News/Research

Commons Conversation Revisited: Ronak K. Kapadia

12 Dec, 2019

Commons Conversation Revisited: Ronak K. Kapadia

On November 11th, BCNM welcomed Ronak K. Kapadia to host a Commons Conversation titled “Insurgent Aesthetics: Flight, Freedom, and Fantasy on the Frontiers of US Empire.” An Associated Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Kapadia spoke about Insurgent Aesthetics, his paper on American militarism and its effects in the Middle East.

During the talk, Kapadia explored the idea of American uses of many growing military tactics abroad, focusing on the necessity of using a “queer, feminist, anti-colonial, and indigneous” lens of thinking. Additionally, he made comparisons with London-based Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour’s visual work such as “A Space Exodus.” Using Sansour’s work to supplement the discussion, Kapadia drew connections between the use of new military technologies from both the US and Israel; both countries similarly worked to push native peoples out of their homelands and are now developing their fighting tactics, using space technologies, cybersecurity, and so on to accomplish their goals of global control. Toward the end of the conversation, Kapadia opened the room for discussion and discourse with the audience, emphasizing the importance of touching on the greater Arab, Muslim, and South Asian disapora and on using a queer point of view.

2019 Commons Conversation: Ronak Kapadia