Joan Didion, again. “Writing is an aggressive, hostile act.” Trysh Travis: [In] graduate teaching, this means helping students figure out what they are arguing about complex and multifaceted topics with which they tend to have, in clinical mental health terms, deeply codependent relationships. . . . . . . bell hooks calls the process “coming … More Writing is the act of saying I
I love to study, but it is hard to do when people don’t like you to. When you have no context or negative context, you have to become super-strong. The idea of defending your time leads to concentrating on your parapets, not your manuscript. I do not like the idea of shrinking. I think we … More Ideas from Arturo Arias’ article on Jean Franco in PMLA 131.3 (2016)
There are people in Canton, Mississippi today with the names of my mother and uncles: Elizabeth Lloyd, William Tilghman Lloyd. These are the descendants of that great-great-uncle who bought land for cotton in 1837, and my mother would be disturbed to discover they are still passing down these names. While Mary Ellen Lloyd (sister of … More On ancestors and immigrants
Jonathan has a theory on procrastination which applies rather well but I have more ideas on it. My thoughts are not yet well formed but one is that there is a great difference between procrastination and block. I have been greatly frustrated by trying to use techniques designed to fight procrastination on block. I think … More On procrastination and block
“You are not in graduate school any more, so your job is not to do research any more. To do research would be arrogant.” “The research you do does not bring large grants into the university and for this reason, it is not research.” “The courses that make the most money for us are the … More Disappointing statements
Here we have a very important article on the neoliberal university, that I will study, called “Contingent No More.” Related to it is the infantilization entailed in reducing citizens to consumers. This post mentions a book on advertising and persuasion, which according to Cliff Arroyo emphasizes infantilization as a key to coercion. This journal Transmodernidad, … More Mundos neoliberales
I want to read Bauman’s Social Europe book. Perhaps, since the book comes in non-traditional forms, this is something I will do while traveling. I submitted something to my writing group but must not forget to do something with it once I get it back. It has potential to be overshadowed but should not. After … More A chronicle of crisis
I’ve left Facebook, temporarily at least. This is difficult as Facebook has often been where the most grown-up conversations were (more than in life). Now, though, I am finding it fragmenting and non-meditative, so I have gone. I will visit certain blogs more regularly: Remaking the University and Blood Studies, for instance. Also on Facebook, … More Blood Studies
On political euphemism, it is very important to note that the PATRIOT ACT (which was not patriotic) and then, rising to a new level of irony, became the FREEDOM ACT. I read about the lives of Elena Garro and Helena Paz Garro and it was sad. Both died ill, poor and alone; Paz’ death coincided … More Fraught
Here is Weiner’s smart and highly informative article, which does not discuss Denise Ferreira da Silva that I can see, but that is key. And here is a smart article about Fanon, “safety” and race dialogue that I must read. Not for the current paper, but in general, there is a Gwen Kirkpatrick article on … More Melissa Weiner, race, subjectivity
coldhearted scientist وداد 