Interesting Reads

The course readings I've had recently for my disabilities studies class have been very interesting. I thought this week's topic of "Ethics and Politics" might not be as exciting as previous weeks, but I think this weeks readings provided perhaps even more issues to think about. The readings were mostly about eugenics (historically in the US, Britain, and Germany and the relation to modern-day prenatal testing), and the "mad" movement (which I had only been slightly familiar with).

Who has the right to decide that a life is not worth living?

At what point do people with mental illness lose the right to make decisions about their physical bodies?

-These are just a couple questions that popped into my head after the readings - questions that I know will be tumbling around in my head for some time.

Readings for my curriculum class have also been great. Right now we're reading some Parker Palmer and bell hooks. I have to say, though Palmer is indeed a good writer and is very, very full of passion and care, there's just something about bell hooks that jumps out and grabs me. Perhaps this is not the most relevant thing to be pointing out, but just the differences in the style of writing sort of separate their perspectives (which are in some ways very different, and in other ways, similar). I feel that every word, every sentence, every paragraph and chapter of Palmer is carefully selected and strung together with intent. There is a reason for every word and each idea builds. hooks on the other hand...well, her writing isn't haphazard or anything, but it is full of energy...it's like...her writing is actually charismatic. -Is that possible? I'm sure I'll have more to say about both once I've completed the readings, but it's so interesting to see the ways their two different perspectives complement each other.

Today I got to (just about) the end of chapter 4 in Palmer, and I have to say that I spent lots of time thinking about this chapter as I was reading it because I really identify with it. At first, I was wondering where he was going with his discussion of community (i.e. therapeutic, civic, and market) but I like where he ended up because I share his epistemological perspective. I mean...I always love talking about subjective vs objective thought, and the importance of the relationship of the "knower" with the "subject" and that there is indeed a relationship, not just among people in the academic community, but between people and inanimate objects and thoughts, such as the subjects we study, and the underlying questions or "secrets" that pull us into them. I understand that to some people, it may sound ridiculous, but I don't think being moved by ideas is any less "out there" than being moved by poetry, art, and music.

For example, I was so sure I was going to major in psychology when I went to college, and when I finished my first year, I had 20 credits in psychology. On a whim, I decided to take a sociology class and...well...I tossed my psych major out the window. Sociology really touched me...Merton, anomie, deviance, Goffman, the presentation of the self, social structures, social roles, hierarchy, social stratification...it isn't just the learner learning, and it's more than the student reaching out to touch the subject, it's the subject actually reaching out to pull you in. I also feel that way about education, and of course, as I've moved along in my education, I see the relationships among the different subjects I've studied, the relationships among people in my studies (faculty and peers), and even the connection of myself to what I'm studying. --I really feel Palmer in this one.

I've begun my research for my disability studies paper...I've found about 50 articles related to my topic, now I'm in the process of reading abstracts and weeding out what I don't need. I've already found at least four that go in the "not relevant" pile and I've gone through about ten. Hopefully I'll find a couple real gems, but none so far. I think ideally I'd like to address teaching, learning, and pedagogy...though I'm open to where the literature will take me. I just think that those three pieces are critical to curriculum, though, of course, institutional structure is, too. I'm thinking with teaching it's who is teaching and what is being taught, with learning it's who is/should/has learned from the disability studies perspective, what is taught, and where is disability studies taught (i.e. is it a silo department or interdisciplinary across curriculum), and with pedagogy it's the question of how disability studies is taught. Hrm. I'll need to ponder that a bit more.

In other news, I have a review due next Thursday for the Teaching Matters panel I attended last week. I've had a harder time thinking of connections to the reading than I did with previous panels, maybe because it feels like a rehash of the same material as the topics discussed at each session are very similar. Anyhow, I was thinking that a new dimension would be the benefit that not only first year students get from learning communities, but also the student mentors that lead these groups. --And guess what showed up in my mailbox today? The most recent edition of Educational Horizons that I receive through Pi Lambda Theta, and it's all about the benefits associated with being a student mentor! How cool is that?! Just the perfect piece I need!