Date: Fri, 7 Jul 1995 00:31:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Zia Isola <zisola-AT-mailbox.syr.edu>
Subject: Re: you might well ask




On Thu, 6 Jul 1995, Aravinda Pillalamarri, BBN Library, 873-2789 wrote:

> maybe hundreds of lists for all we know.   when we read the message on the
> postcolonial list, we think of penetrating colonies, when we read the message
> on the marxism list we think of the $15 surplus "for her efforts" as David so
> delicately puts it.

Yes, I agree; whatever theoretical framework you apply to the posting 
will change how you read it and what kind of significance you take from 
it. I guess I'm just surprized that anonymous David wasn't 
self-reflexive enough to pause when it came to the option of posting to a 
list that is dedicated to interrogating the very kind of thing he is 
advertising. (And I admit to feeling something slightly more intense than 
pique when, in the name of "peace" and "helping others" he attempted to 
exempt himself from critique...) 
 
> 	as far as your "for the sake of conversation" question, this reminds me
> of a topic I wanted to discuss on this list, if there were any others who had
> read/ would want to read the pair of books recently published:
> 
> 	Mircea Eliade.  _Bengal nights_
> 	Maitreyi Devi.  _It does not die_
> 
> shall we start a reading group?  or just start discussing on the main list?

Unfortunately, the only Eliade I've read is *The Sacred and the Profane*, 
and I've not read any Devi at all. :(  The way this summer is going, it's 
unlikely I'd be able to live up to any commitment to a reading group, 
much as I would Love to participate in a group reading/discussion of the 
two above titles.  I would however, be able to/enjoy kicking around some 
of the issues this whole thing has raised, including my own somewhat 
self-righteous (imperious?) reaction to the very concept of Western men 
seeking out disenfranchised women from other countries/cultures (did 
somebody say "instant power imbalance"?).

On the other hand, maybe there are some other issues that you've been 
 wanting to discuss...I'm open.  

 --zia



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