Articles with tag: political aesthetics

Grotesque, Absurdity, Cuteness

On the Intertwining of Argumentative Frames, Aesthetics, and Emotions in the Polish 'War on Abortion'

Over recent decades, right-wing parties and populist movements in Poland and other European countries have effectively framed their agendas around the Catholic Church, presenting themselves as defenders of “traditional” values and a “natural” social order. This strategy has produced a populist blend of anti-feminist, anti-progressive, and anti-abortion rhetoric and symbolism.

Designing Disappearance

On the Cultural and Affective Histories of Waste

“The gesture of throwing away is the first and indispensable condition of being,” notes Italo Calvino in his essay on the Paris garbage bin, written during his stay in the city from 1970 to 1974. Beginning with reflections on his relationship to garbage, Calvino delves into various aspects of his existence, presenting the ritual of taking out his trash not as a mundane task but…