On Arts

Life has eventually caught up with me: In the next few weeks I will be working on three term papers, one conference paper, and my MA thesis in parallel. The only question yet to be solved is how to master the art of time management. One inspirational starting point might be The Art Institute Museum of Chicago which harbors a sheer incredible number of modern and contemporary art pieces. I highly recommend the American art section which covers 150 years of American painting and boasts masterpieces such as Hopper's "Nighthawks" and Wood's "American Gothic." Not to be missed either is the fine collection of French contemporary art--or who would not like to see all the dots and strokes in Seurat's "La Grande Jatte"?

(Un)Imaginative

Last week, Benedict Anderson delivered a speech at the University of Chicago, where a conference celebrated the 25th anniversary of his book "Imagined Communities." He touched upon very interesting topics, such as Japan's change in wordview from a horizontal perspective to a vertical one after the 1860s, or the reevaluation of the perception of "time" after the invention of the telegraph. Nonetheless, the speech as a whole fell short of the high expectations harbored by me and others: there was no overarching topic, much less an attempt to elaborate on the issues raised. After drifting into linguistics and the question whether the usage of the past tense in the English language enabled us to express future intentions, most of the audience passed out and was tossing and turning on its seats. A shame......

A new horizon

Surrounded by a financial crisis and talks of economic doom, I have decided to go look for a job--less than three weeks into my MA studies at the University of Chicago. Since it is my first serious job hunt (aside from multiple summer jobs in college), it is sort of an experiment too. If this fragile project will bear fruit in the end or perish under the forces of free competition and a reckless market?

In principio

This blog is about borders--borders surrounding our country, borders surrounding our Selfs, borders being constructed by Others around us. It explores the dichotomy of Inside/Outside, the seeming comfort, simplicity, and protection that comes with it; but also the pain, marginalization, and subjugation that are caused by its imposition.

This blog is intended "to interrogate limits, to explore how they are imposed, to demonstrate their arbitrariness, and to think other-wise, that is, in a way that makes possible the testing of limitations and the exploration of excluded possibilities.” (Ashley and Walker, 1990: 263)

Ultimately, this blog is directed against those who cherish in the culture of fear and shamelessly profit from it. "New ways of looking at the world are emerging," says Anne Fausto-Sterling, "but the language of talking about them and what they mean hasn’t caught up." (Johnson, 2008) It is time to say what needs to be said.

Ashley, Richard K., and R.B.J. Walker (1990) 'Introduction: Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissident Thought in International Studies', International Studies Quarterly, 34:3.

Johnson, Kirk (2008) 'We Agreed to Agree, and Forgot to Notice', The New York Times, January 6.