Academia is very much like throwing parties.
Some people get invited and some don't.
The lonely or influential ones throw their own parties so the guests can dance to the same tune.
Yes, it is indeed true that for dialogue to take place or if you'd prefer, people to dance together, there has to be some kind of consensus. Or at least the understanding that it is ok to disagree.
But ironically, in many of these parties, consensus is censorious. It is reached based on the omission of alternative opinions or even the marginalisation of political stands.
So don't be worried if one doesn't get invited to parties. Because there are countless parties of which the only guests are the hosts themselves. Some of them throw such parties throughout their lives and they seem terribly forlorn. But when real guests finally knock on their doors, they are turned away.
Therefore, one does not necessarily need to attend parties.
《情信》：五十年情信，两种沟通方式
7 years ago
3 comments:
Interesting question.. What does it mean to be part of academia? Part of my dissertation has got something to do with this. And I came across Lave & Wenger (1991)'s notion of Communities of Practice (CofP). It's quite interesting how they view learning as a process of apprenticeship where 'apprentices' get enculturated into a community (a particular academic discipline in this case) through interacting, spoken & written discourse, by 'old-timers'. Through this process, they learn how to speak, behave and interact in ways appropriate to that CofP. In other words, learning is not merely internalising knowledge but constructing an identity in the process as well. Because of these CofPs, different disciplines behave and interact differently. (e.g. academic papers from different disciplines are clearly different in style, citation patterns, rhetoric..etc) Just sharing this from a discourse point of view. Hope I'm making sense :) Not sure if it helps.
Hi Joanne,
What you have shared is absolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing! I definitely agree that academia is not free from enculturation--PhD students are expected to perform in a certain way during conferences, seminars and vivas. It is a process of legitimisation and admittance. May I know what research are you working on at the moment?
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