tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post2587973290093102661..comments2021-02-13T04:51:17.282-05:00Comments on Nth Wave Feminism: The Utility of Anger?Kyriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01488063301300315710noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-12255416070845432632011-04-15T21:14:04.694-04:002011-04-15T21:14:04.694-04:00Grrl, you gotta come to my history of ed class. I ...Grrl, you gotta come to my history of ed class. I think those people are out there. Check out Catherine Lugg.Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03275971301824881125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-18624921690905749992011-04-15T18:29:29.342-04:002011-04-15T18:29:29.342-04:00I was having a similar conversation about this tod...I was having a similar conversation about this today. We were talking about all the "niceness" that seems to go on, on the surface at least, in our college. Even the critical pedagogy class seemed kind of "nice." But "nice" is oppressive in different ways. <br /><br />Lately, I've been wanting someone in our ivory tower world to try and make us angry, incite something. I don't mean angry in a way that they do or say some reprehensible thing we have to fight against. I mean someone who inspires that anger/rage, someone who encourages it, challenges us, and helps us think about how to channel that into something useful, something productive.Desihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18048605963648005956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-72327473394481698332011-04-09T11:21:51.066-04:002011-04-09T11:21:51.066-04:00For me, the big question is whether or not anger i...For me, the big question is whether or not anger is useful. If anger helps spur one to action, it's a good thing. For me, anger leads to paralysis. If I just sputter with rage, I can't do anything. I can try to channel that anger, but I'm not very good at it. Personally, I'm better at channeling empathy and love into action. I want to help those around me; empathy allows me to see suffering that I am unable to experience; and love allows me to move forward.<br /><br />For me, the injustices of the world are massive, so most actions I throw against them simply bounce off with little effect. It's easier for me to turn empathy and love into a rejuvenating space where movements can be nurtured and gain momentum. I'm of the mind that activism needs to start local and build up without stretching itself too thin or burning out. To allow for this, safe spaces built on love and nourishment are needed.<br /><br />In the end, I think it's about perception. If one perceives anger to be useful, then I think it is; and similarly if anger is not perceived as useful, then it is not. What differentiates the perception is lived experience, collective experience, and current context.<br /><br />As an aside, I'm intrigued by the notion of righteous anger and its cultural context. I've certainly grown up with it, but it appears to be a European Christian tradition (perhaps expanded to Abrahamic tradition). I'm curious to see how the role of anger varies depending on time and space.<br /><br />When I think of anger and rage, I think of the Illiad and Achilles ("Sing, o Muse" and all that). Anger and rage are useful emotions to Achilles because he has the means to channel those energies (one can argue about their utility, but Achilles certainly perceives them as useful). In the context of the martial Argive society where combat is emphasized, it's easy to see anger playing a useful role. To contrast, I think of Arjuna's anger in the Mahabarata. Arjuna, like Achilles, is a warrior, but Arjuna's anger and rage are not good things. Krishna works to help Arjuna be liberated from his anger.<br /><br />My goal is not to say that the Yogic construction of anger is better -- I think anger's utility is highly subjective -- but to explore how anger functions in different cultural contexts (while recognizing variance within those contexts).Andrew Eppighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10284138977754287236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-15675450757330637152011-04-09T11:20:05.819-04:002011-04-09T11:20:05.819-04:00I agree that the ivory tower approach to discourse...I agree that the ivory tower approach to discourse is very problematic, and I don't know who you had for that class, but it sounds really weird.<br /><br />You and I differ on our approaches to these issues, and I have some problems with critical pedagogy also, though mine tend to come from a place of not feeling that it's as critical as it should be. :)<br /><br />I can't speak for everyone, but if I can't be challenging the system, I don't know why I'm here. You know?Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03275971301824881125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-60480030999306726202011-04-08T12:38:27.615-04:002011-04-08T12:38:27.615-04:00My limited exposure to critical pedagogy in a clas...My limited exposure to critical pedagogy in a class was not a positive one, though I have read McClaren and Freire on my own. When the instructor was constantly ranting, and felt the need to apologize to me personally because I was in the military (I still am not sure what she was suggesting there, or why she apologized), I kind of closed off. Is that right? No, of course not. But it is one of the issues with the ivory tower approach to discourse. <br />As a teacher educator, I have no problem with critical pedgagogy, as it certainly responds to a need, but I know that I simply do not embrace many of the significant elements of the ideology, especially regarding capitalism and the nature of history. I do try to expose my students to it, and if they embrace it, good for them. But this again raises the question of whether or not we should require or expect teachers to desire to 'change the world' or challenge the system. <br />Great post. Enjoy New Orleans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683546417186768820.post-59345359083530553252011-04-08T08:21:12.330-04:002011-04-08T08:21:12.330-04:00How could you have missed the opportunity to quote...How could you have missed the opportunity to quote Bill Adama on this one? "Betrayal has a powerful grip on the mind. It's almost like a python. It can squeeze out all other thought, suffocate your emotion until everything is dead except your rage. I'm not talking about anger; I'm talking about rage. I can feel it. Right here, like it's gonna burst. I feel like I wanna scream. Right now, as a matter of fact."Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07223732554523877666noreply@blogger.com