Thursday, December 08, 2005
the belly of the beast
clovers is on the road, possibly coming to a town near you. if you live in boston, new york, new haven or DC, drop a line.
I am currently unsconced in the harvard zoo' library. this is an amazing place with 4 librarians and 2 patrons. why? because just setting fire to a pile of money would have been obscene.
I went to a harvard grad colloquium. apparently in humanities grad school, "asking a question" is actually code for "rambling on for 5 minutes about something obscure and not really asking anything." after which, the speaker deflects your question and rambles about something tangential out of respect for you. but the chairs are so comfy, the lighting was beautifyl, and there was brie! at UMan we just have a box of timbits.
being at harvard got me thinking about the value of spaces. I used to hate this kind of discussion as an undergrad, but walking into a library that is shining wood and pristine, padded chairs made me realize how different I felt. It seemed like people were imbued with a sense of confidence and importance. at UMan, there are no comfortable chairs. consequently, we view academics as a monastic choice--painful but pure. where I woul imagine here, academics seems like something that society values externally which changes ones whole perspective. Just reading and writing affords one this rather beautiful existence. It would seem to at the root of both the ivory tower anti-intellectualism and the famous lack of perspective. people just leave their laptops in the library. At UMan, I lock the lab door when I go to the bathroom.
The library reminded me of a board room with its scrupulous attendance and heavy, impressive decor. Is this a byproduct of the professionalization of the university, or is it simply a modern menagerie--awing the unitiated with the power of capital.
Now i live on both sides of this fence, don't get me wrong. And with my tousseled hair and laptop I walked right past the attendant both days without an ID check. perhaps my undergrad ID would be sufficient proof that I would comport myself respectfully and not ruin the atmosphere. Isn't that what doormen are really all about?
I am currently unsconced in the harvard zoo' library. this is an amazing place with 4 librarians and 2 patrons. why? because just setting fire to a pile of money would have been obscene.
I went to a harvard grad colloquium. apparently in humanities grad school, "asking a question" is actually code for "rambling on for 5 minutes about something obscure and not really asking anything." after which, the speaker deflects your question and rambles about something tangential out of respect for you. but the chairs are so comfy, the lighting was beautifyl, and there was brie! at UMan we just have a box of timbits.
being at harvard got me thinking about the value of spaces. I used to hate this kind of discussion as an undergrad, but walking into a library that is shining wood and pristine, padded chairs made me realize how different I felt. It seemed like people were imbued with a sense of confidence and importance. at UMan, there are no comfortable chairs. consequently, we view academics as a monastic choice--painful but pure. where I woul imagine here, academics seems like something that society values externally which changes ones whole perspective. Just reading and writing affords one this rather beautiful existence. It would seem to at the root of both the ivory tower anti-intellectualism and the famous lack of perspective. people just leave their laptops in the library. At UMan, I lock the lab door when I go to the bathroom.
The library reminded me of a board room with its scrupulous attendance and heavy, impressive decor. Is this a byproduct of the professionalization of the university, or is it simply a modern menagerie--awing the unitiated with the power of capital.
Now i live on both sides of this fence, don't get me wrong. And with my tousseled hair and laptop I walked right past the attendant both days without an ID check. perhaps my undergrad ID would be sufficient proof that I would comport myself respectfully and not ruin the atmosphere. Isn't that what doormen are really all about?
# posted by 8yearoldsdude @ 1:17 PM 
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