Mohan J. Dutta: Critical Insights on Culture and Society

Mediocrity, you know it when you see it (or is it really so easy to detect?), couched in privilege and in the desire to not have this privilege ever be questioned by alternative values and viewpoints from elsewhere. Mediocrity is about keeping on doing what you have been doing for years, to keep repeating the already invented cycle, sitting amidst the comforts that come with privilege. Mediocrity is the mantra of the mainstream power structures in society that want to invent a wide variety of languages to justify their medicority, for not having to work for the things that one "should" naturally be entitled to. Knowledge structures and the games within these structures are essential to the logic of mediocrity; if you are mediocre, you don't raise any alarm bells and so you are "safe." Within my own discipline of Communication and within the social sciences, I see this mediocrity in the everyday practices of academics and in what they consider to be their entit...

Critical Thoughts: A postcolonial reading of the casteism in everyday India

This post was prompted by my recent visit to India as well as my reflections on the continuous conversations with Indians (I use the broad framework of India to refer to a space that is rendered meaningful in my interactions with it, narrated through my memories and through experiences that I negotiate in my everyday interactions). So coming to the topic of my post today, the subject of casteism in India, I want to share a viewpoint that is mired in paradoxes. On one hand, a postcolonial reading of the portrayal of India within a frame of the caste system depicts the ways in which the framing of the case politics in India gets situated within the colonial gaze. On the other hand, a materialist reading of the case politics points squarely to the continuing problem of the caste system and the ways in which the system impacts the fate of those at the margins. Of particular importance here is the ways in which the narrative of casteism has been taken up by neoliberal India, adopted within ...

It is interesting that Dawson talks about the shift in University funding from liberal arts disciplines toward biotech, “where professors also tend to be CEOs of start up firms flush with venture capital” (p. 78). I am not sure who or what the target of such criticism is. Is it the professor who seeks corporate funding for his research program, or is it the research program itself which needs such funding. Sure, corporate funding is the major source of funding outside of government agencies, and corporates would definitely have profit-based motives in mind when they fund research. But does that automatically negate the value of such research? Is the value of my friend’s research on aging and hearing diminished by the possibility that the fruits of his labor may be co-opted in the future by a corporate? It is perhaps feasible for graduate students and professors in the social sciences to conduct research that is untainted by grants but I am certain that is not the case in the physical s...

Now days I am trying to engage myself with various issues related to indigenous communities. As a part of academia it is a constant quest for all of us, how can we engage ourselves to make the world a better place to live. All the reading of this week addressed the aspects of reflexivity and engagement; and, one of them is an article by Zoller (2005) that discussed many aspects of activism, communication and social change. Though in his article he focused mainly on the health and related issues; I think we can use this framework (along with other frameworks like CCA) in other broad contexts, such as the context of indigenous lives, indigenous knowledge, science, technology, art, craft, and other infrastructural issues. Zoller (2005) perceived activism as a means for social change by challenging existing power relation. He mentioned different approaches of participation and emphasized on the aspects of community group mobilization for collective actions. In this context he discussed var...

As I was reading this week's pieces about the academy and its position as a site of resistance I was reminded of a saying in Malayalam, my native language, which essentially says "A greedy child wants to sit in his father's lap, and simultaneously wants to breastfeed off his mother". Now before we go arguing the logistics of it :) I would like to point out the its significance in terms of the academy for me as a scholar. I had some of the same thoughts as Saqib about Boyd's reading, particularly when I read the line "Is critical teaching [and scholarship] anything more than an intellectual game in such circumstances?" Admittedly that is a very powerful question which forces us to be reflexive and "turn the lens inwards" in Mohan's words. As I look deeper I expect to see a hypocrite and hide shamefacedly from the truth of the academic jargon being just that. However, throughout the course of the semester, as I have played tug-of-war with thi...

The readings sent a chill down my spine. Never did I expect the academe to be this biased and ruthless. The articles were revelationary, inspiring, infuriating and shocking at different times. All, Churchill, Prashad, Schueller and Dawson were revelationary, incisive and undeniably appealing. I however came to have a different line of thought than most of us have expressed at this forum. I think of solutions/ alternatives beyond the crossing of t’s and dotting of I’s. I also think of how impossible the sentiment of ‘co-opting their language’ looks to me now. If this is the language and grammar of the mainstream can we ever co-opt it for our own ends – I don’t think so. This very move would create lacunae that would be enough to negate any credibility on our part. The most heartening parts of all articles were referrals to solidarities that existed across student and faculty bodies. This perhaps is the resource that we can rely on. I think Critical Scholarship should take clear sta...