<snip>
>To Diane: Schools, universities, disciplines... in short, institutions -- is
>it possible to breath freely in institutions? Do such institutions exist? I
>think they do... I have experienced some and sometimes...
>
>Eugene
I admit I am comfortable in sweeping generalizations at times.
Institutions, by my
preferred understanding, are not bad spaces full of bad people, but rather are
historically organized to reproduce structures and systems which
are, for the most part, bad. Ha ha -
Ok. Wait. No. Institutions. ...
Eugene - in what ways have you experienced
institutions as a positive space, "breathing freely", as 't'were? I guess
I understand institutions as replicas of a specific class oppression system.
So, historically, the fantastically elite (masculine) go to particular
institutions designed
to reproduce their (elite/male) participation;
and the fantastically impoverished go to prisons & asylums which are
designed to contain their (poor/women/"different"/"gay") participation.
the same structures which organized those kinds of participation are still
very much in place, don't you find? Certainly universities are
still maintaining their legacy in degree structures; practices such as
(sorry folks but...)
tenure & "fellow"ships; the isolation of the institution from the
community-at-large;
the legacy of administrative power and authority (the need to ensure
that cretins fill high positions) - the desire to maintain the
value of knowledge-for-knowledge's-sake (which I admit I used to support
but lately am thinking it's just another ruse...)
I don't see these as progessive structures, but as manifestations of
arcane tenacity - (like,
consider the rising popularity of golf as a sport - I mean, whenever
the rich white boys shuttle off somewhere else in the cultural playing
field, you can bet there's something afoot.) -
what was the question? Oh ya: Re-forming institutions won't help because
of the way the materials are re-instated - and so limited -
in the notion of "forming" something again (reshape... can't turn a
porcelain vase into a stainless steel bucket)
I reckon, a proactive response to this would be actualized in
the development or design
of intervention models which make accessible practical ways for
folks to provide education, opportunities, etc.,
for themselves - outside of institutions.
in fact, I deliberately sought NGO-funding for my community-art project
(oiy: "my" project, she sez, like she owns it..., see? ownership. it's
everywhere)
because I wanted to organize something which was not connected to any
institution
in any way. Our bank account, even, is in a credit union as opposed to a Bank.
every community-connection we've pursued has been on the basis of their
cooperative administrative structure and a grass-roots belief system
about change and intervention... so, in a few years I guess we'll see
what difference this makes;
but... I guess I do think institutions need to be removed/replaced, one
day, with
more flexible models of social participation.
diane
"Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right."
Ani Difranco
*********************************
diane celia hodges
faculty of education
university of british columbia
vancouver, bc canada
tel: (604)-253-4807
email: dchodges who-is-at interchange.ubc.ca