Kathryn wrote:
"...performing spiritual rituals... seems to run counter to the norm expected in academic settings. I take issue with this very constraint in Academia. The phenomenology of human embodiment is far too essential and powerful for Academia to continue its denial of with the usual line "academic discourse maintains dispassionate objectivity."
Since most academic institutions are not religiously affiliated, there's always a problem with performing rituals that may appear to favor one religion over others, especially in public institutions in the US. Other nations, of course may not share these constraints.
More to the point, the postmodern critique has virtually eliminated any kind of claim that academic discourse is objective. Anyone claiming that in the academy today, especially in the humanities or the social sciences, is hopelessly out of touch with current scholarly discourse.
There are lots of ways to incorporate more embodied practices in academic settings. I've participated in, and seen, some interesting performances that incorporated spiritual discourse and embodied experience, especially at conferences; the SIEF conference "Liberating the Ethnological Imagination," in Derry, N. Ireland last June had numerous examples of these, including a meditation room with a labyrinth and a panel dedicated to "Performing Academia." Many ethnoraphies also incorporate ritual descriptions, passages in the voices of the author and various others, and additional alternative techniques designed to transcend the traditional separation betwen subject and object.
So can we ease up on tarring the academy with the same old brush, and actually learn something about what academics are doing these days?
Crankily,
Sabina
Sabina Magliocco
Professor and Chair
Department of Anthropology
California State University - Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8244
|