Expanding horizons...
So, a brief update: I am finishing Proust's In Search of Lost Time and then writing up an essay for a scholarship proposal. That will be my personal triumph; it will be a patchwork commentary on psychological, philosophical, social and political themes and the used of literary techniques to evoke them. That is what I feel I have been working towards since 2009. It was mostly a subsconscious leaning towards a certain truth in life and I think I might have been dismantling opportunities to return to university to obtain it. Now that I have a somewhat certain philosophical outlook I will turn to more practical aims.
My ideas for the next six months include: learning a new language; reading the works of transcendentalists (American, Russian and French) and public intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky; running a website which will give opportunities to students of my university to demonstrate a personal interest in what they are learning and personally providing the editorial on a weekly basis with a discerning basis; and try to establish a link between the university and the surrounding community. It is a tall order, but if I plan it consistently and obtain the assistance of others then the plan for practically effecting both a thinking and co-operating community that has a real and lasting basis.
I have had an interesting new year so far. At the beginning I saw somebody in a cafe when I tried to get some course reading done, and made a passing comment on his books on cconomy and the modern empire. Finding his interest compelling I had a long conversation with him about the debt crisis, the problem of currency and the decline of productivity in the U.K. A mature accountant sitting opposite began to disagree with the man's views which, admittedly, were suggesting a liberal overhaul in economic policy. The conversation regressed somewhat but the idea was planted firmly; I became immediately compelled to learn about economics, politics, international relations, history and how they all correlate. The way the fellow described the lack of communication between economists and polticians, the absence of retrospective and balanced government decisions... it made sense. And I have been building on the idea since.
Conversations since then have been generally productive and I have realised that the problem is not a lack of mutual feeling but a scarcity of mutual understanding and to build on that, to weave together those interests and passions is becoming itself my passion. I am finishing a novel which has taken me months to finish, but for the insight and intense consideration it has instilled in my character it has been a transcendental and tranformative experience. Marcel Proust tells his reader that it is not the novel itself but the reader's interpretation which matters. That is becoming apparent as my experience of it is truly distinct from many other people's, who might have been looking for other things in the literature.
This idea of moving from this site to another, having it designed by a friend and doing the editorial myself until I find someone to assist me with it: that looks like the next step forward for me. This is too limited in format and I can't let this project be just about myself. I must allow other people to become involved. The personal pursuit of education in literature will be replaced for the most part with an interest in community development and understanding significant political, social and economic issues. Particularly education:
"If you quietly accept and go along no matter what your feelings are, ultimately you internalize what you're saying, because it's too hard to believe one thing and say another. I can see it very strikingly in my own background. Go to any elite university and you are usually speaking to very disciplined people, people who have been selected for obedience. And that makes sense. If you've resisted the temptation to tell the teacher, "You're an asshole," which maybe he or she is, and if you don't say, "That's idiotic," when you get a stupid assignment, you will gradually pass through the required filters. You will end up at a good college and eventually with a good job."
- Noam Chomsky
Now, I know it is idealistic, but why be a Hamlet if you can be a Don Quixote? Why care about yourself when the real beauty is in being able to care for others? I might follow this with an article, but the odds are that this new website will be running by then. I will post a link to re-direct.
My ideas for the next six months include: learning a new language; reading the works of transcendentalists (American, Russian and French) and public intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky; running a website which will give opportunities to students of my university to demonstrate a personal interest in what they are learning and personally providing the editorial on a weekly basis with a discerning basis; and try to establish a link between the university and the surrounding community. It is a tall order, but if I plan it consistently and obtain the assistance of others then the plan for practically effecting both a thinking and co-operating community that has a real and lasting basis.
I have had an interesting new year so far. At the beginning I saw somebody in a cafe when I tried to get some course reading done, and made a passing comment on his books on cconomy and the modern empire. Finding his interest compelling I had a long conversation with him about the debt crisis, the problem of currency and the decline of productivity in the U.K. A mature accountant sitting opposite began to disagree with the man's views which, admittedly, were suggesting a liberal overhaul in economic policy. The conversation regressed somewhat but the idea was planted firmly; I became immediately compelled to learn about economics, politics, international relations, history and how they all correlate. The way the fellow described the lack of communication between economists and polticians, the absence of retrospective and balanced government decisions... it made sense. And I have been building on the idea since.
Conversations since then have been generally productive and I have realised that the problem is not a lack of mutual feeling but a scarcity of mutual understanding and to build on that, to weave together those interests and passions is becoming itself my passion. I am finishing a novel which has taken me months to finish, but for the insight and intense consideration it has instilled in my character it has been a transcendental and tranformative experience. Marcel Proust tells his reader that it is not the novel itself but the reader's interpretation which matters. That is becoming apparent as my experience of it is truly distinct from many other people's, who might have been looking for other things in the literature.
This idea of moving from this site to another, having it designed by a friend and doing the editorial myself until I find someone to assist me with it: that looks like the next step forward for me. This is too limited in format and I can't let this project be just about myself. I must allow other people to become involved. The personal pursuit of education in literature will be replaced for the most part with an interest in community development and understanding significant political, social and economic issues. Particularly education:
"If you quietly accept and go along no matter what your feelings are, ultimately you internalize what you're saying, because it's too hard to believe one thing and say another. I can see it very strikingly in my own background. Go to any elite university and you are usually speaking to very disciplined people, people who have been selected for obedience. And that makes sense. If you've resisted the temptation to tell the teacher, "You're an asshole," which maybe he or she is, and if you don't say, "That's idiotic," when you get a stupid assignment, you will gradually pass through the required filters. You will end up at a good college and eventually with a good job."
- Noam Chomsky
Now, I know it is idealistic, but why be a Hamlet if you can be a Don Quixote? Why care about yourself when the real beauty is in being able to care for others? I might follow this with an article, but the odds are that this new website will be running by then. I will post a link to re-direct.
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