This entry concerns capability in higher education. One of the themes present in this blog is a sense of powerlessness in a group which should feel empowered. The dirty little secret of higher ed is that it is incredibly hierarchical and oppressive. The last few entries have led me to completely read Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed for the first time – I am almost finished with the first chapter. Graduate students must be careful where they tread considering the myriad of political minefields which exist in their departments. Once graduate students leave for faculty positions, do they become “sub-oppressors”? Of course not all, but a substantial number do indeed fall in to this existential reality which Freire so elegantly discusses. Using Gizem’s metaphor – does the squirrel become the oppressor?
Here is another issue which should concern all graduate students – jobs. Are you fully informed concerning this issue? Presumably you are in graduate school to acquire a job but have any of you asked for full information: where new graduates work, what is the position, who was their advisor and so forth. This type of inquiry would certainly increase your capability.
In one of the first blog entries, growing a garden was used as a metaphor. I am in the process of beginning one out of an area composed of grass and weeds. The land itself is extremely fertile but of course the vegetables will not grow unless the weeds and grass are removed. It is a process of trying to ensure the capability of the vegetables to grow, beginning with the selection of where to place the garden (needs to be well drained, lots of sunlight). Once my daughter and I have eliminated the weeds and grass, we must spread the mulch and then plant. This is rural Maine so I must think about how to keep out all of the critters (impossible), the short growing season and gardening organically. Gardening is quite Deweyian in that it involves problem solving which constantly changes. For example, I know that my garden here will involve different issues than my garden in Southern California although I am planting some of the same vegetables. But the process of solving the problems remains similar. This brings me to CA – increasing capability needs to be viewed as a process which is not stagnant. In the current macrosystem I do not believe CA is achievable on a societal level, but that does not imply it cannot be successful within small theaters of activity.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
On Monday's class, we had some arguments with Michael about my last posts and he did not buy the idea that Sen's Capability Approach is a new version of developmentalist paradigm. He also disagreed with what I said about Freire. Not surprisingly, defeated with my professor, I went home and started reading Freire again, believing that I misunderstood Freire. While reading the first chapter, the concept of self-depreciation struck me. This was exactly what I was experiencing at that moment – that I, as an oppressed graduate student, have internalized the values of the oppressors so much that I truly believe that if a professor does not agree with me, I need to go back and see what was wrong with my thought process. It was unquestionable that I was mistaken somewhere and I had to fix it immediately. However, Michael had not even intended to initiate that process. He gives us freedom to read, think and come with questions, but the “fear of freedom” kicks in, I find myself questioning the validity of my ideas obsessively before sharing them. Then, I decided to post this idea, and saw your post – this is really incredible! I loved this!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I find the idea of being a sub-oppressor once I complete my PhD very scary! It blows my mind, but it has some reality in it. There are couple of people I know who have recently got their PhDs and they are continuing to work in OSU as lecturers, or post-doctoral fellows. Some of them have changed to be ‘bossy’ and ‘authoritative’ along with the power they were given. Freire would say they have become sub-oppressors and just changed their roles. They had internalized the oppressors and their values, and were so passionate about them that they moved towards becoming an opporessor. The problem is that roles change, but the oppression itself persists. However, Freire argues that change can happen when the oppression is abolished completely, rather than changing the poles of oppressor and oppressed. Reading your post somehow validated this experience, I guess.
One more thing, I think squirrel in the story is powerless and is hiding in the woods from oppressors. She is fearful about being a prey on hunters or other animals. I guess she meets Freire there and last line clearly indicates some form of new consciousness. However, according to Freire, consciousness is necessary but not sufficient to bring change. Dialogue is needed to transform the existing oppression and exploitation. I think this is what was missing in the story.