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lĭnggwə frăngkə n. “A mixed jargon formed as a medium of intercourse between people speaking different languages.”
The Trump administration’s siege has obsoleted technocratic liberalism and radical progressivism. Our cultural and scientific institutions are breaking like branches snapped from a dead tree. What comes next? Can a renewed critical engagement with history, literature, philosophy, religion, and social science spur the imagination of a humane future? What new constellations of knowledge and belief can emerge from the broken alliance of the federal government, corporations, and universities?
Uncovering the root of such questions requires long-range perspectives and deep-context, wide-angled lenses. We take some inspiration for our initiative from the original Lingua Franca magazine, which stirred to life in 1990. “The Review of Academic Life” covered the theory wars of the postmodern academy. An advertising recession, triggered by 9/11, ended the magazine’s distinguished run. Although we claim no direct descent, much less resurrection, we seek to emulate that magazine’s freedom from punditry, credentialed jargon, and polemical jeering, and, above all, its respect for the history-making power of ideas.
Our first batch of posts assesses the work and careers of dissenting social scientists such as David Graeber and C. Wright Mills. We parse the radical conservatism of T.S. Eliot and present a series about science, medicine, stigma, education in parenting a child with autism. That series reflects some personal preoccupations. It also illustrates our major theme—thinking through radical uncertainties. If you can guess the remainder of any of our posts from their first paragraphs, we haven’t met our standard.
Are you adventurous, unafraid, and undogmatic? Willing to change your mind? Curious to explore the cultural origins of the current crisis? Join us by subscribing for free and making a pledge. With your vote of confidence, we will add contributors, expand our coverage, and increase our frequency.
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