Thursday, January 27, 2011

Mom said to do it

Come join me for another late night fire.  Insomnia seems to be my curse right now.  But the weather is nice, the night is gorgeous, and the fire is just perfect for warmth and cooking.  Feel free to partake of the bacon'n'cheddar smokies.  Oh my those are good.

So if you've been keeping up, you've probably read my mom's comment on the previous post.  She said name what I wish for.  So I thought I'd do that. 

Well first I want to finish this paper, which is the application of the Anishinabe philosophy of Bimaadziwin to the character of Leopold Bloom in the Cyclops chapter of Ulysses.  It's turning into quite a fun journey.  So that's number one.

Number two, apply to grad school and get accepted into the Masters program for English, where I hope to write a proposal for a thesis on Utopian lit, and how it appears to be European interpretations of the FN lifestyle pre-contact.  While doing that I would love to teach at FNUniv.  Particularly the lab portion of their version of the University 100 course.  As well it would be wonderful to do introductory English or Indigenous Studies courses. 

Once that's done, I'd like to apply for a Ph.D. program in Multidisciplinary Studies, with the intention of proving a distinct connection between exposure to First Nations Culture and the massive political changes in Europe, such as Communism, the French Revolution, and democratic expansion in the world. 

My intention in all of this is not to create a voice of resistance in a colonized world.  Resistance implies a deficiency, which is something I don't find in Anishinabe philosophy.  I want the world view of First Nations and other aboriginal cultures to be recognized as just as viable, just as applicable as anything created by European schools. 

Once that's done I want to help recreate full programs at FNUniv, to bring it back to the levels it should be at and eventually make it a world class educational institution. 

Why think small right?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you can achieve all of that. I think you would be the kind of teacher that kids will look back at and say "Wow, Professor Jensen blew my mind with his lecture today". You would be a great teacher.

Silent Winged Coyote said...

I hate it when people who know me don't sign. :)

Actually the fun is this, and it's something I've realized. My name with a doctorate is kinda funny. Dr. Dick. Heh!

See here's the thing I realized. You must always take what you do seriously. But it's always a mistake to take yourself too seriously.

Hollyhock Jellybean said...

Hey that would be awesome, Richard. Being a professor, I mean, not so much that you would have people address you as Dr. Dick. lol

What classes/subjects would you choose to lecture on? Or would you find different ways/venues other than the typical lecture/lecture halls offered?

Silent Winged Coyote said...

Well I'm at heart a lover of a story. So I think a lot of my focus will be on various forms of storytelling as culturally significant. But that's pretty broad. As a friend of mine once said, every English prof has an axe to grind, their little area they focus on. For me it's the application of Indigenous Knowledges to Literature on its own merits rather than a voice of resistance.