Caleb Ward
@calebw.bsky.social
Social and political philosophy, feminism, social change
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde, forthcoming 2026
Postdoc at Uni Hamburg
Photo by Frank Ward, 1999
https://www.calebward.xyz/
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde, forthcoming 2026
Postdoc at Uni Hamburg
Photo by Frank Ward, 1999
https://www.calebward.xyz/
Pinned
"People aren't just hot for revolution because they eroticize change. People are hot for revolution because change is the condition of possibility for regaining agency over their sexual & erotic lives, which have been exploited & usurped by a hostile society."
I'm gonna finish this chapter today!
I'm gonna finish this chapter today!
Latest update: “Hot for Revolution” is going to the publisher today, which means I can post a preprint v. soon. It’s about how sexual passion can feed political agency in social movements
Happy 6-month "under review" anniversary to me and anyone else who thought submitting your article before the summer break would somehow mean it gets a decision in 2025 🫠
In those 6 months, a whole book and a freakin New Yorker article have come out on my topic. I wanna be part of this debate!
In those 6 months, a whole book and a freakin New Yorker article have come out on my topic. I wanna be part of this debate!
January 20, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Happy 6-month "under review" anniversary to me and anyone else who thought submitting your article before the summer break would somehow mean it gets a decision in 2025 🫠
In those 6 months, a whole book and a freakin New Yorker article have come out on my topic. I wanna be part of this debate!
In those 6 months, a whole book and a freakin New Yorker article have come out on my topic. I wanna be part of this debate!
So much love and solidarity to every person who has faced ICE in the past year (and before) and reached down inside yourself to be so brave and steadfast. Watching these videos, whew, my heart is so big. I wanna be like you when my time comes
January 17, 2026 at 6:51 PM
So much love and solidarity to every person who has faced ICE in the past year (and before) and reached down inside yourself to be so brave and steadfast. Watching these videos, whew, my heart is so big. I wanna be like you when my time comes
I keep thinking about this idea that writing is like a game of Marco Polo: I'm yelling “Marco!” out into the dark by laboring to get these words on the page, and hopefully someday there will be a reader out there who returns a “Polo!” by taking them up
January 17, 2026 at 3:09 PM
I keep thinking about this idea that writing is like a game of Marco Polo: I'm yelling “Marco!” out into the dark by laboring to get these words on the page, and hopefully someday there will be a reader out there who returns a “Polo!” by taking them up
Reposted by Caleb Ward
Boarding up the Overton Window to keep more zombie ideas from crawling through
January 16, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Boarding up the Overton Window to keep more zombie ideas from crawling through
“We have been taught that safety lies in passivity, but that's a crock, because if our silence was supposed to have brought us safety, why aren't we safe and rich and happy?”
Audre Lorde on the radio, 1979, but applies just as well to those preaching silence & passivity in 2026
Audre Lorde on the radio, 1979, but applies just as well to those preaching silence & passivity in 2026
January 16, 2026 at 11:22 AM
“We have been taught that safety lies in passivity, but that's a crock, because if our silence was supposed to have brought us safety, why aren't we safe and rich and happy?”
Audre Lorde on the radio, 1979, but applies just as well to those preaching silence & passivity in 2026
Audre Lorde on the radio, 1979, but applies just as well to those preaching silence & passivity in 2026
Reposted by Caleb Ward
Extraordinary feminist philosopher Vicky Spelman passed away last week... she wrote the 1988 classic Inessential Woman, which was an important salvo against the possibility of any "generic" category of woman.
Many of us have taught her work, and all of us should revisit it. She'll be missed.
Many of us have taught her work, and all of us should revisit it. She'll be missed.
Elizabeth Victoria Spelman - Daily Hampshire Gazette
Elizabeth Victoria SpelmanNorthampton, MA - Elizabeth Victoria SpelmanBorn April 3, 1945 – Died December 26, 2025Vicky Spelman passed away peacefully in her home in Northampton, Massach ...
gazettenet.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Extraordinary feminist philosopher Vicky Spelman passed away last week... she wrote the 1988 classic Inessential Woman, which was an important salvo against the possibility of any "generic" category of woman.
Many of us have taught her work, and all of us should revisit it. She'll be missed.
Many of us have taught her work, and all of us should revisit it. She'll be missed.
I finished the erotic chapter! Moving on to ch. 5 now on Lorde’s politics of difference and the crucial distinction between real differences and distortions of difference.
I’m fueled by alarm at US brownshirt fascism and urgency that we make use of Lorde’s tools to form coalitions to smash it 🌊
I’m fueled by alarm at US brownshirt fascism and urgency that we make use of Lorde’s tools to form coalitions to smash it 🌊
Yesterday I completely finalized the chapter on how, according to Audre Lorde, we gain knowledge from feelings. Today moving on to chapter 4, on the erotic as a source of knowledge and power 🧄
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
January 15, 2026 at 12:24 PM
I finished the erotic chapter! Moving on to ch. 5 now on Lorde’s politics of difference and the crucial distinction between real differences and distortions of difference.
I’m fueled by alarm at US brownshirt fascism and urgency that we make use of Lorde’s tools to form coalitions to smash it 🌊
I’m fueled by alarm at US brownshirt fascism and urgency that we make use of Lorde’s tools to form coalitions to smash it 🌊
In my experience, you have to set the standard from the beginning that the reason we're talking about philosophy is because it's a tool to help us understand our lives. This often means reappropriating old tools (a screwdriver can be used as a can opener, etc.)
ahh I love to hear of your teaching practices and ideas. I am realizing how difficult it is to realize beautiful teaching. phew.
January 15, 2026 at 10:06 AM
In my experience, you have to set the standard from the beginning that the reason we're talking about philosophy is because it's a tool to help us understand our lives. This often means reappropriating old tools (a screwdriver can be used as a can opener, etc.)
Reposted by Caleb Ward
Journal of the History of Philosophy Summer Seminar: ‘Early Modern Debates About Slavery’
Dates: June 14–19, 2026 Location: University of Massachusetts AmherstTopic: “Early Modern Debates About Slavery”Instructor: Julia Jorati (Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Course Description:…
Dates: June 14–19, 2026 Location: University of Massachusetts AmherstTopic: “Early Modern Debates About Slavery”Instructor: Julia Jorati (Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Course Description:…
Journal of the History of Philosophy Summer Seminar: ‘Early Modern Debates About Slavery’
Dates: June 14–19, 2026 Location: University of Massachusetts AmherstTopic: “Early Modern Debates About Slavery”Instructor: Julia Jorati (Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Course Description: In 17th and 18th-century Europe and America, there were intense debates about various aspects of slavery. These debates form a crucial but understudied part of the history of early modern philosophy. They contain discussions about many central philosophical questions and often approach these questions from surprisingly different angles—for instance, questions from moral and political philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and epistemology.
feministhistoryofphilosophy.wordpress.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Journal of the History of Philosophy Summer Seminar: ‘Early Modern Debates About Slavery’
Dates: June 14–19, 2026 Location: University of Massachusetts AmherstTopic: “Early Modern Debates About Slavery”Instructor: Julia Jorati (Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Course Description:…
Dates: June 14–19, 2026 Location: University of Massachusetts AmherstTopic: “Early Modern Debates About Slavery”Instructor: Julia Jorati (Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) Course Description:…
Get their extractivist asses, Indonesia
Indonesia vows action against laggards on forestry fines reut.rs/49ROnW1
Indonesia vows action against laggards on forestry fines
Indonesia's military-backed forestry task force has threatened legal action against dozens of plantation and mining companies refusing to pay hefty fines for operations in forest areas that authorities deem illegal.
reut.rs
January 15, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Get their extractivist asses, Indonesia
Got an amazing student email today, from my 2024 Intro to Practical Philosophy class at FU Berlin.
She said my feedback on her paper was “amazing to experience as a student.”
“The way you pay attention to details gave me so much joy that I decided I want to be a teacher like you in the future.”🥰
She said my feedback on her paper was “amazing to experience as a student.”
“The way you pay attention to details gave me so much joy that I decided I want to be a teacher like you in the future.”🥰
January 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Got an amazing student email today, from my 2024 Intro to Practical Philosophy class at FU Berlin.
She said my feedback on her paper was “amazing to experience as a student.”
“The way you pay attention to details gave me so much joy that I decided I want to be a teacher like you in the future.”🥰
She said my feedback on her paper was “amazing to experience as a student.”
“The way you pay attention to details gave me so much joy that I decided I want to be a teacher like you in the future.”🥰
This is why I love the morning train commute to Hamburg across the fields. A bevy of what looks like five roe deer enjoying the thaw
January 14, 2026 at 9:33 AM
This is why I love the morning train commute to Hamburg across the fields. A bevy of what looks like five roe deer enjoying the thaw
Look at this book! Wow! 👇👇
“The book examines the experiences of queer & trans displaced people across the world, asking how their lives & actions challenge the political theory of refuge.”
Tracing pathways across home, persecution, flight, assessment, containment, reunion, and sanctuary.
“The book examines the experiences of queer & trans displaced people across the world, asking how their lives & actions challenge the political theory of refuge.”
Tracing pathways across home, persecution, flight, assessment, containment, reunion, and sanctuary.
It's officially publication day for our book, The Way Out. Sam and I have worked on this since we first put our heads together in 2019, and it's fair to say that the context shifted under our feet as we were writing and thinking.
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-wa...
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-wa...
The Way Out by Rebecca Buxton, Samuel Ritholtz - Hardcover
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
www.ucpress.edu
January 14, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Look at this book! Wow! 👇👇
“The book examines the experiences of queer & trans displaced people across the world, asking how their lives & actions challenge the political theory of refuge.”
Tracing pathways across home, persecution, flight, assessment, containment, reunion, and sanctuary.
“The book examines the experiences of queer & trans displaced people across the world, asking how their lives & actions challenge the political theory of refuge.”
Tracing pathways across home, persecution, flight, assessment, containment, reunion, and sanctuary.
Audre Lorde said there's no working with ppl whose "American maleness overcomes or supersedes anything else, so that they relate to me, to the world, to children, to the fence, to a plant, to a tree 1st of all as an American male. There I find, by definition, a position of false power. Intolerable.”
I firmly believe that right wing Americans are best defined as believing in a hierarchy in which everyone has and knows their place and they think retail workers are a servant class.
January 13, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Audre Lorde said there's no working with ppl whose "American maleness overcomes or supersedes anything else, so that they relate to me, to the world, to children, to the fence, to a plant, to a tree 1st of all as an American male. There I find, by definition, a position of false power. Intolerable.”
Thinking about the pleasure of being served by others as the affective motivator of colonial extraction then and now, from the plantation to the massage parlor
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Thinking about the pleasure of being served by others as the affective motivator of colonial extraction then and now, from the plantation to the massage parlor
Lorde's erotic isn't just about joy. But by valorizing joy, Lorde takes a political position with respect not only to the value of women’s lives and women's labor but to specifically Black and queer joys, which are on all sides denied value and pathologized as excessive and deviant.
Yesterday I completely finalized the chapter on how, according to Audre Lorde, we gain knowledge from feelings. Today moving on to chapter 4, on the erotic as a source of knowledge and power 🧄
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
January 13, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Lorde's erotic isn't just about joy. But by valorizing joy, Lorde takes a political position with respect not only to the value of women’s lives and women's labor but to specifically Black and queer joys, which are on all sides denied value and pathologized as excessive and deviant.
Reposted by Caleb Ward
In 1985, a compilation of about 50 testimonies of (former and current) lesbian nuns was published. It has largely been forgotten, but in its day a shocking 150,000 copies were on the market, and it was published in 11 countries. Here is why you should read it now. 1/
January 13, 2026 at 11:06 AM
In 1985, a compilation of about 50 testimonies of (former and current) lesbian nuns was published. It has largely been forgotten, but in its day a shocking 150,000 copies were on the market, and it was published in 11 countries. Here is why you should read it now. 1/
Yesterday I completely finalized the chapter on how, according to Audre Lorde, we gain knowledge from feelings. Today moving on to chapter 4, on the erotic as a source of knowledge and power 🧄
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
January 13, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Yesterday I completely finalized the chapter on how, according to Audre Lorde, we gain knowledge from feelings. Today moving on to chapter 4, on the erotic as a source of knowledge and power 🧄
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
The Unflinching Philosophy of Audre Lorde is gonna get done done.
Reposted by Caleb Ward
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
one of the most effective weapons we have against fascism is mockery, especially when its really funny
It occurs to me all the yelling at ICE in MPLS isn't merely funny. Getting made fun of like this is awful for morale. ICE is losing field officers faster than it can wave them through training, and a big part of it is how little of this these little weasels can take.
January 12, 2026 at 5:54 PM
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
Rad fems in the 1970s nailed it diagnosing the “male protection racket” of patriarchy, though they might’ve been surprised to learn that whole government agencies would start doing it
I keep seeing people asking why the police aren't arresting ICE or protecting people from ICE and I desperately need you to understand that the police aren't protecting you from ICE because protecting YOU is not and never has been their function and that's why we need to defund them.
January 12, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Rad fems in the 1970s nailed it diagnosing the “male protection racket” of patriarchy, though they might’ve been surprised to learn that whole government agencies would start doing it
Reposted by Caleb Ward
TODAY! Mon. Jan. 12 ~ 2pm ET / 7pm UK
"#Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought"
Yann Allard-Tremblay with Leila Ben Abdallah to
discuss irreconcilable political options and argue that reconciliation must be transformative for both sides.
#Philosophy
www.tickettailor.com/events/theph...
"#Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought"
Yann Allard-Tremblay with Leila Ben Abdallah to
discuss irreconcilable political options and argue that reconciliation must be transformative for both sides.
#Philosophy
www.tickettailor.com/events/theph...
Select tickets – "Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought": Yann Allard-Tremblay in conversation with Leila Ben Abdallah – Zoom
"Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought": Yann Allard-Tremblay in conversation with Leila Ben Abdallah – Zoom, Mon 12 Jan 2026 - North American Indigenous and dominant Euro-modern political trad...
www.tickettailor.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:41 PM
TODAY! Mon. Jan. 12 ~ 2pm ET / 7pm UK
"#Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought"
Yann Allard-Tremblay with Leila Ben Abdallah to
discuss irreconcilable political options and argue that reconciliation must be transformative for both sides.
#Philosophy
www.tickettailor.com/events/theph...
"#Indigenous Redirections in Political Thought"
Yann Allard-Tremblay with Leila Ben Abdallah to
discuss irreconcilable political options and argue that reconciliation must be transformative for both sides.
#Philosophy
www.tickettailor.com/events/theph...
"Kicking ass should be only where an ass is protecting the System. Ass-kicking should be undertaken regardless of the sex, the ethnicity, or the charm of the oppressor's agent."
—Florynce Kennedy
(from the 1970 essay "Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female", which Lorde assigned her students)
—Florynce Kennedy
(from the 1970 essay "Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female", which Lorde assigned her students)
January 12, 2026 at 9:38 AM
"Kicking ass should be only where an ass is protecting the System. Ass-kicking should be undertaken regardless of the sex, the ethnicity, or the charm of the oppressor's agent."
—Florynce Kennedy
(from the 1970 essay "Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female", which Lorde assigned her students)
—Florynce Kennedy
(from the 1970 essay "Institutionalized Oppression vs. the Female", which Lorde assigned her students)
You know when there’s gonna be a ton of ICE agents out? Election Day. They’re gonna be threatening to pull people out of line at the polls.
We know it’s happening. Very thankful for all those organizing to oppose them.
We know it’s happening. Very thankful for all those organizing to oppose them.
January 12, 2026 at 5:38 AM
You know when there’s gonna be a ton of ICE agents out? Election Day. They’re gonna be threatening to pull people out of line at the polls.
We know it’s happening. Very thankful for all those organizing to oppose them.
We know it’s happening. Very thankful for all those organizing to oppose them.
Reposted by Caleb Ward
“'We Cannot Live Without Our Lives': Art-Activism and the Struggle for Black Women’s Lives in Boston, 1979" is now available online in @signsjournal.org. Honored to be able to share some thoughts on the poets and activists who inspire and sustain me.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
“We Cannot Live Without Our Lives”: Art-Activism and the Struggle for Black Women’s Lives in Boston, 1979 | Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society: Vol 51, No 2
Abstract The Combahee River Collective’s political work in response to the murders of twelve Black women in Boston in 1979 is a crucial chapter in the history of Black queer socialist feminism, with i...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
December 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
“'We Cannot Live Without Our Lives': Art-Activism and the Struggle for Black Women’s Lives in Boston, 1979" is now available online in @signsjournal.org. Honored to be able to share some thoughts on the poets and activists who inspire and sustain me.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...