“Kowalska sees these ‘counter-sites’ as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat Generation writers, scenes such as nocturnal Times Square, the transient lives of migrant worker communities, port and border cities, or downtown rooming houses, can be understood as heterotopias in terms of their liminality, their difference from conformist society, and the sometimes idealised potential for freedom, expression, and experience they are portrayed as holding.”

https://library.hrmtc.com/2025/04/01/kowalska-sees-these-counter-sites-as-versions-however-imperfect-of-a-utopian-ideal-in-which-heterogeneity-is-valued-they-are-by-nature-non-hegemonic-and-in-the-modern-context-are-of/

#BeatGeneration #BeatLiterature #book #border #BritishIrishLiteraryCriticism #BritishIrishLiteratureFiction #byNature #canBeUnderstoodAs #ChrisKelso #cities #communities #conformistSociety #counterSites #deviance #differenceFrom #downtown #experience #Expression #Freedom #HalDuncan #heterogeneity #heterotopias #holding #howeverImperfect #idealisedPotential #inLiterature #inTermsOf #KowalskaS #liminality #migrantWorker #modernContext #nocturnal #nonHegemonic #often #port #portrayed #quote #roomingHouses #scenes #scotland #spaces #subculture #theSetting #theSubject #theWork #TimesSquare #transgressiveFiction #transientLives #utopianIdeal #valued #versions #WilliamSBurroughs19141997 #writers

"Kowalska sees these 'counter-sites' as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat Generation writers, scenes such as nocturnal Times Square, the transient lives of migrant worker communities, port and border cities, or downtown rooming houses, can be understood as heterotopias in terms of their liminality, their difference from conformist society, and the sometimes idealised potential for freedom, expression, and experience they are portrayed as holding." - The Hermetic Library Blog

Kowalska sees these ‘counter-sites’ as versions, however imperfect, of a utopian ideal in which heterogeneity is valued. “They are by nature non-hegemonic, and in the modern context are often the spaces of subculture or deviance; in literature, they are often the setting if not the subject of transgressive fiction. In the work of the Beat […]

The Hermetic Library Blog

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/13/cobalt_red_kara

#kleptocracy: the ore that these #children are digging that has #cobalt in it often has traces of #radioactive #uranium. So, the #publichealth #catastrophe on top of the #humanrights #violence on top of the #environmental #destruction is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the #moderncontext. And the fact that it is linked to #companies worth #trillions and that our lives depend on this #enormous #violence has to be dealt with.
#Modernity #electricalvehicles #KeelingCurve
#ObliviousConsumption

“Cobalt Red”: Smartphones & Electric Cars Rely on Toxic Mineral Mined in Congo by Children

The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces nearly three-quarters of the world’s cobalt, an essential component in rechargeable batteries powering laptops, smartphones and electric vehicles. But those who dig up the valuable mineral often work in horrific and dangerous conditions, says Siddharth Kara, an international expert on modern-day slavery and author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. In an in-depth interview, he says the major technology companies that rely on this cobalt from DRC to make their products are turning a blind eye to the human toll and falsely claiming their supply chains are free from abuse, including widespread child labor. “The public health catastrophe on top of the human rights violence on top of the environmental destruction is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the modern context,” says Kara. “The fact that it is linked to companies worth trillions and that our lives depend on this enormous violence has to be dealt with.”

Democracy Now!