Life is short.

manmehakkaur:

I mean, heck, I am no expert but my need to see this niche ass post is a lot so here goes.

• The Prince: Machiavelli- do I NEED to explain this one. Its a seminal text in politics and political philosophy and when you listen to the ideas described in it they can sound a little crazy but once you read it you realise they are still crazy but grounded in something very real. Also its short as heck and an easy read.
• Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace- Hans J Morgenthau. I had to pick this one up for my coursework last semester and I thought it would be a snooze fest but no. I was drawn in and I haven’t finished it since but I do plan to get back to it at my leisure.
• The End of History and the Last Man: Francis Fukuyama- YES, I fundamentally disagree with Fukuyama on so many points. YES, it is still one of my favourite books of all time. it is a very riveting discussion of political philosophy, history and international relations. If you are interested in any of those topics, pick it up. You won’t regret it.
• How Democracy Ends: David Runciman- captivatingly written, great arguments, and a very unique voice. Super relevant in today’s international political atmosphere and if you are interested in studying the rise of right wing authoritarian governments across the globe, this is a great place to start.
• Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan- another one that I just feel like i don’t need to explain. Again haven’t read it fully yet, but its quite chill inducing and the basis for most of the contemporary discussion on state, liberalism, authoritarianism, rights and so forth. 

These were just my recommendations, and I by no means claim that they cover the entire gamut of the field. In fact, I would consider myself a noob still where texts relating to politics or IR are concerned, so feel free to give your recommendations and opinions as well!  

sappylittlebitch:

Cultural Dark Academia

After my last post about the lack of representation in academia, I felt it neccessary to provide some examples of what I’m talking about. Obviously there are more countries in the world than I can list and provide books for, so for a quick list this is what I got. !! Keep researching !! If you have any more books by POC please reply them !! If a country isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it’s not important, this is just what I could get together real quick. If I made any mistakes, please let me know, we’re all learning. We need to help each other end eurocentrism in academia, so value representation and educate yourselves 💓💓💓

Chinese:

• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Dream of the Red Chamber
• The Water Margin
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• The Journey to the West
• The Scholars
• The Peony Pavilion
• Border Town by Congwen Shen
• Half of Man is Woman by Zhang Xianliang
• To Live by Yu Hua
• Ten Years of Madness by agent Jicai
• The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River by Xiao Hong

Japanese:

• A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oë

Pakistani:

• Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid
• How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
• Ghulam Bagh by Mirza Athar Baig
• Masterpieces of Urdu Nazm by K. C. Kanda

Irani/Persian:

• Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
• Savushun by Simin Daneshvar
• Anything by Rumi
• The Book of Kings by Ferdowsi
• The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam
• Shahnameh (translation by Dick Davis)

Afghan:

• Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Indian:

• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• Aithihyamala, Garland of Legends by Kottarathil Sankunni
• The Gameworld Trilogy by Samir Basu

Filipino:

• Twice Blessed by Ninotchka Rosca
• The Last Time I Saw Mother by Arlene J. Chai

Brazilian:

• Night at the Tavern by Álvares de Azevedo
• The Seven by André Vianco
• Don Casmurro by Machado de Assis

Colombian:

• Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Delirio by Laura Restrepo
• ¡Que viva la música! by Andrés Caicedo
• The Sound of Things Falling by Jim Gabriel Vásquez

Mexican:

• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolf Anaya
• Adonis Garcia/El Vampiro de la Colonia Roma by Luis Zapata
• El Complot Mongol by Rafael Bernal

Egyptian:

• The Cairo Trilogy by Nahuib Mahfouz
• The Book of the Dead

Nigerian:

• Rosewater by Tade Thompson
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Malian:

• The Epic of Sundiata

Senegalese:

• Poetry of Senghor

Native American:

• The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
• Starlight by Richard Wagamese
• Almanac of the Dead by L. Silko
• Fools Crow by James Welch

Australian Aborigine:

• Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
• First Footprints by Scott Cane
• My Place by Sally Morgan

American//Modern:

• Real Life by Brandon Taylor
• Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Internment by Samir’s Ahmed
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurtson
• Rivers of London Series by Ben Aaronovitch