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What is The Conjuncture?

Think of a cultural phenomenon — a song, a film, a social media trend, a mass movement, a personal experience — any phenomenon. Now, imagine this phenomenon lies at an intersection; an intersection of multiple axes — of politics, economics, history, philosophy, sociology, psychology — and many more. It is this intersection that we understand as the conjuncture; the existence of a phenomenon amidst the social forces that shape it.


What is conjunctural analysis?

We understand conjunctural analysis as thinking through a particular situated phenomenon, about its intersection with a wider range of discourses, institutions, and epistemes in a specific historical, political, social context. Such an analysis will also illuminate the unequal power relations between these forces, that are always in contestation, both with each other and the phenomenon.


What is our aim?

We aim to facilitate a space for multimodal dialogue about cultural phenomena. Cultural Studies theorist Stuart Hall points out that each phenomenon is embedded with cultural codes, which often go unnoticed due to the saturation of ideology in our daily lives. We are particularly interested in unpacking these codes, noticing the unnoticed, questioning what has become common sense, and challenging what has been taken for granted in the world we live in.





THIS PC IS IN POWER SAVING MODE

SUBMISSION by Perla Kantarjian“With the ancestral, almost seraphic brass
incense censer he brings out on the days he feels sentimental, he draws a gentle cross atop my head. “Asdvadz hedet ella bab,” he says softly. May god be with you when you leave. Which leaving is he speaking of?” (Read More)

THIS WORLD: NO EYES, ALL EYES

SUBMISSION by Perla Kantarjian “you see, in Armenian, when someone looks at you too much, your friend will say: ge tchapveyirgor—
you were being measured” (Read More)

“CITIZEN SCIENCE”/”SCIENCE CITIZEN” AT THE TABLE: DEAD GRAMMARS AND A CITATIONAL LESSON

SUBMISSION by Anna Nguyen“This idea is in direct contrast to the abstraction of an autonomous science as a mythical global force where it freely travels. After all, science precedes the scientist. The noun (science) becomes an actor, the actor (the scientist) becomes passive. Discovery and its magic are underscored, obscuring colonialism or what the anthropologist Shiv Visvanathan calls genocide or political vivisection” (Read More)

EMILY IN PARIS AND TOXIC WORK CULTURE IN AMERICA

SUBMISSION by Amanda ReCupido“Capitalism demands an endless cycle of products and purchasing. Destruction in order to make and sell you something, whether you need it or not, whether it’s good for our Earth or not. Exponential growth is unsustainable.” (Read More)