In reflection of the past 3.5 years of my college education, I've come to that common road block of 'why?' I love the idea of being in a facility of higher learning. The sheer mass of 'at-hand' knowledge and activity excites me. I would really, really like to teach in a university one day. A community of people dedicated to advancing human civilization culturally, socially, and technologically is a beautiful thing, and I wish it could apply to the whole of society (or even the whole of the university, if I want to step out of the purely hypothetical). At the same time, though, the majority of people don't care what goes in this valley of ours (save for football and the occasional ice cream cone), and we effect little direct change into the culture outside. I once heard a description of Penn State as a big bubble, where no real outside influence seems to enter easily. Meanwhile, I feel like (at least personally) nothing goes out.
Academia, to me, is a quixotic think-tank. We can do all these wonderful, amazing things, but do they actually matter? I was sitting in theory class, and we were discussing Schoenberg's first chamber symphony. There's all kinds of interesting things you can pull out, but it was written nearly 100 years ago. Or philosophy. Do most people even think about the possibility of a categorical imperative?
Or English. For English class, I'm writing a paper stressing the importance of ethics education in the American public schooling system. My responses are all across the map (more on this later), but I've noticed that many students could benefit from ethics education to help formulate their thoughts more clearly. However, to most people, why would that matter?
I foresee a nationwide social community where people actually talk to each other on the street, where exists the free exchange of ideas and emotions, where importance on art and writings is stressed. But I have to work to find that here at Penn State, and the 'real world' is far more utilitarian. Where are the viable applications for what I want to do, and how can I turn this into a job?
My plan is treat art music concerts like rock shows, but who would come? We, as a culture, seem so biased against higher thinking (unless it's for our financial or social benefit). The only way to develop intelligent conversation is practice, and we aren't well-practiced. Our culture doesn't deem clear communication necessary, and in fact encourages a lack of communication over the risk of embarrassment. I think that's a shame, and it's really hard to try to live that lifestyle while society so often avoids it.
Additionally, we're seeing a move toward a highly user-oriented economy. I.e., people 'download' their music now, get news online, etc. There are cheap, free ways to do anything you would ever want to do. This is practical for a middle class that doesn't have the money to spend on art, or science, or opera concerts. But for the artists and writers and scientists and thinkers themselves? There's really only one place to live off the majority of disciplines of higher education: academia.
Am I really doing something meaningful in academia, or is this prolonged quixotic meandering?
Academia, to me, is a quixotic think-tank. We can do all these wonderful, amazing things, but do they actually matter? I was sitting in theory class, and we were discussing Schoenberg's first chamber symphony. There's all kinds of interesting things you can pull out, but it was written nearly 100 years ago. Or philosophy. Do most people even think about the possibility of a categorical imperative?
Or English. For English class, I'm writing a paper stressing the importance of ethics education in the American public schooling system. My responses are all across the map (more on this later), but I've noticed that many students could benefit from ethics education to help formulate their thoughts more clearly. However, to most people, why would that matter?
I foresee a nationwide social community where people actually talk to each other on the street, where exists the free exchange of ideas and emotions, where importance on art and writings is stressed. But I have to work to find that here at Penn State, and the 'real world' is far more utilitarian. Where are the viable applications for what I want to do, and how can I turn this into a job?
My plan is treat art music concerts like rock shows, but who would come? We, as a culture, seem so biased against higher thinking (unless it's for our financial or social benefit). The only way to develop intelligent conversation is practice, and we aren't well-practiced. Our culture doesn't deem clear communication necessary, and in fact encourages a lack of communication over the risk of embarrassment. I think that's a shame, and it's really hard to try to live that lifestyle while society so often avoids it.
Additionally, we're seeing a move toward a highly user-oriented economy. I.e., people 'download' their music now, get news online, etc. There are cheap, free ways to do anything you would ever want to do. This is practical for a middle class that doesn't have the money to spend on art, or science, or opera concerts. But for the artists and writers and scientists and thinkers themselves? There's really only one place to live off the majority of disciplines of higher education: academia.
Am I really doing something meaningful in academia, or is this prolonged quixotic meandering?
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