Helmut-Harry Loewen

Areas of interest

German, philosophy, criminological theory, political sociology, and racism

Biography

Helmut-Harry Loewen has devoted over three decades to antifascist projects, initially as chair of the Manitoba Coalition Against Racism and Apartheid, and subsequently with the Canadian Antiracism Education and Research Society, Anti-Racist Action, and Fascist Free Treaty One. His work includes monitoring and organizing against racist groups (beginning with the KKK and Aryan Nations during the 1980s and ‘90s), public education, and serving as a media commentator. Prior to his retirement in 2015, Loewen taught at the University of Winnipeg, first as a sessional lecturer in German and Philosophy, and then as a member of the Sociology Department where his teaching included courses on criminological theory, political sociology, and racism. Loewen’s current projects include (i) an analysis of ‘extremism’ frameworks in scholarly and state security discourses, (ii) research on neo-Nazi networks and the German state security apparatus, and (iii) a study tracing 'interventionism' in antifascist theory and practice from Benjamin and Brecht's "eingreifendes Denken" (interventionist thinking) to Critical Theory and Antifa.