Digital Commons Network^™

Reactionary Technopolitics: A Critical Sociohistorical Review, Sean Doody

Fast Capitalism

This paper outlines a critical social history of reactionary media, political, and information networks ”what I refer to generally as technopolitics” in the United States and their significance to the hostility towards truth and fact that is a central feature of our political present. I begin with a critical review of the unique right-wing media and political ecosystem that emerged from the alliance between neoliberalism and social conservatism in the twentieth-century. In the second section, I focus on digitization, Trump, and the alt-right, and discuss the historical tethers connecting the latter to the cyber-libertarians and white supremacists operating on the …

Social Crises, Political Conflicts, And Cultural Contradictions Of Nixonland: Tracing Constitutional Crisis In The Usa From Nixon To Trump, Timothy W. Luke

Fast Capitalism

Many developments, like greater domestic turmoil, economic dislocation, social immobility, and political gridlock, suggest "the public" and "the private" are different domains with the US than they were decades ago in 1969 when President Nixon entered office. The constitutional state, as a theory and set of practices in the USA in the Nixon era was put under tremendous strains, and it seems clear that those pressures fractured it. After Vietnam, stagflation, Watergate, and the transitional Ford Administration, has it ever been the same? The Reagan-Bush assault on the New Deal and Great Society as well as the essentially permanent mobilization …

The Death Of Neoliberal Realism?, Zachariah William Wheeler

Fast Capitalism

Post-punk theorist Mark Fisher (d. 2017) shows how neoliberalism relies on a "reflexive impudence" imposed on politics and culture by the necessity of "realism." Neoliberalism puts fixed limits on how we can imagine the future, and what degree of deviation can be expected from participating in the political process. This paper takes seriously Fisher's perspective, analyzing recent political events in the U.S. as they relate to the use of neoliberalism as a deflationary political tactic. My analysis expands on how two different figures, Trump and Sanders, politicize discourse and develop consciousness outside of this pre-approved realism enforced by neoliberalism. Figures …

The Carnival King Of Capital, Charles Thorpe

Fast Capitalism

This paper argues that President Donald Trump may be understood as ruling through carnival. The theatrical reversal of conventional standards and rules, his carnivalesque incivility, is key to his political persona. It performs his claim to be an outsider, attacking and subverting the Washington DC establishment. But Trump's carnivalesque performance, far from undermining the dominant order, reflects it. What Trump represents is carnivalized capital, a financialized and globalized form of capital that has broken free of the social and legal restraints of the nation state. The carnivalesque chaos of Trump's presidency reflects the chaos of financialized capitalism.

Author Biography

Charles …

The United States Of Trump Corp.: The 'Not Normal/New Normal' Governing Style Of A Personal Brand, Steven Alfonso Panageotou, Joel M. Crombez

Fast Capitalism

Mired in inconsistency, contradiction, and scandal, Donald J. Trump's presidency appears to be anything but normal. This has prompted a great deal of searching among social scientists and journalists to understand what exactly is behind Trump's erratic governing style. These narratives center the new normal of American presidential politics on the extreme form of Trump's narcissistic behavior and his flagrant commitment to ethno-nationalist, authoritarian, and neoliberal practices. However, because these narratives rely on traditional political strategies and theories, they do not fully capture the most novel aspects of the Trump mode of governance. What is "not normal" about President Donald …

Making It Up As He Goes: Trump's Improvisational Rhetoric And The Hyper-Rhetorical Presidency, Richard Holtzman

Fast Capitalism

Trump disregards the norms of presidential communication by regularly speaking or tweeting off-the-cuff with seemingly little forethought or editorial input. As White House administrations institutionalized presidential speechwriting and strategic communications over the past century, meticulously-crafted rhetoric became the norm. Trump's improvisational rhetoric is the antithesis of the highly-professionalized, disciplined approach to political communication we have come to expect from the presidency. This essay takes the position that his reliance on improvisational rhetoric is more than a matter of communication; it is a matter of governance. Trump regularly uses improvised communication to make important policy decisions. In doing so, the president …

Introduction To "This Is Not Normal", David M. Arditi, Timothy W. Luke

Fast Capitalism

Author Biographies

David M. Arditi, University of Texas Arlington

David Arditi is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he serves as Director of the Center for Theory. He researches the impact of digital technology on society. His forthcoming book, Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians and Power in Society, explores the way musicians' dreams become their source of exploitation.

Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Timothy W. Luke is a University Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science. Luke's areas of research specialization include environmental and cultural studies …

The Art Of The Deal, The Arts Of Democracy: Trump, Dewey, And Democracy, Nancy Sue Love

Fast Capitalism

Donald Trump's politics has been variously described as "neoliberal," "nationalist," "authoritarian," "populist," and even "fascist," and all these descriptors are appropriate in some respects. In this article, I explore the linkages between Trump, neoliberalism, and fascism through what may seem an unlikely aspect of his politics, that is, his artistry as a candidate and now the president. In elevating deal-making to an art form, Trump is not unique. Fascist leaders have long fancied themselves as artists and regarded politics as an art form. I argue that Trump's "art of the deal" materializes and normalizes the aesthetics of neoliberal capitalism; it …

About The Authors, Fast Capitalism Editorial Team

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Fast Capitalism Editorial Team

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Fast Capitalism Editorial Team

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Can I Be An Engineer? Factors Influencing Women’S Decisions To Pursue Undergraduate Engineering Studies In The Middle East And North Africa, Rasha Malaeb, Elsa Maalouf, Aya Mouallem, Jana Sabra

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), different institutional and cultural factors seemingly play a significant role in influencing women’s decisions to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs. In this work, we aim to uncover key influences that affect young women’s decisions to pursue undergraduate engineering studies in Lebanon, an Arab country in the MENA region. First, we conducted a survey during a student-led engineering summer program in 2024 at the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut. The survey participants were 47 high school female students from diverse regions and backgrounds in Lebanon. …

Application Of A Pilot Intervention Rating Scale To Aviation Safety Reporting System Reports, Robert Joslin

BCAAS Annual Safety Research Symposium

The purpose of this preliminary study was to test, evaluate, and contribute to validation of the utility of a Pilot Intervention Rating Scale (PIRS) for identifying and categorizing pilot saves as evidenced in voluntary safety reports submitted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Narratives were text mined for the keywords "automation AND intervention", and derivatives thereof. The reports were then analyzed for relevancy to a pilot intervention of an automated task, which yielded a subset of 35 reports. The PIRS was then applied to each report and a numerical score was assigned based on the consequence of the threat …

Cost Effects Of Adding Poultry To Organic Vegetable Production Systems In California, Iowa, And Kentucky, Kwanele Magwaba, Alejandro Plastina, Ajay Nair, Maurice Pitesky, David J. Gonthier, Anne Carey, Faye Duan, Viktor Halmos

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

This study evaluates the economic viability of integrating poultry into organic vegetable crop rotations over three years in Kentucky and Iowa and two years in California. Given the growing global demand for food and heightened environmental awareness, understanding the financial implications of such integrated systems is crucial. Our comprehensive experiment compared integrated poultry-vegetable rotations with vegetable-only systems, assessing costs, revenues, and key factors influencing profitability. While integrating poultry reduced vegetable production costs by up to 10% in some cases, overall system costs increased due to high poultry expenses. Break-even poultry prices averaged $8/lb for low-density systems and $7 for high-density …

Are Returns From Commercial Farming Heterogeneous? Case Of Wheat Growers In North India, Saroj Verma, Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, Phanindra Goyari

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Contract farming (CF), generally a commercial farming system, is widely perceived as a welfare enhancement strategy in rural areas where agriculture is the major source of livelihood. However, those welfare implications have not been adequately explored in Indian agriculture. So, this study examines the returns to CF and the heterogeneity in their returns across various groups of wheat growers in Haryana, a leading agrarian state in India. Using an endogenous switching regression model on cross-sectional data of 754 farm households, the study found that CF adopters would lose 27% of their gross margins and 11% of their crop output if …

Queer Perspectives In African Politics And Socialisation, Samuel A. Nuamah

FIRE Fund Bibliographies

The research guide provides a spectrum of department relating to the debate of queer identities. The concept of queer identity has been considered as not of African indigene but a European import. The guide provides different authors and their argument of queer presence and marginalization.

Trans/Queer/Cuir Literature And Resources, Julien Torrento

FIRE Fund Bibliographies

This bibliography assembles interdisciplinary scholarship, literature, and cultural production centered on trans, queer/cuir, and gender-nonconforming Latinx and Caribbean experiences. The selected works foreground embodiment, migration, performance, kinship, and resistance as sites through which marginalized subjects negotiate violence, survival, and worldmaking. Across academic, creative, and archival forms, these sources challenge normative frameworks of gender, nation, and citizenship while imagining alternative futures rooted in community and futurity.

Formatted Feelings: Rap As A Pedagogy Of Capitalized Emotion, Guanhua Yao

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

This article examines mainstream rap as a key apparatus through which capital formats emotional life under platform capitalism. Utilizing grounded theory coding for ten Billboard No. 1 rap tracks released between 2005 and 2025, the analysis identifies durable affective templates, commodified desire, spectacularized power, and curated vulnerability, that standardize how emotion becomes legible, repeatable, and marketable. Synthesizing affect theory, media sociology, and social dramaturgy, the article argues that rap teaches listeners how to perform feeling in ways compatible with visibility regimes and datafied attention economies. Rather than treating these songs as expressive artifacts, the study reframes them as pedagogical infrastructures …

Teacher Representation In Film And Television, Kailey Deweever

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

This article explores teacher representation in film and television, highlighting four main archetypes. It discusses how positive portrayals improve public perceptions and teacher self-image, while negative depictions harm both. Additionally, it critiques how infrequent depictions of actual teaching often trivialize the complexity of the profession.

Keywords: Teacher self-image, popular culture, teacher archetypes, teacher representation, film, television

Latisha King: Queer Confusion, Aggression, And Correction, Hannah Bollin

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

Latisha King was a 15-year-old biracial and transgender student at E.O. Green Junior High who was shot and killed by one of her peers on February 12, 2008. Latisha’s untimely death was followed by a court case during which she was blamed for her own murder due to her gender identity and sexual orientation. Through a thematic analysis of scholarly work alongside public media sources surrounding the case, this study argues that the transphobia that Latisha faced in her classroom was continued in the courtroom and media. More specifically, this article argues that the classroom, murder trial, and public media …

Notes On Redefining "Popular" Culture, Paul J. Ramsey

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

This article critiques the classic literature on popular culture, redefines the concept for the contemporary era, and introduces the following articles in this special issue of Impact. The articles in this issue demonstrate not only the ways in which popular culture has evolved in recent decades but also reveal the deeply educational aspects of that culture by shining a light on what is learned through it. 

Keywords: popular culture, education, informal education

Front Matter

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

No abstract provided.

Coming Full Circle: From Internship To Award-Winning Advocacy, Jennifer Vermeer

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Equipping Beyond Campus: A Look At Dordt Faculty As Public Scholars, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Writing Professional Papers Worksheet With Scavenger Hunt: A Simple Strategy To Strengthen Dietetic Writing, Stacy Bevan

Journal of Dietetic Education

Time between learning scientific writing skills and when dietetic students need to transfer that knowledge to discipline-specific research papers in upper division courses may result in a lack of writing skills. Dietetic educators be unfamiliar with writing strategies to improve student writing. A Writing Professional Papers worksheet was developed to help students define components of professional papers, draft a thesis, and then participate in a scavenger hunt using examples of two types of professional papers to identify target issues and avoid common issues seen in student papers. Students in an upper division Maternal and Child Nutrition course responded to an …

Implementing An Interprofessional Virtual Journal Club For Health-Focused Students, Hillary L. Roberts, Cynthia Aurentz, Mccall E. Christian, Jessica K. Willis, Caitlin J. Masterson

Journal of Dietetic Education

Students (N = 135) pursuing degrees in health-focused programs participated in an interprofessional virtual journal club during the spring semesters of 2022 and 2023. The journal club was integrated into multiple courses and facilitated through the university’s learning management system and a web conferencing platform. Students applied the 2016 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies throughout the activity. The journal club included four pre-selected articles on ethics in healthcare, and students developed one discussion question per article to guide synchronous virtual discussions. The IPEC Competency Self-Assessment Tool was administered before and after participation. Paired samples t-tests showed statistically significant change …

Online Platform Or Service Access Tiers Based On Data Permissions, Na

Defensive Publications Series

Many software applications and online services provide free or limited usage access to users. Such products and services rely on commercial revenue from advertising or other mechanisms that rely on usage of user data. To use such services, users provide their consent for limited use of data such as activity data on the platform for commercial purposes. This disclosure describes techniques that offer to compensate users for their data that is specific to the usage of an online service or platform, and is used in accordance with platform policies and applicable regulations. The techniques enable user-selection of an appropriate level …

Kenyon Collegian - January 22, 2026

The Kenyon Collegian

No abstract provided.

Geochemical And Isotopic Signatures Of Ultramafic-Hosted Magnesite Deposit: A Case Study Of The Edige Region (Ankara-Central Anatolia), Betül Koca, Eli̇f Akiska, Zehra Karakaş, Si̇nan Akiska

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The magnesite deposit of the Edige region in Ankara-Elmadağ District of Türkiye is hosted in serpentinite/serpentinized ultramafic rocks, which are mainly harzburgite and dunite. Mineralogical and petrographic studies have shown that ultramafic rocks are composed of serpentine, olivine, and pyroxene with serpentinization preceding magnesite formation. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that dolomite, quartz, calcite, and clay minerals are the main minerals in magnesite samples from serpentinite/serpentinized ultramafic units. Olivine, pyroxene, serpentine, chromite, and iron oxide minerals are also present. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry results show that magnesite in rhombohedral and cryptocrystalline forms is the dominant mineral accompanied …

The Lived Experience Of Gay Men In The Generation Jones Cohort, Thomas Stacy Helton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Existing research lacks examination of the interplay between life histories and gay identities within the Generation Jones cohort, hindering our understanding of how individuals navigated the challenges of aging Specifically, we lack understanding of how identity formation, stigma, and historical trauma in light of sociocultural events—including the criminalization of homosexuality, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the rise of digital connectivity—shaped self-concept, relationships, and resilience. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of gay men in the Generation Jones cohort, defined as those born between 1954 and 1965. Grounded in social identity theory, it asked how gay men in this cohort …