From: JessEcoh-AT-cs.com Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 23:14:14 EDT Subject: Re: [postanarchism] Is there anyone on this list who isn't a current or aspi... hmm. i really don't know if being an academic worker (full time, on the tenure track, that is -- adjuncts have a real shitty deal, that much is plain and simple) is really any better or worse, all things considered, than other jobs with similar pay (usually affording a middle-class lifestyle, though by no means glamorous) and working conditions (safe and clean, etc.). the mix of freedom and confinement is not unlike other occupations. there is a good deal of informal as well as bureaucratic policing of speech and thought, but i am my own boss in the classroom, and that gives me a kind of creative outlet that i cherish. i get to work with people a lot, which often means headaches and frustration, since many of these people are bored and/or boring (often to the degree to which their interest in being in my class is purely extrinsic, i.e., careerist), but occasionally affording moments of mutual excitement, shared enthusiasm, discovery, laughter, comradeship, mutual aid, and so on -- this despite the power relationships that come to bear on all such encounters. i feel lucky, all things considered -- privileged. i am getting paid to do something that i love, albeit under oppressive and obnoxious circumstances. that's not bad. the thing is figuring out how to make the most of what i have, and how to draw lines when necessary to preserve my integrity (creative, ethical, psychological, etc.). it is also a struggle to avoid what is called _deformation professionelle_ -- the subtle way in which professional habits infect your personal life. that's pretty insidious. but it's an occupational hazard of lots of other occupations as well. --jesse. --- StripMime Warning -- MIME attachments removed --- This message may have contained attachments which were removed. Sorry, we do not allow attachments on this list. --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---
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