Once more into the breach, dear friends…

So we come now to the end of the semester. The reflections from today were unique. I see the aesthetic school coming into being with me personally. I think I’ve been arguing for it for a few weeks without realizing it. But I really appreciated what Shaina said in terms of the coming together of the more intellectual and the more aesthetic being where the true intrigue comes from art. I fully agree.

That was what I really failed to articulate. I have come to see the discipline of English Studies as somewhat inhuman, not in a bad way, but more so like Dr. Seaman spoke of today, something seeking to remove the emotional connections and such, although as she pointed out, this is not the case for our discipline. I have come to view it as something of a multi-directional pendulum. Through time, the discipline will shift in all sorts of directions. The longer it shifts from one direction to another to another, the more its movements will settle in the middle ground, where I think we can all agree is the best and most well-rounded place.

I have a good friend who decided not to pursue an English degree after this course. It was a respectable decision as this was not the work he envisioned for creative writing, and has since found his academic home in the discipline of communication, specifically in terms of journalism. I see why he did it, and I completely understand his motivation. But through this exploration of the discipline, I have found a different solution in my decision to remain.

I am still suspect of many things in English Studies, far more so than I was before the course, but in the end, I think that is really healthy. I think that being left with more questions than answers should be one purpose of an undergraduate education. If the education solved every mystery and question we had within, that would not be fanning the flame of learning, but instead would be stifling it. At the end of the day, I am okay with going to bed with unfinished struggles and unsolved problems. But I do have now a faith of sorts that the objective is not to stifle the creativity, but simply to shift the lens through which we view the world.

So as we come to the close of the semester and my final blog post, I offer in terms of grades and your respective futures, the words of a wise man, and title of a pretty cool movie (about said wise man). Good night, and good luck.