Connecting with Conviction: Avoiding Tunnel Vision

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new semester and I am approaching it relatively well-rested and with a feeling of not just hope but conviction.  I have picked conviction to be my mantra word of sorts this term for upon reflection I discovered that one of the things #HigherEd and academics tend to do is propose or discuss concepts, themes, ideas, but do not necessarily always act on these with conviction. This term I am going to do that more and I can only see this as beneficial both pedagogically and in relation to my research.  

Having conviction is about confidence, it’s about having a firmly held position which is the result of mindfulness and awareness. It is when mindfulness and reflection are absent that tunnel vision occurs. As educators (or as decent human beings) we need (nay we must) be mindful of others and work towards a non-(insert nation/race/gender/class descriptor here)-centric paradigm. All of this starts with checking our privilege. Not everyone has the same level of access to educational (social/political) structures; we seem to be aware of this on the periphery of our existence, yet in our day-to-day discourse and practice that awareness disappears. Mindful conviction necessarily leads to direly needed advocacy of important issues. Without this mindfulness we sadly perpetuate and reinforce the same structures we should question.

My first step into acting with mindful conviction this semester started with revisiting my syllabus and adding even more women of colour. In particular I wanted to make sure that all of the students in my class felt that there are texts we will study that they could connect to. Also one of the class assignments in my flipped class is to bring in a poem or short story by a female author which speaks to a larger socio-cultural issue that they feel is important to their life philosophy. Underpinning these choices (for student and pedagogue) is not only conviction but connection. 

This reinforcement of connection in particular was brought about by having brunch with some of my former students yesterday. Even though it has been six years or more since I was their TA, we still talk on a regular basis; the maintenance of connection is key. I am grateful for having these amazing women in my life, for their friendship, and I am proud of all their accomplishments. This connection is honestly one of the most important aspects of being in education. To be able to stay in touch with former students, watch their journey, see where their paths take them, is extremely rewarding and brings a sense of gratitude especially in being able to continue to discuss ideas with them years later. There is often either self-imposed or institutionally imposed beliefs that argue against formation and maintenance of bonds after a class is finished. This seems like a philosophical/pedagogical disconnect for if ethical pedagogical practices are premised on creating community, connecting, and learning from each other, why would that arbitrarily end when the term is over?  I start every semester with the premise that each person in class is a potential colleague and this has always informed my teaching philosophy. This is an important way to foster respect between students, peers, and instructors. This can also lead to exciting research potential.  For example, this semester I will have the pleasure of working on a paper for a neurocriticism conference with a former student whose honours thesis I supervised last year. Building and maintaining these connections necessitates conviction- a deep-seated belief in our pedagogical practices that we should continue to foster going forward. 

In my personal practice and research, conviction means making sure I give myself the space and time to write on and research topics that I hold dear to my heart: education, tactility, Victorian literature, ethics, and of course dear Ruskin. I worked on some exciting things over the holidays involving Ruskin, Turner and tactility; and it is those moments where a connection shows itself in the course of research that makes what we do as academics worthwhile. Those moments demonstrate our ultimate reward for the conviction in our work and can lead us to open our minds (and dare I say our senses) to bigger concepts and ideas. Connection and mindful conviction allow us to avoid unethical tunnel vision in our research and our pedagogical practices. Connection and conviction can build the “genius […] which forces the inertia of humanity to learn” (Bergson).