Richard JF Day
Encyclopedia
Richard J. F. Day is a Canadian
political philosopher and sociologist. He is the undergraduate chair and professor in the department of global development at Queen's University
in Kingston
, Ontario
, Canada
He was previously associate professor of sociology
. He considers himself to be critically involved with the broader question of the articulation of social subjects with group identities such as those offered up by nations, states, and corporations. He is particularly interested in the possibilities for radical social change via the construction of alternative communities and polities especially in situations of indigenous resistance, queer and feminist organizing and anti-globalisation activism.
was a study of ethnic identity and state regulation in Canada since the arrival of the Europeans. It used Lacan
ian and Foucault
ian theory to analyze and critique the Canadian discourse
on 'ethnic and racial diversity' as a public problem requiring rational-bureaucratic solutions. It was subsequently published as Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity.
In his book Gramsci is Dead, published in 2005, Day attacked the notion of hegemony and demonstrated its wide-ranging influence on activist movements internationally. He decries the hegemony of hegemony which he argues characterizes the left. The central premise of the hegemony of hegemony is "the assumption that effective social change can only be achieved simultaneously and en masse, across an entire national or supranational space". He proposed an alternative model, finding its roots in the anarchist thought of German philosopher Gustav Landauer
, which was based on the concept of affinity. Day uses the theory of affinity to explain the Newest Social Movements which he observes emerging as alternatives to the now old social movements (unions, political parties, etc.) and New Social Movements
. He argues that the newest social movements are different from previous movements because they are using "non-universalizing, non-hierarchical, non-coercive relationships based on mutual aid and shared ethical commitments" to achieve changes.
Day's current research focuses on relations of solidarity between dominant and marginalized identities, both between specific articulations of these (anarcha-feminism
and anarcha-indigenism , for example) and between these two categories. He is also interested in the possibilities of the creation of a sustainable network of Permanent Autonomous Zones within, but against the dominant order.
He is also a co-founder of an online journal: Affinities: A Journal of Radical Theory, Culture, and Action. http://affinitiesjournal.org/index.php/affinities
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
political philosopher and sociologist. He is the undergraduate chair and professor in the department of global development at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
He was previously associate professor of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. He considers himself to be critically involved with the broader question of the articulation of social subjects with group identities such as those offered up by nations, states, and corporations. He is particularly interested in the possibilities for radical social change via the construction of alternative communities and polities especially in situations of indigenous resistance, queer and feminist organizing and anti-globalisation activism.
Theoretical contributions
Richard Day's thesis which he prepared at Simon Fraser UniversitySimon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
was a study of ethnic identity and state regulation in Canada since the arrival of the Europeans. It used Lacan
Lacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
ian and Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
ian theory to analyze and critique the Canadian discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
on 'ethnic and racial diversity' as a public problem requiring rational-bureaucratic solutions. It was subsequently published as Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity.
In his book Gramsci is Dead, published in 2005, Day attacked the notion of hegemony and demonstrated its wide-ranging influence on activist movements internationally. He decries the hegemony of hegemony which he argues characterizes the left. The central premise of the hegemony of hegemony is "the assumption that effective social change can only be achieved simultaneously and en masse, across an entire national or supranational space". He proposed an alternative model, finding its roots in the anarchist thought of German philosopher Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer was one of the leading theorists on anarchism in Germany in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of communist anarchism and an avowed pacifist. Landauer is also known for his study and translations of William Shakespeare's works into German...
, which was based on the concept of affinity. Day uses the theory of affinity to explain the Newest Social Movements which he observes emerging as alternatives to the now old social movements (unions, political parties, etc.) and New Social Movements
New social movements
The term new social movements is a theory of social movements that attempts to explain the plethora of new movements that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s which are claimed to depart significantly from the conventional social movement paradigm.There are two...
. He argues that the newest social movements are different from previous movements because they are using "non-universalizing, non-hierarchical, non-coercive relationships based on mutual aid and shared ethical commitments" to achieve changes.
Day's current research focuses on relations of solidarity between dominant and marginalized identities, both between specific articulations of these (anarcha-feminism
Anarcha-feminism
Anarcha-feminism combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary hierarchy. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state...
and anarcha-indigenism , for example) and between these two categories. He is also interested in the possibilities of the creation of a sustainable network of Permanent Autonomous Zones within, but against the dominant order.
He is also a co-founder of an online journal: Affinities: A Journal of Radical Theory, Culture, and Action. http://affinitiesjournal.org/index.php/affinities
Publications
- "More than Straw Figures in Straw Houses: Toward a Revaluation of Critical Realism's Conception of Post-structuralist Theory, " in Jon Frauley and Frank Pearce (eds.), Critical Realism and the Social Sciences: Heterodox Elaborations (pp. 117–141). Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 2007.
- "Anarchist and Indigenous Solidarity at the Six Nations Barricade," in New Socialist Magazine, Issue 58, 2006. http://newsocialist.org/newsite/index.php?id=1018
- "Setting up Shop in Nullity: Protest Aesthetics and the New 'Situationism'," in Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies, April 2007 v. 29 n. 2, pp. 239–260.
- Utopian Pedagogy: Radical Experiments Against Neoliberal Globalization. with Mark Coté and Grieg de Peuter. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2007. ISBN 0802086756.
- Gramsci is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements. London, Pluto Press, 2005. ISBN 0745321135.
- "From hegemony to affinity," in Cultural Studies, September 2004 v. 18 n. 5, pp. 716–748.
- "Anarchism, Indigenism, and Anti-Globalization in North American Social Movements," in DeriveApprodi, November 2003 (Italian translation), 2003.
- "Can there be a postcolonial multiculturalism? A response to Ian Angus," in International Journal of Canadian Studies, Summer 2003.
- "BC Land Claims, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the Specter of Aboriginal Nationhood," with T. Sadik, in BC Studies, Summer 2002.
- "Who is this ‘we’ that gives the gift? Native American political theory and 'the Western tradition,'" in Critical Horizons v. 2 n. 2, The Ashworth Centre for Social Theory, University of Melbourne, Australia, pp. 173-201, 2001
- "Ethics, Affinity, and the Coming Communities,” in Philosophy and Social Criticism, 27:1, pp. 21–38, 2001.
- "The University as Anarcho-Community,” in I. Angus (ed) Anarcho-modernism: Essays in Honour of Jerry Zaslove, Vancouver: Talonbooks, pp. 333–340, 2001.
- Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2000. ISBN 0919301614
- "Constructing the Official Canadian: A Genealogy of the Mosaic Metaphor in State Policy Discourse," in Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, no. 2, pp. 42–66, 1998.
External links
- Richard Day at the Queen's University website