Inspired by this, I have come to the realisation that world (and everyday) life can be explained by Bryan Adams song titles. Here's a sample:
- After genocides, invasions, colonisation and general (inappropriate) back rubs: Please Forgive Me.
- When anyone from a country that is not the United States meets the US Foreign Secretary/President: Everything I do, I do it for you.
- For gender study: Have you Ever Really Loved a Woman? Well, have you? Really?
- For post-Communist/post-Reagan era nostalgia: Summer of 69.
- For when you fancy yourself as a swashbuckling Frenchman with a sharp rapier: All for Love.
- If anything you are currently doing looks like going tits up: Can't stop this thing we started.
- If you're in the Northwest Territory of Afghanistan: Don't drop that bomb on me.
- Survived a natural disaster? Well then, it's Do I have to say the words? for y'all.
- And, finally, for when you want to pick up that lad at the bar: The only thing that looks good one me is you. . Warning: could lead to physical retaliation of some other kind.
I didn't have to Google any of those songs. I know what that says about my musical taste .
2.3.10
Telephones and chalks
Today, I was on a roll in both my classes. "On a roll", of course, doesn't mean the classes went well or that I generated a lot of knowledge and spread it around. No. By "on a roll" here means I was (am) having one of those days in which if someone were to say, "All right, let's go bungee jump off Key Bridge at 8pm" I'd say yes. Everyone has those days every once in a while. Days in which you are game for any nutty thing and then wonder (afterwards) what you were thinking. I think academics--especially if they usually tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the ontological distinctions between small "c" critical and large "C" Critical security studies (cough. It's fascinating stuff. Really. )--are more prone to these sorts of days.
So, I had (am having) one of those today. This manifests itself in class as my striding about making comments and jumping from one topic to another. It leads to taking up threads which no one probably ever wanted taking up (the symbolism of giant beavers for Canadians being a case in point today). It leads to a statement like this:
me: you see that telephone? (pointing towards a perfectly innocuous telephone sat on the table). See this chalk? (waving it around). Well, if you are going to sit here and impersonate a telephone or a chalk, then I see no reason in giving you anything beyond an "F" in your participation grade. Actually, the chalk's been more participatory since it's led to writing and discussion of words. What have you done? Nothing. I may as well give the telephone a B if I'm to give you a B. So, think about it.
Or it leads to my sitting down in front of a class for 15 minutes straight and saying nothing. I looked at them, I wrote down what they were doing (participant/observation) but I did/said nothing. Then, I told them they could go. They could go and there would be no penalty. No one went. They laughed. But no one went.
This last bit wasn't just for the hell of it by the way. Since it's interpretive research week, this was part of my point about how we have social norms and "we" usually stick to them. Here, social rule? You don't really leave class even if the professor tells you you can if the professor is sat right there (even if looking slightly manic and talking at the rate of about 100 words per minute )
It also leads to an early exit from uni--I've been here till around 8-9pm every day this semester. Today, I'm skipping out at 5pm. So there. And, maybe, I will bungee off the Key bridge (folks not in Washington--this isn't a real possibility so no worries there)
Oh in other news, I declined the chance to go to Berkeley this year so I'll be around in DC during Summer. Hurrah! My first summer in town in four years. Obviously I'll whinge about it when it comes around but I'm rather excited about it now.
So, I had (am having) one of those today. This manifests itself in class as my striding about making comments and jumping from one topic to another. It leads to taking up threads which no one probably ever wanted taking up (the symbolism of giant beavers for Canadians being a case in point today). It leads to a statement like this:
me: you see that telephone? (pointing towards a perfectly innocuous telephone sat on the table). See this chalk? (waving it around). Well, if you are going to sit here and impersonate a telephone or a chalk, then I see no reason in giving you anything beyond an "F" in your participation grade. Actually, the chalk's been more participatory since it's led to writing and discussion of words. What have you done? Nothing. I may as well give the telephone a B if I'm to give you a B. So, think about it.
Or it leads to my sitting down in front of a class for 15 minutes straight and saying nothing. I looked at them, I wrote down what they were doing (participant/observation) but I did/said nothing. Then, I told them they could go. They could go and there would be no penalty. No one went. They laughed. But no one went.
This last bit wasn't just for the hell of it by the way. Since it's interpretive research week, this was part of my point about how we have social norms and "we" usually stick to them. Here, social rule? You don't really leave class even if the professor tells you you can if the professor is sat right there (even if looking slightly manic and talking at the rate of about 100 words per minute )
It also leads to an early exit from uni--I've been here till around 8-9pm every day this semester. Today, I'm skipping out at 5pm. So there. And, maybe, I will bungee off the Key bridge (folks not in Washington--this isn't a real possibility so no worries there)
Oh in other news, I declined the chance to go to Berkeley this year so I'll be around in DC during Summer. Hurrah! My first summer in town in four years. Obviously I'll whinge about it when it comes around but I'm rather excited about it now.
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