conversation on cults, cultures and religions, this question:

How is food represented in The Handmaid’s Tale, and what does it suggest to us about the culture being created in the world of Gilead?

Does this title bring up any questions for you? — LMO

WATCH Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron, Associate Professor, Theatre and Film, Bowling Green State University – LIVE – Thursday, January 20, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when she joins “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on Cults, Cultures and Religions in The Handmaid’s Tale, modern American culture and film.

“Cinema is a mosaic of memorable food scenes. Detectives drink alone. Gangsters talk with their mouths full. Families around the world argue at dinner. Food documentaries challenge popular consumption-centered visions. In Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation, authors Cynthia Baron, Diane Carson, and Mark Bernard use a foodways paradigm, drawn from the fields of folklore and cultural anthropology, to illuminate film’s cultural and material politics. In looking at how films do and do not represent food procurement, preparation, presentation, consumption, clean-up, and disposal, the authors bring the pleasures, dangers, and implications of consumption to center stage.

“In nine chapters, Baron, Carson, and Bernard consider food in fiction films and documentaries-from both American and international cinema. The first chapter examines film practice from the foodways perspective, supplying a foundation for the collection of case studies that follow. Chapter 2 takes a political economy approach as it examines the food industry and the film industry’s policies that determine representations of food in film. In chapter 3, the authors explore food and food interactions as a means for creating community in Bagdad Café, while in chapter 4 they take a close look at 301/302, in which food is used to mount social critique. Chapter 5 focuses on cannibal films, showing how the foodways paradigm unlocks the implications of films that dramatize one of society’s greatest food taboos. In chapter 6, the authors demonstrate ways that insights generated by the foodways lens can enrich genre and auteur studies. Chapter 7 considers documentaries about food and water resources, while chapter 8 examines food documentaries that slip through the cracks of film censorship by going into exhibition without an MPAA rating. Finally, in chapter 9, the authors study films from several national cinemas to explore the intersection of food, gender, and ethnicity.

“Four appendices provide insights from a food stylist, a selected filmography of fiction films and a filmography of documentaries that feature foodways components, and a list of selected works in food and cultural studies. Scholars of film studies and food studies will enjoy the thought-provoking analysis of Appetites and Anxieties.” — Publisher

Dr. Cynthia Ann Baron is an Associate Professor in Theatre and Film at Bowling Green State University, where she researches and teaches; authors scholarly books and articles on subjects related to the discipline; and provides keynote speeches and other presentations at conferences both domestically and internationally. Her research and teaching interests include American Independent Cinema; Screenwriting; Taste Formation; Censorship; Food Studies; Women’s Cinema; and Actor Training, Stardom, and Screen Performance, among other subjects. She has taught courses on intersections between the film-media industry, national security, and cultural moments such as the Cold War and the Vietnam era. Some other courses Dr. Baron teaches are American Independent Cinema; Hollywood, Censorship, and American Culture; and Performance and Theatre in the Americas.

Most recently, she published Acting Indie: Industry, Aesthetics, and Performance (with Yannis Tzioumakis), (2020), which illustrates the many ways that actors contribute to American independent cinema and analyzes industrial developments; Modern Acting: The Lost Chapter of American Film and Theatre (2016), which, in part, highlights women’s key contributions to American film and theatre; and Denzel Washington (2015) where Baron traces the star’s persona and impact on mainstream society. Current book projects include: Recasting (White) Genres: Race, Ethnicity, and Performance in Contemporary Film and Television; Intersecting Aesthetics: Literary Adaptations and Cinematic Representations of Blackness, with co-editor Charlene Regester; and Imprisonment: Representation in Global Film and Media, with co-editor Karen Ritzenhoff. She is co-chair of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Caucus on Class and has participated in events such as the Rethinking Realist Acting Conference in New York, and the Acting in Film Conference in Potsdam. — If America Fails: The Coming Tyranny, a TruthWorks Network Production

READ | Appetites and Anxieties: Food, Film, and the Politics of Representation | by Cynthia Baron, Diane Carson, and Mark Bernard | (Wayne State University Press, 2014)

Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat Joins 2/10/22, 8 pm ET Webcast of “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny”

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @AtwoodSociety Strongman expert @ruthbenghiat brings her expertise to chat on race matters & @HandmaidsOnHulu. You’re invited! Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is live on Thurs., Feb. 10 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, for our discussion on race & ethnicity in The Handmaid’s Tale & relationship to current challenges to democracy. #DemocracyMatters

Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of Italian and History, New York University | Arts & Sciences, will join “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny” – Lessons from The Handmaid’s Tale, on Thursday, February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET, we are pleased to announce. This evening we delve into Race & Ethnicity – how these characteristics are depicted in the TV show, and the role they have played in the agenda of strongmen.

Dr. Ben-Ghiat has taken a deep-dive into the world of authoritarian rulers, and most recently published Strongmen: Mussolini To The Present (2020). So you can begin to see why we are so very pleased to have this opportunity to speak with her, as we consider how race and ethnicity are being used (and could be used in the future) in current efforts in the U.S. to destroy democracy as we’ve come to know it. Certainly we will share more on her work in the weeks to come – but now’s a great time for you to begin crafting questions to help us shape our conversation with the professor, expert on authoritarianism, and leading #DemocracyDefender – Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat. — LMO

“Any society can be susceptible to strongman figures if it’s the right time,” says Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff Will Join the 2/10/22, 8 pm ET Episode of “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny”

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @AtwoodSociety Returning to chat w/IAF is @Ritzenhoffk, an @HandmaidsOnHulu expert. You’re invited! Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff is live on Thurs., Feb. 10 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, for our discussion on race & ethnicity in The Handmaid’s Tale & role of film representations in culture. #DemocracyMatters

In an encore appearance, an expert analyst on The Handmaid’s Tale – Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff, Professor, Department of Communication, Central Connecticut State University – returns to chat with “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny” – and we’re so excited! Dr. Ritzenhoff joins the Thursday, February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET, panel. Our focus that evening is race & ethnicity.

Dr. Ritzenhoff has edited many books in her scholarly career, but we are especially interested in the role she played in producing The Handmaid’s Tale: Teaching Dystopia, Feminism, and Resistance Across Disciplines and Borders (2019). This volumes features 23 chapters that discuss Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fiction and its TV and Film adaptations to model strategies and social issues of concern; and includes contributions by 16 academics affiliated with CCSU. It is the 2019 Winner of the Margaret Atwood Society Award for Best Anthology.

She was with “If America Fails?” for our sneak peek on October 14, 2021, and what a pleasure it was for us to be in conversation with someone with such personal experience, and knowledge and insight about The Handmaid’s Tale. You can see video of that event here.

A more recent and another intriguing book Dr. Ritzenhoff published is Afrofuturism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity, and the Re-Making of Blackness (2021) edited with Renée T. White. We’ll share more about her works in the weeks to come. In the meantime, please help us welcome this staunch #DemocracyDefender, Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff, to “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.” — LMO

WATCH Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff, Professor, Department of Communication, Central Connecticut State University – LIVE – Thursday, February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET, on theTruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when she joins “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on Race & Ethnicity evoked by The Handmaid’s Tale and modern American culture.

Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff is a Professor in the Department of Communication at Central Connecticut State University, where she teaches courses on women and film, the history of film, documentary production, and several related subjects. She has co-edited many books related to film, including, most saliently, The Handmaid’s Tale: Teaching Dystopia, Feminism, and Resistance Across Disciplines and Borders (with Janis L. Goldie), (2019) which features 23 chapters that discuss Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fiction and its TV and Film adaptations to model strategies and social issues of concern; and includes contributions by 16 academics affiliated with CCSU. The Handmaid’s Tale: Teaching Dystopia also won the 2019 Margaret Atwood Society Award for Best Anthology. Most recently, she published Afrofuturism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity, and the Re-Making of Blackness, (with Renée T. White), (2021), including essays by 20 contributors. Afrofuturism offers multiple perspectives on a cultural phenomenon through an interdisciplinary and intersectional analysis of Black Panther, and discusses the importance of superheroes and their importance to Black fans. Dr. Ritzenhoff also co-chairs the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, Cinema Studies Program, the Honors Program and the SCMS Special Interest Group on “War and Media Studies.” Professor Ritzenhoff earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, and in her private life, has discovered a passion for painting in oil, acrylics and water color, recently completing her first show. You may find her CV at CCSU, follow @Ritzenhoffk, see her many publications online, or visit her online gallery – Zenfolio. — If America Fails: The Coming Tyranny, a TruthWorks Network Production

MARK YOUR CALENDAR | February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET | Guest Panelist Dr. Karen A. Ritzenhoff, Professor, Department of Communication, Central Connecticut State University | If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny | TruthWorks Network

Read “‘January 6 Was Practice.’ The Atlantic Publishes Special Issue on American Democracy in Crisis,” by Barton Gellman

@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @TheAtlantic Jan/Feb issue is keeper on threats to American democracy, w/cover article by @bartongellman – ‘January 6 Was Practice.’ Watch Thurs., 8 pm ET, 1/13 – 4/7/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”

The Atlantic has devoted “much of the journalism in its January/February 2022 issue to the real threat that American democracy faces in 2024.” Author of the cover story, Barton Gellman, wrote there is a “clear and present danger that American democracy will not withstand the destructive forces that are now converging upon it.” If you’re collecting stories on challenges to democracy, as we are, this issue is a keeper. — LMO

READ | ‘January 6 Was Practice.’ The Atlantic Publishes Special Issue on American Democracy in Crisis. | Cover Story by Barton Gellman | The Atlantic | 12/6/2021

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