The Narratives We Write

English scholars for the most part spend a lot of time analyzing narratives. We look for themes, symbols, ideas that stretch from one text to another. This very rainy weekend I have spent time reflecting on the narratives scholars write instead of analyze. The “story of academe” seems to be retold over and over again in the media, in discussions at conferences, in Twitter exchanges. However, do we ever stop to really think about how we add to or reinforce that that story in our day-to-day?

There are three main things that I care deeply about in my work- ethics, tactility, and literacy. These three things are equally important to me in my Victorian (19^th cent) research as well as my pedagogical practice and research. Every day I come across articles, blogs, books that espouse a certain type of academic practice. You know the kind of things I speak of, the “we should all do this” which translates to “all good academics do x” or “if you don’t do X you are bad at what you do” posts. This is all part of the narrative of higher education and I will be the first to admit that I do write posts like this. Mine are probably not as in your face as the rest, I do not demand that all people do a certain thing, because one that would be unethical and two I’m Canadian (we do not demand anything ever).  I suggest, I reflect, I open up a space for discussion (like I'm doing here). The important part is whenever I do write these posts I always write it from a point of practice- I write what I do.

 The sad thing about the narratives we write or the way we engage with the larger overarching academic narrative is that many scholars do not walk the walk that they talk. I know this is part of the bigger creation of persona that academia seems to foster, but maybe it is time that we break that down too so that we can get at the heart of why we feel the need to be that person.  I have seen tweets fly saying “omg this so horrible why are people doing this?” while as an outside observer I am thinking “wait you do that too, you do realize you do that right?” But I say nothing, roll my tongue a few times and move on. That’s the polite community building thing to do…it may not be the most ethical thing to do however which is why I felt the need to write this post. 

I am not saying I am perfect, no one is perfect, this is the one given in life along with taxes and death. What I am suggesting is that we take the time, every one of us, to reflect on the things we say, write, in order to see if it aligns with our practice.  Reflection is something we ask our students to do but I honestly wonder how many of us reflect on our pedagogical practices and the educational/research theories we believe in on a regular basis. I wonder how different our academic environment would be if we reflected more and did not feel the need to be “that academic”.

This isn’t a call to arms, this isn’t a one person revolution. This is one voice out of many saying hey maybe we should think about what we are doing to each other by the narratives we write.  We navigate our spaces in such a pre-designed way finding the information we need connecting with the people we feel would be a great addition to our personal learning networks.  In that navigation we leave traces of ourselves, bits of narrative that should speak to who we are as people, as educators, as researchers. Don’t we owe it to ourselves and the people we interact with to be true to who we are instead of some idea of who we think we should be?

The other day I had the pleasure of going for a meal with three students I had taught last term who will graduate next week from their programs.  One asked me a very deep philosophical question: “What do you think is the meaning of life?” That is not an easy question by any stretch but I answered it as truthfully as I could: "To me the meaning of life is that at the end of your life you can say I did at least one good thing, that you made a difference to at least one person. For me those are my students, if I can say I have given 120% to help my students that they are better and not worse because they met me then I did a good thing."

When I am in the classroom I am part of the narrative that the students are writing; I am one of many teachers/educators/instructors/professors they will encounter. I owe it to them to make that narrative a positive one, that I am not another stereotype.  I do this by answering emails promptly, I do this by making sure I learn their names in the first week and how to say their names properly, I do this by creating a safe space for dialogue where everyone is free to participate. Small things, important things that are part of the narrative students have of their higher ed experience. 

As I say we spend a lot of time analyzing narratives in English literature classrooms, isn’t it time we are more mindful of the narratives we write as academics? We never know how big of trace we are leaving so we need to make sure that it is not just empty words but actual things followed up with conviction and practice. My thoughts on this rainy Sunday.