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Posts by: Ben Pitcher

Ben Pitcher is associate editor of darkmatter. His book, The Politics of Multiculturalism, is published by Palgrave Macmillan. He currently teaches sociology at the University of Westminster, UK.
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Abstaining for the BNP

by Ben Pitcher • 16 May 09

Here in Britain, the widespread scandal of MPs fiddling their expenses looks like it’s going to play a significant role in determining voter behaviour in the European and local government elections on June 4.


Obama and the Centrality of Race

by Ben Pitcher • 16 Nov 08

Apparently we all got carried away with Barack Obama. The excitement generated about race in the American election was, we are increasingly told, overblown. Sure, this was an important symbolic moment for black America, but our exhilaration now needs to…


Editorial: Racism in the Closet – Interrogating Postcolonial Sexuality

by Henriette Gunkel and Ben Pitcher • 2 May 08
Journal: Issues | Postcolonial Sexuality [3]

In September 2007, the liberal German daily newspaper Süddeutsche published an article entitled ‘Migrant kids against Gays’.[1] The article referred to the results of a study initiated by the German Lesbian and Gay Federation (LSVD), investigating attitudes among German students…


Q&A with Jasbir Puar

by Jasbir Puar, Ben Pitcher and Henriette Gunkel • 2 May 08
Journal: Interviews | Issues | Postcolonial Sexuality [3]

What is it about this particular historical moment that makes discourses of gay rights such an important resource for US/Western imperial projects? How do you account for the rapidity with which gay rights have been retrospectively mobilized as emblematic of Western freedoms?


The materiality of race theory

by Ben Pitcher • 23 Feb 08
Journal: Issues | Race/Matter [2]

In this article I want to think not about the materiality of race, but about the material dimensions of race theory. In particular, I want to consider as material the relationship between race theory and an anti-racist politics in contemporary…


Facebook & the BNP

by Ben Pitcher • 5 Aug 07

Before rehearsing those wonderfully myopic arguments about the internet as a space of unlimited freedoms beyond censorship, it’s worth bearing in mind the corporate nature of social networking sites like Facebook. Though you might not consider the ethics of corporate…


A Growing Acceptance of the BNP

by Ben Pitcher • 9 May 07

While it is a relief to us all that the British National Party failed to make significant gains in last Thursday’s local elections in England and Scotland, it’s disturbing to find a growing acceptance of the Party amongst political commentators. Often hedging…


Racism for anti-racism

by Ben Pitcher • 7 May 07
Journal: Celebrity Big Brother [1] | Issues

…people are fascinated, terrified and fascinated by this indifference of the Nothing-to-see, of the Nothing-to-say…

Such was the reckoning of Big Brother propounded in a late lecture by the freshly dead Jean Baudrillard. His words are familiar, his argument quite…


The Problem with White Trash

by Ben Pitcher • 12 Mar 07
Journal: Reviews | books

This is a review of Matt Wray (2006) Not Quite White: White Trash and the Boundaries of Whiteness, Duke University Press.

Coming to prominence over the last decade, the critical study of whiteness has proven a welcome addition to…