Intersectionality and coastal sunshine

I'm often confused by the names of certain degrees such as "Intersectionality Studies" or "American Studies" or even "Cultural Studies." Are they just an indication that higher education is trying to be more and more interdisciplinary and broad? Is there a danger in that? I know some philosophy majors at other schools who do philosophy by reading snippets of articles about a certain subject, for example, "aesthetics." Then they say that they "know" aesthetics. At Grinnell we study PHILOSOPHERS, sometimes grouped together into a course title like "Philosophy of Mind," but the seminars are always titled "Davidson" or "Foucault" or "Arendt" or "Habermas"...the list goes on. Always one philosopher. Is it better to be an expert in one tiny little sector, perhaps an impractical and useless one at that, or to know little bits of random ideas in a broad scope? Is there really that much value in an interdisciplinary approach? I think there is to some extent, like in the way that our Gender & Women's Studies degree is handled, but there's got to be a limit somewhere. What does it actually mean to say that you "study cultures"? Ugh.

I just returned to campus after spring break in Minneapolis--sure was exciting, I got my wisdom teeth out with impacted and highly invasive surgery from which I'm still recovering slowly. That's about it. Oh, and I got a job! And I accepted it! That's my main news for everyone.

I think it's interesting to record my initial feelings about it here, so that once I've been doing it for a while I can look back and see how I've changed. Obvious, but still. I'm nervous because I've never been all that passionate about recruiting people, and that will be my main focus as Campus Organizer at UC-Berkeley. I'm afraid I won't captivate people, or students won't care or be motivated to work with me, and I'll totally fail. But I guess judging by the current trends, that's not a likely possibility. What will it be like to work on a HUGE campus with thousands of students who are ridiculously smart and probably know more than me about what I'm working on?! Add to that the money and efforts of CalPIRG's opposition--oil company lobbyists, etc.--and I've got some serious challenges to face. I think I can probably handle it, though. I'm fundamentally driven by a challenge, and honestly, would I really feel fulfilled or happy about what I'm doing if I wasn't being seriously challenged?

I can't believe my luck with the location, though. I hadn't really considered Berkeley in a real way before the job possibility, I just happened to have put "bay area" on my top-four list of location preferences, and there was an opening. And of course I'm lucky with regards to timing, because I now have a LOT of interview experience under my belt and knew how to field Dany Katz's questions succinctly and ask some good ones of my own.

I'm a little worried about finding an apartment, but it always seems to work out, so I'm not really stressing yet. There are other things to worry about, like papers and meetings. I know I'll be missing that kind of stress after I graduate! Anyway, I'm trying to locate a place that's no more than a mile from the bay and ideally a few blocks from campus. I'd like to be able to walk to work in the morning, watching the buzz of activity in the streets around me and stopping for coffee and bread on my way. And then I'd like to be able to bike to the bay, even across the Bay Bridge, with Enoch. Fairly regularly.

I'd better go...it's weird, there's a tornado watch outside but it's mostly sunny and lovely out. We'll see what happens. Back to my casebook.

competition in the non-profit world?

Yes, it exists. There is competition between progressive, open-minded, change-seeking organizations that don't even work for profit, and it exists in many forms. I was thinking about this yesterday as I walked through the evening drizzle on Broad Street. Not only are there the minor-tizzy incidents like canvassers competing for turf or towns on a given night, but potential directors are lured every which way by different and desperate organizations. Capitalism?

I'm experiencing the latter phenomenon as I struggle to keep up on my academic work amidst jobs, activities, the usual. Now I've got two--potentially three--non-profit groups after me. What to do? Do I take capitalism to heart and request pay increases to stiffen competition? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with that in the job sector I'm dealing with? I mean, we environmentalists can't just stop heating our homes, driving our cars, and taking showers. In some respects we have to "use" the "man" to "beat" 'im. Sorry for the scare quotes, but you know. I'm a philosophy major at a liberal arts college.

The funny thing about it is that all three groups essentially stem from the same source, and work together, and use similar methods to get things done. Can I just say, though, that if in the end I'm given the straightforward choice of directing in Minneapolis and then directing for the other group in Portland in August, I would be profoundly happy. I really do want to show off my experience and knowledge in the Minneapolis office, especially with the local reps and my neighborhood "expertise." But it might not be quite so straightforward, which isn't quite fair, but we'll see what happens. There are things happening behind the curtains.

This is boring, but it's been on my mind. I also need to remind myself about the larger picture, and the tasks that follow--law school and recommendation requests--which could take us to any of a number of places around the country. I wish there were American law schools in Europe, though, so I could leave for a while but still come back and be useful.

Ugh, this argument I'm writing for my English class is making me feel stale, so my writing is flat. That's probably bad for the effectiveness of the argument. I should probably stop. It's weird to make life decisions that are ACTUAL decisions and not just speculations.