Rage and Resilience 3rd meeting

CGS will be holding our 3rd reading group on the topic of rage as power.

In times of uncertainty, marked by ongoing violence and the hateful rhetoric of world leaders, many of us feel powerless, afraid, and angry. But how can we channel that anger? In this reading group, we will explore works that examine anger as a source of power and resilience.

For our third meeting, we will read, Douglas Crimp's "Mourning and Militancy" (1989). In this essay, Crimp examines the tension between grief and activism during the AIDS crisis, arguing that they were both intertwined and contradictory. Using a Freudian lens, he explores how mourning was complicated by personal loss, societal stigma, and the fear of one’s own mortality, while activism functioned as both a response to and an escape from grief. Crimp critiques the expectation that grief must be directly converted into political action, emphasizing the necessity of mourning in a world where normality was never an option.

We will provide copies of the text in both English and Japanese. (Translated into Japanese by Naoto Sasada) If you would like to read it in advance, both versions are available through open sources. Please email us for the links.

Who can attend: This event is open to all ICU students

Dates：
1/23 (Thursday lunchtime) 12:40-13:50—  (My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix: Performing Transgender Rage)

1/30 (Thursday lunchtime) 12:40-13:50—(I want a President)
2/6 (Thursday lunchtime) 12:40-13:50— (Mourning and Militancy)
2/13 (Thursday lunchtime) 12:40-13:50 —Reading TBC

Language: English and Japanese

Venue: CGS (ERB 301)

Coordinators: Anna Tatton (CGS RIA) and Fumina Hamasaki (CGS Assistant Professor by Special Appointment).

We're looking forward to meeting/seeing you there!

Inquiry: cgs@icu.ac.jp