April 8, 2014

Disturbing bureaucratic dreams left me with the impression that I had a restless night. I think the dreams came from the latest Humanities staff meeting. I had been rather overestimating my colleagues in assuming that our discussion had to do with the canon and what texts are appropriate for our students. Turns out not to be that at all. Turns out to be a way of making it easier for the faculty, who, stunned by the rigor and breadth needful to introduce the great works of the past, react not by learning new material, as we did in our day, but by neglecting the landmarks when it suits them to teach what they damn well please. Too hard to learn all that stuff? Well, teach what you already know and use your time to argue why actually delivering the needful information is outmoded. This is not even an interpretation; the exact words were said at least three times in the meeting. Our chairman said he was changing from a plan centered on the needs of the students to one centered on the needs of the faculty.  Another said, “Yes, it would make it a whole lot easier of I could teach what I already know.” A visitor, hearing the plan, said, “Well, even I, who have no knowledge of the subject matter at all, could teach the course if it looks like that.” She meant that as praise. There’s not that much point in discussing it further, since it’s a fait accompli and our “discussion” is placation for those of us who still stand aghast. Plus, I love been lectured to by a grad-school infatuated popinjay whose second semester in the program this is. I tolerate it because of the suspicion that I may have offended similarly in my day.

The garbagemen bang away in the dark of the morning.