Archive for October 2013
back after a year long hiatus
0Friday, October 18, 2013 by Heidi
it's been a while, and there's too much (as usual) to update about. I'm trying to revive this blog and the practice of journaling, so here is a quote for starters. I'm been reflecting on my (at times, love-hate) decision to apply to graduate school - i believe in "humanizing" education and creating counterhegemonic spaces within the academy, but sometimes, there is so much doubt.
"We live in a time where everything is monetized…Areas such as the arts and the liberal arts are considered non-starters, a waste of time and space. Universities were traditionally all about educating people into their own respective humanities. These days universities have been deranged by the logic of the cash nexus, by the corporate ethos which seeks to extract profit from everything. Such a climate, which produces in so many young people fear and insecurity, does not lead to good learning. It certainly doesn’t humanize anyone.
For me, if you want to learn about your human self—liberal arts will help you. In the liberal arts we are trying to humanize people in a culture that does everything to turn them into cogs. Hey, everybody loves money, but being a full human being ain’t a bad thing either."
Junot Díaz
