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A review by zachcarter
In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities by Joy James
5.0
What I appreciate most about Dr. James' scholarship is that it forces an interrogation into the quotidian manifestations of our social relations/functions. She's the first to call out her own contradictions as an academic, which leads to a really interesting discussion about the social function of academics and guerrilla intellectuals in the imperial zone. I also found this to be the most comprehensive and rigorous account of the Captive Maternal. When I first read The Womb of Western Theory I was admittedly caught up with a lot of the philosophical context of the social function of the Captive Maternal. But by breaking it down into its four stages, I feel much better equipped at applying the concept. In particular, by focusing on the '71 Attica Rebellion, I think she opens up a really interesting discussion on what it means to secure human rights (particularly at the center of the fascist state) - it's a declaration of war. As the ultimate expression of the maroon stage of the Captive Maternal, all rules of engagement on the side of the imperial state are out the window - the white guards get shot at too, because no one can be meant to survive. The same is applied to Jonathan Jackson - the judge gets killed too, because Jonathan crossed the threshold from movement to maroon.
As always, James' intervention in state feminisms and academic abolitionisms remains prescient and critical. At a time when these (neo)radical ideological formations are increasingly co-opted and commoditized - why is Black Lives Matter producing millionaires? - at some point, these critiques are going to have to become much more socialized and contended with.
I didn't always agree with her analysis, and sometimes I wished she would expound on certain topics more. I think maybe the greatest weakness of this book is that is a collection of interviews and essays that share a great deal of overlap. An (admittedly much larger) academic effort would be to take this and synthesize it into a more cohesive and expansive work. But there is no denying the power that her writing has on me - her scholarship is one of the greatest examples of being in dialogue with text that I've experienced.
As always, James' intervention in state feminisms and academic abolitionisms remains prescient and critical. At a time when these (neo)radical ideological formations are increasingly co-opted and commoditized - why is Black Lives Matter producing millionaires? - at some point, these critiques are going to have to become much more socialized and contended with.
I didn't always agree with her analysis, and sometimes I wished she would expound on certain topics more. I think maybe the greatest weakness of this book is that is a collection of interviews and essays that share a great deal of overlap. An (admittedly much larger) academic effort would be to take this and synthesize it into a more cohesive and expansive work. But there is no denying the power that her writing has on me - her scholarship is one of the greatest examples of being in dialogue with text that I've experienced.