Friday, January 27, 2006
We Need to Support Independent Places for Political Learning Right Now!
Quinlan Vos of Boredom Won’t Get Me Tonight said in response to my post on the New SPACE, "Dang, I wish there was wonderful stuff like that around these parts, that sounds great." In response to that, I can say, I wish there were more people around these parts who felt that this sounded great and actually acted on that feeling. Attendance at the New SPACE is not what it should be, and its future is quite uncertain. We're not sure why - maybe a combination of the disintegration of the radical left in NYC (as in many other places) with the fact that the radical left as we know it in NYC is very much connected to specific small circles and this group is kind of outside of those circles. (But, then, what use is a place that always appeals to the same circles of people - such as certain bookstores I can think of - that have talks that always draw the same little crowd? Isn't that the ultimate example of "preaching to the converted"?) The New SPACE might have started off in the face of extra challenges because it was created as a "splitoff" from the Brecht Forum, and its founders have not hesitated to publicly declare their dissatisfaction over their experiences with the Brecht Forum. However, this alone does not explain why classes that teach this wonderful stuff (yes, I think it's wonderful too) are not getting sufficient attendance. Once again, something is wrong if a learning place must depend so much on the approval and faithful attendance of a particular small, unchanging group.
Independent political learning places seem to be doing especially badly these days, and I would guess that there are a few reasons for this that go beyond the bad general condition of the left (though they may be very much connected to that). And probably, there are people who've really studied this problem who could offer a more concrete list of reasons than I can - and if not, there should be. Nonetheless, I think I can suggest a couple of reasons here...
One being that many of the people who consider themselves radical these days (and are actually interested in radical theory) are going to official schools of the kind where they pay lots of money for classes in order to buy a degree. Granted, radical-left ideas are not the big, growing trend in academia right now, but people do find places within the academy where they can make time to learn and study some radical stuff (with some professors who can get away with being quite radical, theoretically, at least until right wingers set out to "expose" them and kick them out) while they are buying those degrees. Meanwhile, independent schools that do not promise "school credit" or teach basic marketable/sellable job skills are probably not so popular in the present backward social atmosphere, either because people are too busy trying to gain some "practical" advantage (e.g., build a "career") to take courses that will not advance them in the present system (although such classes might provide some good ideas on how to overthrow that system) or, in the present climate, they can’t even understand the idea of going to a school that doesn't hold out an offer for conventional advancement of some kind.
Yet, exactly because we are in such a socially regressive time, that is all the more reason to do whatever we can to support the existence of independent political learning places. It is almost a cliche to say that education is often the first step toward collective political action or change. But when the society is so dumbed down and people are so unused to thinking about social alternatives, this cliche applies more than ever. That’s why, even while independent political schools are becoming more difficult to keep open, they are also becoming more essential. This is true, especially, with regard to schools that can bring together adults who are not connected to any university or other official capitalist "learning" institution.
So, I think people should support these independent learning places wherever they find them. And personally speaking, I hope more people support the New SPACE. (Of course, the number of people who read this blog is probably even smaller than a class at the New SPACE. But maybe someone will stumble upon this post in a search or something and spread the word – you never know...)
Independent political learning places seem to be doing especially badly these days, and I would guess that there are a few reasons for this that go beyond the bad general condition of the left (though they may be very much connected to that). And probably, there are people who've really studied this problem who could offer a more concrete list of reasons than I can - and if not, there should be. Nonetheless, I think I can suggest a couple of reasons here...
One being that many of the people who consider themselves radical these days (and are actually interested in radical theory) are going to official schools of the kind where they pay lots of money for classes in order to buy a degree. Granted, radical-left ideas are not the big, growing trend in academia right now, but people do find places within the academy where they can make time to learn and study some radical stuff (with some professors who can get away with being quite radical, theoretically, at least until right wingers set out to "expose" them and kick them out) while they are buying those degrees. Meanwhile, independent schools that do not promise "school credit" or teach basic marketable/sellable job skills are probably not so popular in the present backward social atmosphere, either because people are too busy trying to gain some "practical" advantage (e.g., build a "career") to take courses that will not advance them in the present system (although such classes might provide some good ideas on how to overthrow that system) or, in the present climate, they can’t even understand the idea of going to a school that doesn't hold out an offer for conventional advancement of some kind.
Yet, exactly because we are in such a socially regressive time, that is all the more reason to do whatever we can to support the existence of independent political learning places. It is almost a cliche to say that education is often the first step toward collective political action or change. But when the society is so dumbed down and people are so unused to thinking about social alternatives, this cliche applies more than ever. That’s why, even while independent political schools are becoming more difficult to keep open, they are also becoming more essential. This is true, especially, with regard to schools that can bring together adults who are not connected to any university or other official capitalist "learning" institution.
So, I think people should support these independent learning places wherever they find them. And personally speaking, I hope more people support the New SPACE. (Of course, the number of people who read this blog is probably even smaller than a class at the New SPACE. But maybe someone will stumble upon this post in a search or something and spread the word – you never know...)
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Of course the real solution (for me at least) would be to get off my ass and do something to help start something like that. Of course I hardly have resources for such things, but I really should at least be in a book group or something.
I agree about the university thing, while very tiny in numbers, there are plenty of people who do teach and produce quite radical ideas in academia's confines. My close friends are taking a class with the editor of Monthly Review (John Bellamy Foster) and other radical professors at the University of Oregon, and I might be doing so too next year. But really the university system is a laughable joke. Example: I'm in a sociology class on "globalization", I know more (by a fair margin) than my teacher (who's a grad student) on the topic being taught. College is just jumping through hoops do get that "career" boost, though even that's becoming increasingly difficult as many people after getting their bachelor's go straight to working at Starbuck's or parking garages. There is little real learning going on at colleges, although a someone truly interested in educating themselves can learn a lot in said institutions.
Well, I'm rambling.
I agree about the university thing, while very tiny in numbers, there are plenty of people who do teach and produce quite radical ideas in academia's confines. My close friends are taking a class with the editor of Monthly Review (John Bellamy Foster) and other radical professors at the University of Oregon, and I might be doing so too next year. But really the university system is a laughable joke. Example: I'm in a sociology class on "globalization", I know more (by a fair margin) than my teacher (who's a grad student) on the topic being taught. College is just jumping through hoops do get that "career" boost, though even that's becoming increasingly difficult as many people after getting their bachelor's go straight to working at Starbuck's or parking garages. There is little real learning going on at colleges, although a someone truly interested in educating themselves can learn a lot in said institutions.
Well, I'm rambling.
Anyhow, radical movements have long had their own schools, from Ferrer's anarchist modern schools to the German Social Democratic Party having its own schools, to the Frankfurt School Institute for Social Research (although that was detached from the radical movement itself, a source of both great weakness and strength). It seems like such things are more or less necessary if any significant radical movement is to develop, and maybe the dearth of such groups is why we're so weak. But the converse is true, and the few things like that which do exist are very weak too.
It has to be said that $80 is a lot of money when you don't have it. I would love to attend some of the classes, but I simply can't afford it.
This really is an ongoing and difficult problem... Here in San Francisco I've just launched a "Spring Talks" series, with a goal of opening up a space for discussion and cross-pollination. It's not, perhaps, as directly focused on radical left politics, more on the themes of community history and urban ecological transformation. But my thinking is that you can start with that frame, which helps pull in a more diverse and varied crowd, and then mix it up in discussion, bringing in various political ideas and theories... If anyone reading this is in the Bay Area and wants to come by, it's the 2nd and last Wednesdays of the month at CounterPULSE. Info: 415.626.2060 or www.counterpulse.org/springtalks.shtml
--Chris Carlsson
--Chris Carlsson
Darren,
I know very well what it's like not to be able to afford it. I worked out a discount with them for the class I took last year, based on my low (annual) income. (They called it a "scholarship." I don't like the term, but this "scholarship" enabled me to knock quite a few dollars off the price.) Theoretically, no one is turned away for lack of funds; however, admittedly, I think the discount/"scholarship" process needs to be ironed out a little (I simply wrote a long letter, but there should be some simpler, more specific way to ask for that - maybe that can be worked out, if the place even survives long enough). Anyway, the individual talks are much cheaper, a suggested $7 on the sliding scale, and most people don't even pay that (though they should if they can afford it at all, because the SPACE does need to cover its own costs).
Moreover, the $80 or $100 is nothing compared to the prices that they charge at official schools just to audit a course without taking any credits, and the New SPACE price is about the same as other independent learning places such as the Brecht Forum.
I guess we all need to think about and set our priorities, too. I've known a few activist types who complained about not having money even to buy food and went dumpster diving all the time, yet had no problem dropping $10 a few nights a week for beer.
I don't mean to be moralistic about it and tell people that they should sacrifice their pleasures for the cause or some crap like that, but I do wish a lot of people would afford the (suggested) price of at least a few informative talks (at the New SPACE or some other forum) rather than all the other crap they probably throw out their money to get. (Another example would be "entertainment." People in New York regularly throw out $10 on that corporate garbage called movies. And they pay at least $10 a week for cable TV, 2000 channels and still nothing on.)
Oh, well, I shouldn't get into ranting... If you really can't afford anything like this, then you can't - but, once agin, if you need a discount because of economic hardship, you probably could work something out.
I know very well what it's like not to be able to afford it. I worked out a discount with them for the class I took last year, based on my low (annual) income. (They called it a "scholarship." I don't like the term, but this "scholarship" enabled me to knock quite a few dollars off the price.) Theoretically, no one is turned away for lack of funds; however, admittedly, I think the discount/"scholarship" process needs to be ironed out a little (I simply wrote a long letter, but there should be some simpler, more specific way to ask for that - maybe that can be worked out, if the place even survives long enough). Anyway, the individual talks are much cheaper, a suggested $7 on the sliding scale, and most people don't even pay that (though they should if they can afford it at all, because the SPACE does need to cover its own costs).
Moreover, the $80 or $100 is nothing compared to the prices that they charge at official schools just to audit a course without taking any credits, and the New SPACE price is about the same as other independent learning places such as the Brecht Forum.
I guess we all need to think about and set our priorities, too. I've known a few activist types who complained about not having money even to buy food and went dumpster diving all the time, yet had no problem dropping $10 a few nights a week for beer.
I don't mean to be moralistic about it and tell people that they should sacrifice their pleasures for the cause or some crap like that, but I do wish a lot of people would afford the (suggested) price of at least a few informative talks (at the New SPACE or some other forum) rather than all the other crap they probably throw out their money to get. (Another example would be "entertainment." People in New York regularly throw out $10 on that corporate garbage called movies. And they pay at least $10 a week for cable TV, 2000 channels and still nothing on.)
Oh, well, I shouldn't get into ranting... If you really can't afford anything like this, then you can't - but, once agin, if you need a discount because of economic hardship, you probably could work something out.
yeah, here in Toronto, we have the Anarchist University going on, and it is indeed pretty darn cool :)
# posted by 
: 3:38 PM
: 3:38 PM
Yes, those other places look good too (and they all seem to have their own unique sort of personality). I've looked at the Spring Talks briefly (will look at that again later), and they do have a good historical focus.
I've known of the Anarchist University for a while... I think it, or something there, linked to the project that I collaborated on with asfo_del, the Collective Book on Collective Process.
In the near future, when I have the time, I'll expand the "schools" section and list those places. (There's no need to limit the schools to New York - it's just that New York City is the town where I have enough perspective to know what to list. Maybe I'll put a call out for more suggestions from other regions.)
I've known of the Anarchist University for a while... I think it, or something there, linked to the project that I collaborated on with asfo_del, the Collective Book on Collective Process.
In the near future, when I have the time, I'll expand the "schools" section and list those places. (There's no need to limit the schools to New York - it's just that New York City is the town where I have enough perspective to know what to list. Maybe I'll put a call out for more suggestions from other regions.)
Back to Quinlan...
It can be a problem when you obviously know more than your teachers. But it helps if you're young, because people's attitudes about age help them to remain confident in their authority (i.e., over younger people). (Actually, to be specific, if you're young, it helps you to get through the course. But unless there's an open sort of format, with a good deal of mutual interaction, I'm not sure you will learn anything new.)
I know some older people (I'm thinking of one friend in particular right now) who've gone back to school after a long lapse and now have had to deal with being older than a teacher in addition to knowing more than that person. This can be a little threatening to a teacher trained with a traditional perspective on the teacher vs. student relationship.
It can be a problem when you obviously know more than your teachers. But it helps if you're young, because people's attitudes about age help them to remain confident in their authority (i.e., over younger people). (Actually, to be specific, if you're young, it helps you to get through the course. But unless there's an open sort of format, with a good deal of mutual interaction, I'm not sure you will learn anything new.)
I know some older people (I'm thinking of one friend in particular right now) who've gone back to school after a long lapse and now have had to deal with being older than a teacher in addition to knowing more than that person. This can be a little threatening to a teacher trained with a traditional perspective on the teacher vs. student relationship.
I don't think it's necessarily a University vs Free School thing. At least one of the coures facilitators at the AnarchistU (which is currently going strong) is also a University professor, and there are a lot of people working on degrees or who have degrees who are involved (as well as people who probably wouldn't even touch a university with a bulldozer).
I think a lot of people just don't have time... or see it as a choice between boring academic discussions that get you a degree and those that don't. If learning projects were linked to something concrete, that would probably entice a lot of people. Learning as a separate thing is problematic in itself...
I think a lot of people just don't have time... or see it as a choice between boring academic discussions that get you a degree and those that don't. If learning projects were linked to something concrete, that would probably entice a lot of people. Learning as a separate thing is problematic in itself...
Mews,
How, exactly would one define "learning as a separate thing" and learning that is tied to something "concrete"? If learning enables one to progress toward a better understanding of the world that we live in, and possibly to participate in a collective movement in order to change things... It seems that this would be a far more concrete thing to do than to "learn" at a university in order to fulfill a requirement for "credits" on the way to a high-priced degree (which, as Quinlan pointed out above, often has limited value as "career boost" for many people anyway)...especially when (as often happens in university courses) you don't gain a new perspective on anything.
I see the whole idea that learning should be considered simply as a path to the "job market" or "career" as being highly problematical, as well as increasingly dubious. This kind of approach to learning is really one way in which people are being trained to block out any kind of thinking that does not support the values and system of capitalism.
Anyway, university vs. "free school" does become an issue for those who don't have the money to take real university courses (which cost a lot more than $80!) and are not in any way connected to the official systems of "higher education." This can become, very much, a class issue. And an age issue as well... The "free school" can offer opportunities of learning to many who wouldn't have access to this education otherwise (even if, hypothetically, the same material could be fit into an academic program). I think that this is very important if you believe that real social change must based upon the destruction of existing social hierarchies and on class struggle.
How, exactly would one define "learning as a separate thing" and learning that is tied to something "concrete"? If learning enables one to progress toward a better understanding of the world that we live in, and possibly to participate in a collective movement in order to change things... It seems that this would be a far more concrete thing to do than to "learn" at a university in order to fulfill a requirement for "credits" on the way to a high-priced degree (which, as Quinlan pointed out above, often has limited value as "career boost" for many people anyway)...especially when (as often happens in university courses) you don't gain a new perspective on anything.
I see the whole idea that learning should be considered simply as a path to the "job market" or "career" as being highly problematical, as well as increasingly dubious. This kind of approach to learning is really one way in which people are being trained to block out any kind of thinking that does not support the values and system of capitalism.
Anyway, university vs. "free school" does become an issue for those who don't have the money to take real university courses (which cost a lot more than $80!) and are not in any way connected to the official systems of "higher education." This can become, very much, a class issue. And an age issue as well... The "free school" can offer opportunities of learning to many who wouldn't have access to this education otherwise (even if, hypothetically, the same material could be fit into an academic program). I think that this is very important if you believe that real social change must based upon the destruction of existing social hierarchies and on class struggle.
Great post.
I've been a long-time advocate of independent learning (or "guerrilla scholarship" as I call it) ever since I picked up a copy of Ronald Gross' The Independent Scholar's Handbook, sadly now long out of print. He promoted independent learning as a kind of hobby or even a lifestyle choice, but I think the current climate demands that people take responsibility to watch out for their intellectual interests because there are a lot of forces out there that are trying to keep people ill-informed.
I finally joined the 21st Century and started my own blog on independent learning (guerrillascholar.blogspot.com), and I was not really intending for it to be political. But I'm not sure if it's possible to avoid that now. I see a resurgent anti-intellectualism out there; when legitimate scientists are lumped together with wingnuts by the current administration and good science is edited out of government reports, someone has to take up the slack wherever possible.
Universities can do great things, but many of the really innovative and creative thinkers of the last century were not in academia: Betty Friedan, Alvin Toffler, Eric Hoffer, Bucky Fuller, Barbara Tuchman, Mortimer J. Adler... the list goes on. So we independent thinkers and learners are just carrying on a great American tradition. The trick is not to starve to death along the way.
I've been a long-time advocate of independent learning (or "guerrilla scholarship" as I call it) ever since I picked up a copy of Ronald Gross' The Independent Scholar's Handbook, sadly now long out of print. He promoted independent learning as a kind of hobby or even a lifestyle choice, but I think the current climate demands that people take responsibility to watch out for their intellectual interests because there are a lot of forces out there that are trying to keep people ill-informed.
I finally joined the 21st Century and started my own blog on independent learning (guerrillascholar.blogspot.com), and I was not really intending for it to be political. But I'm not sure if it's possible to avoid that now. I see a resurgent anti-intellectualism out there; when legitimate scientists are lumped together with wingnuts by the current administration and good science is edited out of government reports, someone has to take up the slack wherever possible.
Universities can do great things, but many of the really innovative and creative thinkers of the last century were not in academia: Betty Friedan, Alvin Toffler, Eric Hoffer, Bucky Fuller, Barbara Tuchman, Mortimer J. Adler... the list goes on. So we independent thinkers and learners are just carrying on a great American tradition. The trick is not to starve to death along the way.
Thanks for the comment, Guerilla Scholar. You make some good points, and I'm going to include your blog, Cogito, in my list.
By the way, there's a site in my "Other Resources" section called The Autodidact Project. I don't know much about the author, but apparently, he also believes in the importance of people being able to pursue knowledge on their own, independently of academia, etc. It's a very interesting site, too.
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By the way, there's a site in my "Other Resources" section called The Autodidact Project. I don't know much about the author, but apparently, he also believes in the importance of people being able to pursue knowledge on their own, independently of academia, etc. It's a very interesting site, too.
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