Allan here. I just wanted to post a comment on what was an unbelievable weekend. First of all, thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard to put the event on. It was a great day, and the new features of the conference, the Changing Women panel and the Keanu Reeves panel, were both spectacular. Obviously, as you saw, it was an emotional day for me. Part of that was simply coming back to a place I called home for three years, and a place that was very important in my professional development (I am very grateful for the opportunity Keyano gave me). Part of it was seeing so many old friends that I care a great deal about (and making some new ones). Part of it was receiving such a warm reception from old students. But it was also seeing so many of those old students flourishing and contributing in such a powerful way to the conference, whether it was as panel moderators, or research assistants, or presenters, or just attending the conference and taking an active interest in the sessions. The students who have not been to other institutions might not have a frame of reference to understand this yet, but what is going on at Keyano right now in the Arts and Humanities is special. I agree fully with your point below, Ryan. My words were ill-chosen at the start when I suggested that we dont want revolutions. We most certainly do; I most certainly do. My opening words were ill-chosen. I was trying to strike a tone that reflected my own transformative experience as a student. The most important instructor I ever had was a sessional back at SFU in the mid-1990s. I was an arrogant, reactionary young man, and my politics were fundamentally different than hers. I fully expected this instructor to try and indoctrinate me and give me a bad mark because we disagreed on politics. She recognized my passion for the topic, my devotion to history, and instead encouraged me to question my own assumptions (while conceding her own blind spots when I had a good point). It was the start of a transformation in my scholarship, but also my life. I guess, in trying to set the tone, I meant to say that I wasnt there to impose my revolution on them; but I certainly want them to have a revolution of their own. And in addition to questioning, I want to see people get actively involved. As you say, ripples can become tsunamis. And finally, because I am much better at answering questions 72 hours later, I think I can finally comment on the question that gave me so much trouble. The question revolved around progress, or lack thereof. I would belatedly answer that progress has clearly been made on many fundamental issues, but we have to continue fighting social and economic injustice wherever we see it. More than that, however, we have a moral obligation to wage war in the battle of ideas. In the case of my field, that means confronting false notions about the past that attempt to obscure past atrocities (*cough cough my great-grandaddy had lots of workers on his plantation**). Anyway, thanks again for making me a part of the day. I cant wait for next year. With St. Patricks Day coming up, I dont expect that I will be able to resist posting a bit of content over the coming week...
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 04:00:33 +0000
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