Last night, our John Carroll faculty group, "Poverty and Solidarity," were talking about solidarity in various Catholic, Christian, and Muslim definitions, and we struggled with the paternalism and elitism of the "men and women for others" formulation that has been dogma in the Jesuit educational system. More recent attempts to articulate that relationship have emphasized "standing in solidarity with others," or "walking with others," though these also emphasize that the education is for the elite.
Somewhere along the way I brought up Antonio Gramsci's "organic intellectual" as another possible model, which would involve that most difficult contradiction, an oscillation between immersion in the experience of others and coming to speak on behalf of them, in a productive praxis. Langston Hughes, according to some literary critics, worked precisely this difficult balance. Utah Phillips talks that talk here:
War as a serious male problem:
On chronicling the war resistance movements, beginning with the IWW:
On the media:
Thanks to Tim Musser for sharing this legend with me.
1 comment:
very cool post! love the vids
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