Radical Mindfulness

Radical Mindfulness examines the root causes of injustice, asking why inequalities along the lines of race, class, gender, and species continue to exist. Specifically, James K. Rowe examines fear of death as a root cause of systemic inequalities and proposes a more embodied approach to social change as a solution. Collecting insights from powerful thinkers across multiple traditions-including Black radicals, Indigenous resurgence theorists, terror management theorists, and Buddhist feminists- Rowe argues for the political importance of seemingly apolitical practices such as meditation and ritual. On their own, these strategies are not enough, but integrated into social movements that are combating structural injustices, mind-body practices can begin transforming the embodied fears that feed endless fuel to supremacist ideologies and yet are not targeted by most political actors. Radical Mindfulness is for academics, activists, and individuals who want to overcome supremacy of all kinds but are struggling to understand and develop methods for attacking it at the roots.

James K. Rowe is Associate Professor of environmental studies and cultural, social, and political thought at the University of Victoria. His interdisciplinary research program is motivated by a desire to understand and strengthen social movements working toward social and ecological justice. Rowe has published in the journals: The Arrow; BioScience; C-Theory; New Political Science; Socialist Studies; Studies in Political Economy; and Theory & Event. His work has also appeared in public-facing outlets: Corporate Knights, openDemocracy, Truthout, and Waging Nonviolence. His research has been reported on by The Atlantic, the BBC, the CBC, HuffPost, and Jacobin.

An Opening: A Conversation with Dylan Thomas 1. Introduction: Fear of Death as a Driver of Injustice 2. The Will to Supremacy 3. White Supremacy: James Baldwin on Death Denial and Whiteness 4. Class and Colonial Supremacy: John Mohawk on Oppression in the Western World 5. Human Supremacy: Ernest Becker and Terror Management Theory 6. Male Supremacy: Rita Gross and Hsiao-Lan Hu's Buddhist Feminism 7. Conclusion: Practice for a Just, Liveable Future Coda: A Contemplation on Basic Goodness Appendix: Activists on Using Mind-Body Practices