Articles by Robert Jensen
“Methodism to My Madness”: A “Podcast from the Prairie” Conversation with Wes Jackson
Resilience.org · March, 2022
An edited transcript of Episode 4 of “Podcast from the Prairie.” https://podcastfromtheprairie.com/
Take Nobody’s Word for It: A Conversation with Wes Jackson
Los Angeles Review of Books · February, 2022
An edited transcript of Episode 3 of “Podcast from the Prairie.” https://podcastfromtheprairie.com/
Interview: 10 Questions for Radical Feminist Robert Jensen
Counter-Currents · February, 2022
A Practical Radical Politics
Counterpunch · February, 2022
In this essay I want to present a case for a practical radical politics—holding onto radical analyses while making decisions based on our best reading of the threats and opportunities in the moment. This requires consistency in analysis (which is always a good thing) while being wary of dogmatism in strategy (which is almost always a bad thing).
My plan is to articulate the values on which my worldview is based; identify the hierarchical systems within the human family that undermine those values; and describe the history of the ecological break between the human family and the larger living world. From the analytical, I will offer thoughts on coping with the specific political moment of 2022 in the United States and with long-term global ecological realities. I have no grand strategy to propose, but instead will try to face my fears about the tenuous nature of life today politically and the even more tenuous nature of what lies ahead ecologically.
Working for what is possible requires commitment. Recognizing what is not possible requires humility. All of it requires us to embrace the anguish that is inevitable if we face the future without illusions.
Critiquing Transgender Theology: A review of Janice Raymond’s Doublethink
Lesbian and Gay News; Feminist Current · January, 2022
My review of Janice Raymond’s book, Doublethink: A Feminist Challenge to Transgenderism.
Intellectual Grounding: A Conversation with Wes Jackson
Front Porch Republic · January, 2022
An edited transcript of Episode 1 of “Podcast from the Prairie.” https://podcastfromtheprairie.com/
What Do Men Tell Us about Pornography? What Does Pornography Tell Us about Men?
Dissident Voice · December, 2021
A version of this essay was presented to the Engage Conference: Masculinity, Patriarchy, Feminism on November 19, 2021.]
Defining racism: Individuals and institutions, systems and structures
ABC Religion & Ethics · December, 2021
The expanded public space for conversation about racial justice in recent years has not always led to greater precision in how we use words. More clarity in definitions of systemic, structural, and institutional racism would help sharpen analysis and guide policy choices. This essay offers one way to make sense of individual versus institutional forms of white supremacy while distinguishing between systemic and structural factors. In addition to critiquing the dominant culture, I also point to failures of analysis on the left. My goal is to go beyond jargon and dogma that fosters in-group solidarity, in the hopes of contributing to a truly intersectional analysis.
Pornography: Doing the Worst to Women, Bringing out the Worst in Men
Countercurrents · November, 2021
This is an expanded version of testimony delivered to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, November 2, 2021.
Instituting Liberty: Contested, Changing, Conflicted Definitions
Common Dreams · September, 2021
Reasonable people can disagree, and a university should be a place where those disagreements are celebrated. That would be a good starting point for a Liberty Institute.
“A Certain Terror”: A White Male Perspective on Being an Ally
Merion West · September, 2021
A version of this essay was presented to an online Diversity & Inclusion gathering on August 12, 2021.
Can we learn from history?
Common Dreams; Counterpunch · September, 2021
Looking back at dissenters’ reaction to 9-11.