My learning journey at Stanford continued over the summer with an extremely intense course on “the archive”, an artifact of great fetishization in the humanities. Here is a quick overview.
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Many years ago, as the final capstone project for a learning journey at my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, I wrote something best described as “creative non-fiction”. It combined elements of autobiography with some ruminations on cricket and Indian identity. That project is presented below, unchanged.
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Last week I put out an announcement about a new role I am taking on at my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. I thought I’d write a few more lines on my higher education involvement. The purpose is to explain the slightly demented fervor with which I approach that involvement.
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The second year of my MLA program ended with a bang in the form of a course on poems. Here I thought it’d be interesting to lay out an abridged version of my response to Blue Swallows by Howard Nemerov.
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In this essay I want to talk briefly about how most affluent people live in “gilded cages.” Just like bullshit jobs, gilded cages promise meaning and fulfillment, but more often deliver a sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness.
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There is much research out there on peer group dynamics, and I am not going to rehash it. But I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and spend a fair amount of my mentorship time hectoring folks about avoiding peer group pressure, so here are some thoughts.
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I’ve been thinking and writing about Iain M. Banks recently, in the context of a learning journey I am on at Stanford. Reflecting on his work in an academic setting was a different experience and got me thinking — thinking about how we think about the future.
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In life — work, home, relationships of all kinds — there are people who “brung ya to the dance.” Sometimes we forget them, and this is a mistake. It is essential to remember them, both because gratitude is a noble emotion and so you also remember to pass it on.
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In which I speak about science fiction and fantasy, and the universality of all fiction. And some book recommendations!
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Public domain bios, such as on LinkedIn or a company web site, hide many stories. Here I want to drill into one of my personal transitions that reads a certain way, but hides a much more complicated reality.
Read MoreHere is the best of what I read in 2021.
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Here I write briefly about language, and specifically the language of English in India. I have some counterintuitive ideas…
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Seeing the space antics of Messrs Branson and Bezos — and presumably Musk to follow — got me ruminating on the consequences of these terrible acts of violence against our planet. Some thoughts.
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Last week, I finished my first year of a learning journey in the form of a part-time degree program designed for working professionals with an interest in the humanities. Feels like a good time to take stock and make some observations.
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I often feel the English language — or pretty much any other human language — is singularly unequipped to deal with metaphysical concepts. This is one reason why philosophical writing is so opaque and convoluted.
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I recently read Don Quixote in full for the first time, in the wonderful Edith Grossman translation. It can be read — as I did as a child, reading an abridged version — as a rollicking pasquinade. But beneath the hilarity lie perceptive critiques of prevailing social norms and institutions.
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I read sections of the Decameron recently along with the story of The Little Hunchback from the 1001 Nights, as part of an ongoing learning journey. I’d never read the Decameron before; I’ve read the 1001 Nights, but that is mainly because I wanted to read the unexpurgated Richard Burton version (which is an absolute hoot). A couple of thoughts follow.
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It is said that the pagan ethos of Beowulf is still present in modern civilization — buried under classical values, Christian theology, secular humanism, and anything else. Of course it is. And yet we have had a legitimate transition of power between opposing camps. Some thoughts.
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My own behavior has changed over the last two years in the course of Amasia’s research into sustainability and climate change. For this new year of 2021, I am sharing a more personal manifesto.
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Here's the best of what I read in 2020.
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