[ASA_PEWS] Dennis Loo: Presente!

[Saskia Sassen]

thnk you for sharing this sad event and for  securing his work will not
die...we will house it, we will mention it, we will remember it..
saskia sassen

On Sun, May 9, 2021 at 2:06 AM Alessandro Morosin <amoro001 at ucr.edu> wrote:

> PEWS Colleagues:
>
> I am saddened by the recent passing of Dennis Loo. I doubt he was
> professionally involved in PEWS, but I wanted to bring his legacy to your
> attention. In addition to working with Dennis personally on different
> political initiatives over the years, I've always taught students sections
> of his book "Globalization and the Demolition of Society" (you might
> recognize the title as a Karl Polanyi quote). Dennis was a lifelong
> anti-imperialist who made a huge difference via teaching, blogging, working
> with Project Censored, and giving numerous speeches at demonstrations (many
> of which are on youtube). He always wanted to bring complex radical theory
> to the public, and he was very proficient and warm while doing this. His
> perspective was always global and internationalist.
>
> This statement was recently published by Cal Poly Pomona:
>
>
> https://www.cpp.edu/class/news/articles/2021-04-01-dennis-loo-in-memoriam.shtml
>
> In Memoriam: Dr. Dennis Loo, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Cal Poly
> Pomona.
>
> April 1, 2021
>
> [image: Dr. Dennis Loo]
>
> Dr. Dennis Loo, was born July 7, 1951, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He passed away
> March 6, 2021, at La Jolla Scripps Memorial Hospital. Dennis suffered from
> Multiple System Atrophy for many years but passed away peacefully in his
> sleep. As he left this world, he was listening to Hawaiian music played on
> a cell phone by his nurse. He is survived by his wife Barbara and son
> Stefan.
>
> Upon graduating from Punahou School, Dennis traveled five-thousand miles
> east to attend Harvard University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree
> with honors in Government. It was at Harvard that his career as a
> journalist and activist began, having been exposed to the protests of the
> 1960s. There is a letter that Dennis penned to the *Harvard Crimson*, dated
> May 6, 1971, that reveals the character that so many of his friends and
> colleagues came to admire about him: that he was a person of action and
> fearless advocate for student-centered education. In his letter, he penned
> a list of demands that highlighted the importance of serving all students,
> especially those who were underrepresented. “End the discrimination against
> women, minorities, and radicalism in admissions, hiring, granting of
> tenure, and course offerings,” read one of Dennis’s seventeen demands, a
> testament to his perpetual need to reimagine possibilities for higher
> education.
>
> After Harvard, Dennis returned home and worked as an editor and
> photographer for the *Hawaii Observer*, and he taught in the University of
> Hawaii’s Ethnic Studies Program. He eventually made his way back to the
> mainland to pursue his Ph.D. In Sociology at University of California-Santa
> Cruz, earning a prestigious paper award from the Society for the Study of
> Social Problems. Dennis began his career as a professor at California State
> Polytechnic University-Pomona in the Behavioral Studies Department (which
> later became the Department of Psychology and Sociology, and then
> eventually the Department of Sociology). During his tenure as a professor,
> he would pen groundbreaking books, including *Impeach the President: The
> Case Against Bush and Cheney* (2006) and *Globalization and the Demolition
> of Society* (2011). He was a passionate and rigorous instructor, having
> taught everything from Introduction to Sociology to Classical Theory to
> Political Sociology to Criminology. Dennis’s political activism transcended
> the page and the classroom. When asked to share their favorite memories of
> Dennis, many of his beloved colleagues recalled the time they’d see him at
> anti-war protests and demonstrations, speaking out against the dangerous
> afterlife of U.S. wars and empire.
>
> When Dennis passed, his friends at the University shared beautiful
> memories: his infectious laughter; his love of theory and social movements;
> the everyday conversations; his deep love and connection to Hawaii; his
> brilliant wide-ranging knowledge; his passion for environmental and
> diversity issues; his charming little companion Sasha; his avid interest in
> horse racing; his ability to challenge his colleagues and his students to
> think critically; his courageous life and teaching; sharing family stories
> and jokes during carpool rides; his Santa Cruzer identity; his unwavering
> activism at Cal Poly Pomona, the Cal State University system, and beyond;
> his retirement speech, full of reflection, humor, and gratitude; his
> willingness to ask for support, like the time he asked for origami paper to
> help his hand-eye coordination; his willingness to speak out for others;
> the wisdom he’d so willingly share in the department hallway; watching him
> enjoy his apples and avocados at department meetings; the joyful moments
> shared with Dennis’s wife Barbara and son Stefan; and above all, his
> friendship.
>
> In this year of unspeakable loss, Dennis will always stand out as a model
> for a life well lived. May the brilliance and kindness he has imparted on
> those who had the privilege of knowing him live on. He will certainly be
> missed.
>
> *E hoʻomaha me ka maluhia. Moe ka ma maluhia lani (Sleep in heavenly peace.
> Rest in peace.)*
>
> --
> Alessandro Morosin
> Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology, DePauw University
> PhD, Sociology, University of California-Riverside
> M.A., Global and International Studies, University of California-Santa
> Barbara
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