Nishanth Bhargava is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying History and Comparative Literature. Originally from New Jersey, his research interests revolve around radical politics, particularly the anti-colonial movements of the late 20th century. He hopes to explore the transnational connections between the radicals of postcolonial Africa and Asia and those of Western Europe, studying the ways in which revolutionaries from around the world influenced one another in theory and tactics. Nishanth is most interested in studying how these political movements attempted to break with the status quo and re-organize society on entirely new principles, revealing to us potential ways of living that are radically different from our own. In his free time, Nishanth enjoys playing guitar, watching political thrillers and meandering.
Nishanth Bhargava
Wolf Humanities Center Undergraduate Fellow
2024—2025 Forum on Keywords
Nishanth Bhargava
History, Comparative Literature
From the People, To the People: Theories of the Subject after May '68 in France
In May of 1968, a wave of wildcat strikes and occupations tore across France that were without precedent in postwar French political life. This paper looks at the ways in which this revolt shaped discourse around the political subject and the practical role these new discourses played in shaping the orientation of left-wing political activity. I explore this in two key ways— firstly by looking at the new consciousness of power that arose in May and birthed revolutionary subjects, and secondly through an examination of the consequences this new subjectivity held for Maoist political practice in the early 70s. Drawing a throughline between these moments reveals how new conceptions of subjecthood came to shift the scope of radical political activity from the general to the specific, as movements came to struggle primarily against particular instances in which power was more acutely felt.