(no subject)

[felis_ultharus]

Wow.

The big event of the last three days has been, of course, the Wedding of Evil -- that is, the wedding of scottevil and Jeremy. I was supposed to be an usher, although I didn't do much. I've only been five weddings in my life, including this one, and the last two were very non-traditional, so I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing.

The wedding was gorgeous. There was a lot of crying, and the ceremony was the most beautiful one I've seen. At the beginning of the ceremony, there were two candles to signify the grooms' individual lives, and they used these to light the big unity candle in the centre.

Then we went to the reception, and talked over Mesclun Salad, Bruschetta, Three-Sauce Pasta, and Tiramisu. It was a blast.

The day before, I went to a party at one of my professor's houses. We ate, and talked, and I realized how out of place I am around non-geeks (who would have thought there'd be that many well-adjusted people in English literature, anyway?).

Having met a large number of people who are in my program, I'm beginning to feel like the last non-postmodernist in there. It really irks me.

Talk about your hegemonic discourses.

I did have a neat chat with an American guy about philosophy and literature, so that was good. And all the conversations I've had about postmodernism in the last few days have taught me that no two postmodernists actually share a philosophy -- it completely changes from one to the next. Every time I raise this point, though, the postmodernists seem to think it proves their point.

I don't know. I have trouble believing that the ultimate measure of a philosophy is its ability to self-destruct.

One thing that really amazes me is how few postmodernists are willing to acknowledge that their philosophy is a rational one -- their belief is that since postmodernism refutes the notion of objectivity in people, it's really not an objectivist approach.

I disagree -- it sees the subjectivity everywhere, but it disdains it. And all forms of subjectivity (to a postmodernist) are equal -- that is to say, equally bad. There is no room for holiness in this philosophy -- no sacred -- no meaning -- and no joy. This is why postmodern critics don't take pleasure in books, they vivisect them.

We need a philosophy that celebrates the irrational -- the best parts of the irrational again. Western Civilization has drunk Reason down to the dregs.

And seeing the wedding -- that ritual, that joy, and pain, and sense of the sacred everywhere -- was a refreshing reminder that what goes on in the Ivory Towers of University tends to stay there. We're all better off for that.

(I hope that was clear -- being immersed in postmodernism makes me yearn for clarity, and I'm perpetually afraid I'll start slipping into Foucauldian jargon)

Comments

[foi-nefaste.livejournal.com]

We ate, and talked, and I realized how out of place I am around non-geeks (who would have thought there'd be that many well-adjusted people in English literature, anyway?).

Geek-talks are the best, of course. It's also rather lovely to be able to make a passing reference to a book and have it understood without 5 minutes of explanation, isn't it...

Having met a large number of people who are in my program, I'm beginning to feel like the last non-postmodernist in there. It really irks me.

Seconded. So no, you're not the last non-postmodernist. But we're a rare breed, we are. Rant on.

Talk about your hegemonic discourses.

*smirk*

And, in relation to geek-ish things... I'm going to be late for d&d this weekend. I can be there around 1, at the earliest. Is this a problem?

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

No problem t'all. Matt won't be able to make this one at all, due to an NDP conference.