It was such a pleasure to hold invited lectures for the course of Vulgar Culture at the University of Radboud in Nijmegen, Netherlands, last March. The students of the course, designed so splendidly by Jeroen Boom and Saskia Kroonenberg to look at the “popular and vulgar” throughout fascism, sexuality, politics, and more, not only reacted positively to the introduction of archaeological ideas framed through the concept of subaltern groups’ history shaped by Gramsci. Through their presentations, a few days after my lecture, they also offered unexpectedly creative ways to embody those concepts and ideas within contemporary arts and culture. Thanks to them I learnt more about American artist Tschabalala Self, the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in the ball culture in 1980s New York City through their discussion of the movie Paris is Burning, and much more.
But I was lucky enough to meet the students of the entire university through their activism initiatives. The student community of Radboud University struck me for having no doubt that their studies intersect so heavily with current world’s issues and their desire for social justice: sexism, racism, colonialism, power, precarious lives at all latitudes are at the centre of their thoughts. I will share here below a few photos of their splendid installation in March dedicated to the women and transgender people victim of gender violence, in Nijmegen and the world at large. Until next time, thank you for the inspiration.
Mauro Puddu 