David Palumbo-Liu

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David Palumbo-Liu is the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor at Stanford University, and Professor of Comparative Literature and, by courtesy, English. His fields of interest include human rights, environmental justice, race, ethnicity, social and cultural criticism, literary theory and criticism. He has published in each of these areas, including seven books and numerous articles that have been translated into Chinese, German, French and Portuguese. His most recent book is Speaking Out of Place: Regaining our Political Voice (Haymarket Books, 2021).

Book: Speaking Out of Place: Getting Our Political Voices Back

Speaking Out of Place helps us find value and inspiration in others who have made change in the world where such things were not supposed to be possible.

From protests in sports arenas to sonic transgressions of racist boundaries, to protest camps and covert collaborations with imprisoned people, and environmental activism based on Indigenous notions of justice. We learn how to “re-place” education, circumvent pundits, and recall judges. And we learn to defend our home—the planet.

Speaking Out of Place asks us to reconceptualize both what we think “politics” is, and our relationship to it. Especially at this historical moment, when it is all too possible we will move from Trump’s fascistic regime to Biden’s anti-progressive centrism, we need ways to build off the tremendous growth we have seen in democratic socialism, and to gather strength and courage for the challenges, and opportunities that lie ahead.