Schlosser Course Notes

I. 

We had a great discussion of the Socrates Cafes on which I will soon prepare some general comments to "googledoc." One theme that has stayed with me: how the space was saturated with power relationships that were, in a sense, contradictory: many of us felt out of place and as if we did not have equal influence over the conversation; at the same time, however, many of the non-360 folks acted and spoke as if they were intimidated by us, suggesting that they saw us as in control of the space. How can we deal with these conflicting perceptions? What would have been a better way to structure such a conversation to resist the assumptions (and feelings of powerlessness) on both sides?

II.

I.

We had some terrific approaches to Du Bois's Souls as well as connections between Souls and Rankine and Tocqueville. I appreciated the creativity and artistry that Shirah and Sula brought as well as the passion and care that Farida and Han exhibited. All four experimental essays were successes as far as I am concerned -- and I look forward to seeing how they take shape in their next iterations.

We could have spent a little more time connecting Tocqueville in DuBois, I think. From my notes for that class, I would remind you of the following (with some more elaboration):

I. 

Here are my post-class notes from last week to remind you where we've been: /oneworld/arts-resistance/post-class-notes-september-21

To mix things up, we're going to start immediately with our experimental essayists -- both because Shirah suggested it and because that will mean, I hope, we can write to reflect on the class towards the end of class. (Also since we didn't go into the jail this week, I'm assuming there's less for us to process.)

Our experimental essayists this week: Sula, Han, Shirah, and Farida

II.

I. 

We had a great conversation reflecting on the past seven days: Tocqueville, research proposals, our work in the prison, the Mural Arts Tour, Eastern State, etc. I was struck by a few themes:

1. Which bodies deserve humanization and on whose terms? Here we were thinking about the potential for a #blacklivesmatter mural or the 9/11 Memorial.

2. More generally: Who is deemed deserving of art and by whom? How do these structures of deserving come into being and how can they be changed? Here we talked about the separation between "art" and "graffiti" presented on the Mural Arts Tour and questions of community, property, ownership, and legitimacy.

I.

Just to remind you where we were last week, here are my notes from that conversation: Post-class notes from Monday Sept. 14.

I'd like to start with writing again, but this time not limiting ourselves to de Tocqueville. So write about where you've been -- both materially as well as emotionally and intellectually -- since the last time we gathered in Dalton together.

And rather than sharing our writing directly, after our ten minutes I'd like to talk about your research projects and the connections you have discovered reading these different proposals. What themes emerged? What collaborative ideas occurred to you? How do you want to continue your research?

I.

On Monday night (9/14), we raised a number of important questions that I hope we can continue investigating on our second class devoted to Tocqueville's Democracy in America. We noted and some of us admired the following:

1. The "arts of freedom" Tocqueville locates in localism, political equality, public education, and having a hand on the laws.

2. Tocqueville's attempt to educate democracy through the work of his book and its vision (perhaps utopian) of what democracy could or should look like.

We also pointed to some silences and gaps in Tocqueville's account:

Below is a two-page overview of Tocqueville's argument that I delivered to my Deep Springs students a few years ago while we were reading selections from Democracy in America. I've also attached my own set of notes from graduate school -- a rough outline of the entire argument. (Both have page number references to the Mansfield and Winthrop University of Chicago Press edition; I didn't have you buy this because we're only reading the first volume.)

I.

I'm musing on this passage from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and I'd like to start with some free writing in response to this:

"There is no other country in the world where the law speaks so absolute a language as in America or where the right to apply it is divided among so many hands." (Goldhammer, trans., p. 80)

This seems especially poignant and compelling to me after our experience together on Thursday Friday afternoons. I'd like to write about this for ten minutes and then split up into small groups to talk about what we've written.

II.

Class 1: Arts of Freedom                                                                    August 31, 2015

I. Writing Invocation

Trayvon Martin’s name sounds from the car radio a dozen times each half hour. You pull your love back into the seat because though no one seems to be chasing you, the justice system has other plans.

Yes, and this is how you are a citizen: Come on. Let it go. Move on.

Citizen, p. 151