In the Ruins of the Present: Neoliberalism and Cruel Populism Suffocate the Future

On May 5, 2017, the Center for Emerging Worlds at UC Santa Cruz hosted world renowned journalist Vijay Prashad to deliver a lecture about populism at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.

The event was described as followed:

Vijay Prashad is a charismatic speaker and writer who helps his audience find their political and ethical coordinates in a rapidly changing world. His accessible, jargon-free prose and clearly articulated ideas shed light on the workings of economic policy, race, and imperialism that shapes the lives of many people. He makes the obscure, fathomable and emphasizes the urgency of people’s engagement with ideas, institutions, and politics to bring about progressive transformation in the world. Many will also appreciate his commitment to optimism and refusal to be pessimistic despite the Ruins of the Present.

The event was sponsored by the Center for Emerging Worlds, Institute for Humanities Research, the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Department of History, Community Studies Program, the Feminist Studies Department, the Politics Department, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Science and Justice Research Center, Oakes College, Stevenson College, Porter College, and Crown College. Photos by Melissa De Witte.