Episode 32 — Dr. Cristina Beltrán Talks Latinx Politics, Charlie Kirk's Murder, and Building Anti-Supremacist Futures in Modern-Day America
Author and Associate Professor at New York University working in Latinx, race and gender, plus political theory, Dr. Cristina Beltrán joins host Chloe Aftel for a fascinating dive into modern America. Speaking on her upbringing, academic theories, and U.S. politics spanning the last forty years, Professor Beltrán breaks down myriad political/social concepts found within politics and, more broadly, the fabric of America. From the idea of layered colonialisms to Ezra Klein's The New York Times opinion piece on Charlie Kirk's murder, Beltrán and Aftel pick apart organizing tactics on the left and right, the politics of persuasion, and so-called logics of elimination. Find out what all of these topics entail and more in this new Other episode!
Highlights:
- Beltrán breaks down how the Latinx identity does not denote a specific race
- Implications and explanations of a modern-day zero-sum scarcity logic within the current U.S. landscape
- Aftel and Beltrán speak at length regarding Charlie Kirk's murder and immediate aftermath, from public reaction to media coverage of the incident
- Ongoing struggles of 'the logics of elimination' and what that means
- Discussion of and thinking seriously about alienating certain groups of people versus creation a broad anti-fascist opposition
- The right's policing of America's story and how the left needs to reframe their own narrative, too
- What are 'politics of persuasion' and how do we envision new and creative strategies around organizing the masses
Biographies:
https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/cristina-beltran.html, Ph.D., is a NYU Associate Professor and award-winning author as well as political theorist. Born to parents of Mexican descent, Beltrán grew up in Southern California and New Mexico, obtaining a Doctorate in Political Science from Rutgers University and B.A. in Politics from University of California at Santa Cruz. Select titles include her 2020 book, https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517911928/cruelty-as-citizenship/ and the upcoming Latinos and Other Uncertainties. Her books have won awards from the American Political Science Association and the Casa de Las Americas Literary Prize for the Best Book in Studies of Latinos in the United States.
https://www.chloeaftel.com has spent her career working in commercial photography, photojournalism, and film. She’s an established name in modern photography with work featured in The New York Times, Mother Jones, Playboy, Dazed & Confused, Vogue Germany, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, and more. Aftel has photographed victims of sexual violence, reported on COVID 19's impact on the trans community, and gained access as the first reporter in COVID wards of the West Coast’s hardest-hit hospitals. She has covered underground abortion providers, the impact of gender pronouns on daily life, and clergy abuse. Aftel's first book, https://www.chloeaftel.com/outside-inbetween, is an award-winning anthology covering gender non-conforming people across the United States.
