Kristian Williams

I have two new articles out now, each in its own way concerned with state violence.

The first is a long essay about Oscar Wilde and prison, describing his experiences in prison, his attitudes about crime and punishment, and his political efforts after his release.

The essay is titled “A Criminal with a Noble Face”: Oscar Wilde’s Encounters with the Victorian Gaol.

I wrote it with support from the Institute for Anarchist Studies, and you can see it at their website.

The other piece is a review of Judith Butler’s latest book, Frames of War.

It’s in the December issue of In These Times, and on their web site.

There’s a good discussion taking place over at the Gathering Forces website about the potential (and the limitations) of Copwatch organizing. I contributed a small piece on my experience doing that work, and my views on why it is important.

Check it out:
http://gatheringforces.org/2009/11/03/whither_copwatch/

The latest episode of “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” features an interview with me. I discuss the history of the police, militarization, crowd control, and . . . donuts.

It’s all put in the context of the recent G20 protests, but I actually did the interview months ago.

Watch it here.

I’m going to be giving a talk on political repression at the “Econvergence” conference, Saturday, October 3, 2009, at the First Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon.

I plan to briefly outline the counter-insurgency model, explain its domestic application, and suggest some of the implications for today’s social movements. The discussion will cover some of the history of domestic political repression, the emergence of the counter-insurgency model, its application today both domestically and abroad, and the possible consequences for the environmental and economic justice movements.

My talk will start at 11 a.m., on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009. The church is at SW 12th and Main in downtown Portland.

For more information on the conference, see: http://www.econvergence.org/