Randall Amster
Randall Amster, J.D., Ph.D., is co-director and teaching professor of environmental studies at Georgetown University. His books include Peace Ecology (Routledge, 2015), Anarchism Today (Praeger, 2012), and Lost in Space: The Criminalization, Globalization, and Urban Ecology of Homelessness (LFB Scholarly, 2008).
Articles by this author
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Views Tuesday, March 31, 2020 Holding Our Breath, Together and Apart Are you (un)settling in to this brave new reality yet? Beyond hopeful signs of unity, there’s a looming sense that we’ve only just glimpsed how bad things might get in this pandemic crisis. The adjustments in many of our lives to totalized online sociality ( quarantinis , anyone?), teleworking (if... Read more |
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Views Saturday, March 21, 2020 Solidarity in a Time of Social Distancing As we move deeper into the unmapped realms brought forth by this inconceivable viral crisis, it can be helpful to consider lessons from other disaster situations for guidance. While nothing before precisely matches this moment, we might at least derive some solace from the fact that people have... Read more |
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Views Sunday, March 15, 2020 The New Abnormal This is a moment, to be sure. There aren’t many of this magnitude over the course of a lifetime, and the effects can linger for decades after the immediate emergency passes. Whatever shape the trajectory of the coronavirus takes in the weeks ahead, the sociocultural implications alone are... Read more |
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Views Saturday, February 01, 2020 Trump and Subservient GOP Expose Failure of American Exceptionalism The impeachment trial was never going to produce a conviction, of course, but it could have at least served to shore up even a few of the nominal pillars of democracy yet intact. Decades of erosion by chief executives, packed courts, congressional (in)action, and general malfeasance have weakened... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, January 01, 2020 For 2020 and Beyond: 'Keep Hoping Machine Running' It was a racially charged era, fascism was in a resurgence, and people were fighting for political and economic justice at the grassroots. That was 1943, and on January 1st of that year a great American troubadour, Woody Guthrie, handwrote (and doodled) a list of " New Years Rulin's " that serve as... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, December 25, 2019 The Gift of Perspective Among the many wonders of the digital age is the ability to zoom in or zoom out with the push of a button. Whether used on a camera, video screen, or a magnifying app, this quality of jumping scale is critical for a multitude of purposes, but probably underappreciated when compared to functions... Read more |
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Views Friday, December 20, 2019 Dread and Circuses: Powerful Forces Diverting Attention From Imperative Measures Through Crass Distractions As our ongoing political reality show unfolds in real time, a sickening feeling sinks in that all is not well in America. This has been the case for a while now, but the spectacle of parochial politics, impeachment machinations, and unvarnished authoritarianism at the top levels raises the ante to... Read more |
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Views Monday, November 04, 2019 Dear Fossil Fuels: It’s Over We know that this has been a difficult period for you, and there’s never really a good time to break up. But it’ll be better for you (and us) if we just rip off the bandage quickly and get it over with. We’ve had some fun times together, and we’re grateful for what you’ve given us: food, clothing,... Read more |
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Views Saturday, September 21, 2019 Youth Trumps Fossils This is a moment. Perhaps it’s not the moment—since there have been others before it and more will surely follow—but it’s certainly a moment that will help determine the future of life on this planet. Yes, people have marched before and initiated strikes of all sorts, and in particular around... Read more |
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Views Monday, February 19, 2018 Young America Nearly a century ago, Mohandas Gandhi started a new publication to share his vision of nonviolent organizing, filling it with inspiring quotations and political insights. He titled the journal Young India, to indicate that its teachings were intended to help the people plan for eventual... Read more |