Utopian Thoughts

I did a presentation today for my Renaissance cultural capital class, on the ways that education was used by 16th century Tudor statesmen (More, Cromwell, Bacon, Cecil, Smith in passing) to generate social capital for the Tudor monarchy's plan of empire, of a future-looking retroactive justification for England's separation, trying to tie it to More's Utopia. (I tried to tie it in to the Utopians' desire to socialize and enculturate their populations.) I choked on a question about Cromwell, and I thought it ruined the presentation, but apparently it went well. If nothing else, the question period went well--the Tudors' cultural engineering, engaged in both actively and passively, was a point I didn't touch upon in my main speech but which seemed quite important.

I was also able to connect More's internal debate about whether or not to take up a job with the Privy Council, at the time he wrote book 1, with the social ideals represented by the Utopians, by noting that the end of book 2. Here, he wrote that although he found many social elements implausible, there were many he felt Europe could benefit from adopting. More's New World society, though, was peopled by humans from an alternate reality, who were naturally moral and rational in their actions, and who did not need coercive state authority. More's reality required the state; and so, he joined up with the promising second Henry of the Tudor dynasty, intent on employing the coercive powers of the state to improve society.

I'll have to write the entire speech up in an essay for submission. It should work fairly well, I hope-it sounded plausible enough, at least, at the time.

After this, I've the LSAT Saturday, then a presentation on Locke and Sterne Wednesday. I'll need to check some essays over Reading Week, but that shouldn't be an issue. Job and apartment searching for Toronto will go on, though I don't think I'll be visiting as I'd expected.

Conjunctivitis Update

(Yes, I'm sure people are fascinated by the state of my eyes. Myself, I'd as soon have them replaced with clones; I've had to wear glasses of gradually increasing intensity since I was four, after all.)

I went to the Health Centre again Monday afternoon, concerned not only by the eyedrops' failure to make any visible headway against the conjunctivitis, but by a steady deterioration of my visual acuity. Both the nurse who checked me out, and the (same as last time) doctor who examined me more in-depth only an hour later (and without an appointment!) said that this is normal, and gave me some sort of viscous eye drops to aid my body's valiant struggle against pinkeye's viral variant in conjunction with the eyedrops I already have.

So far, it seems to be working. My whites were the same colour as my skin; now, people just think I had a late night. The worrisome thing, though, is that my vision is still deteriorating. This might be because the viscous eye drops are blurring my vision, spread over the surface of the cornea as they are.

But then, the alternative is rather unhappy. Damage--to the optic nerve, or whatever other nerve--is apparently manifested by flashes of light and/or floaters, and needs immediately tending to if vision is to be preserved. I've experienced neither.

But then, I'm far from being an opthamologist, and I distrust my ability to diagnose the situation.

I'm going to the Health Centre tomorrow. Too, a fellow grad student in the English department has an opthamologist partner; if need be, she apparently can arrange for a fairly quick examination. (Good idea or no?)

Perhaps I should attend

Queens Hillel is proud to announce that Irshad Manji will be coming to speak on Sunday, March 7th, 2004 at 8pm.

Ms. Manji is currently touring Canada lecturing on the topic of Israel, Islam and Diversity. You may be familiar with her as the host of TVOntario's "Big Ideas" as well as the Senior Producer of Citytv's Gemini award-winning "QueerTelevision". Macleans Magazine called Ms. Manji One of "100 Canadians to watch" and Ms. Magazine describe her as the, "Feminist of the 21st century". Ms. Manji is a highly respected author and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to hear her speak. She is best known for her #1 bestseller, The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-up call for Honesty and Change. Ms. Manji believes very strongly in diversity and as such we would like promote diversity amongst the people supporting her. Irshad is very adamant that her platform is one of diversity and we must respect her approach.

This is why we need your help! We are looking for a wide range of sponsors to help endorse Ms. Manji's platform of diversity. The sponsorship is a great opportunity to endorse a project for your respective clubs and departments and is free from any financial obligation. The clubs and departments that wish to help us morally support Ms. Manji will be acknowledged on all advertisements and we can guarantee each group five reserved seats at her lecture. Irshad's lecture on March 7th is relevant to broad range of groups and individuals. She will be discussing the role of women, queers, politics, history, etc in the Middle East. We invite anyone with interest to help us support Ms. Manji and help make her time at Queens both pleasurable and successful. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

The interview meme (courtesy of countess_sophia)

You are appointed the new commissioner for social affairs with a remit to expunge an irritating social custom. What attracts your ire?

That's easy. People who use their cellular phones in inappropriate situations should be chased down. The Something Positive approach might be a bit extreme, but I agree with much of the underlying sentiment.

While working in the University stacks one day you find your way into the Special Collection. In there can be found every book ever written, including those which scholars have thought to be lost. The guardian of the Collection will allow you to take two volumes to read. What do you select?

Um, do the remainder of the Canterbury Tales qualify as a single volume? If so, the other text would be the complete Dictys of Crete.

Which garment do you most dislike?

Caftans have never particularly interested me. Too baggy, too shapeless.

A deity wishes to brighten up her hall with a painting or sculpture of you. Which great artist should she commission and how would you prefer to be depicted?

I think I'd prefer someone from the French Impressionist school. I think I'd prefer being in the foreground of some streetscape or café, passing or in thought, by Degas.

You make it big in music. What is your band called, what do you play and what genre is it?

I'd be the lyricist for Downbelow, composing well-wrought and authentically poetic lyrics for the group's eclectic wide-ranging electronica. (I'd also look good in sunglasses and black leather jackets, for the photo shoots.)

***

The interview meme suggests:
If you want to be interviewed, leave a comment. It's fine to be interviewed more than once. I'll respond with five questions. You update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers. You include this explanation.
You ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed