Studies into Darkness: A Reading Marathon for Freedom of Speech

At a moment of political upheaval and criminalized dissent in the US and reverberating abroad, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics joins the nationwide Fall of Freedom protest on November 21, 2025, in an urgent call to the arts community to unite in defiance of authoritarian forces sweeping the nation. Alongside artists, curators, writers, culture workers, and organizers, we convene on Friday, November 21, from 9 am to 9 pm EST for a 12-hour marathon reading of the VLC’s anthology Studies into Darkness: The Perils and Promise of Freedom of Speech (co-published with Amherst College Press).

Originally published in 2022, Studies into Darkness explores freedom of speech through the lenses of history, poetics, and social justice, bringing together the writings and ideas of dozens of contributing artists, activists, curators, and writers. Three years after its publication, its central questions—of who has the right to free expression and when—have only become more urgent and timely.

For Fall of Freedom, this program gathers the book’s international contributors alongside other culture makers whose works and practices intersect with key themes of free speech, legibility, and (mis)translation. Structured as a 12-hour program spanning multiple time zones and connecting disparate locales, the marathon features essays, poetry, songs, scores, and letters, forming an open classroom with multiple entry points to the historical and contemporary discourse on free speech politics.

Participants include the book’s co-editors Carin Kuoni and Laura Raicovich, VLC’s Re’al Christian and Eriola Pira, and contributors Zach Blas, Aruna D’Souza, SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY, Prithi Kanakamedala, Amar Kanwar, Silvia Federici, Svetlana Mintcheva, Obden Mondésir, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Vanessa Place, Michael Rakowitz, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Nabiha Syed, and Jeanne van Heeswijk. See the full lineup below.

Studies into Darkness: A Reading Marathon for Freedom of Speech is co-organized by Carin Kuoni and Re’al Christian.

Reading Schedule (all times in EST)

9–9:10 am
Introduction
Carin Kuoni and Laura Raicovich

9:10–9:40 am
Such a Morning
Amar Kanwar

10 am–12 pm | Arrival and Context

10–10:05 am
Introduction
Re’al Christian

10:05–10:30 am
Brief Reflection on Free Speech in the US and Introduction to Free Speech Timeline
Svetlana Mintcheva

10:30–11 am
A History of Free Speech in the United States (adapted)
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Reader to be announced

11–11:05 am
Introduction
Eriola Pira

11:05–11:30 am
Dangerous to Whom? The Uneven Evolution of Free Speech Culture
Nabiah Syed

11:30 am–12 pm
Antifa and Free Speech on Campus by Mark Bray
Reader to be announced

12–3:30 pm | Anticipation

12–12:05 pm
Introduction
Re’al Christian

12:05–12:15 pm
The Politics of the Commons: Manifestos in Action
Silvia Federici

12:15–12:30 pm
Agnes Denes, A Manifesto, 1969, and The Campaign for Wages for Housework, 1974

12:30–12:45 pm
The Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977

12:45–1 pm
W.A.G.E., Womanifesto, 2008, and Arahmaiani, Manifesto of the Sceptics, 2009

1–1:15 pm
Laboria Cuboniks, Xenofeminism: A Politics for Alienation, 2015

1:15–1:30 pm
Sisters Uncut, Feministo, 2014

1:30–1:45 pm
Zapatista Women’s Opening Address at the First International Gathering of Politics, Art, Sport, and Culture for Women in Struggle, 2018

2–2:05 pm
Introduction
Eriola Pira

2:05–2:30 pm
OF THE WEB AS HOMEFRONT (IN REGARDS TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM(S) IN GENERAL)
SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY

2:30–2:55 pm
Queer Darkness ↳ 1
Zach Blas

3–3:05 pm
Introduction
Carin Kuoni

3:05–3:30 pm
Becoming Collective at the End of Time
Jeanne van Heeswijk

3:30–5:30 pm | Order and Disintegration

3:30–3:35 pm
Introduction
Re’al Christian

3:35–3:55 pm
A Time for Seditious Speech
Prithi Kanakamedala and Obden Mondésir

4:05–4:30 pm
Sade Avec Spinoza
Vanessa Place

4:30–4:55 pm
Against Empathy, or the Value of Mistranslation
Aruna D’Souza

5–5:05 pm
Introduction
Carin Kuoni

5:05–5:30 pm
To Grasp Form/Rubbing of Sentences
Kameelah Janan Rasheed

5:30–9 pm | Silence and Transformation

5:30–5:35 pm
Introduction
Re’al Christian

5:35–5:55 pm
Language Warp (excerpt) by Natalie Diaz
Reader to be announced

6:05–6:45 pm
I’m good at love, I’m good at hate, it’s in between I freeze
Michael Rakowitz

7:00–7:45 pm
Against the Light by Lyndon, Debora, and Abou
Reader to be announced

8–8:05 pm
Introduction
Carin Kuoni

8:05–8:45 pm
In the Mouth of This Dragon
Mendi + Keith Obadike

8:45–9 pm
Closing remarks
Carin Kuoni and Laura Raicovich