Philosophizing SXSW

On pop culture thought prompts

Observables

and I are headed to Austin for the South by South West conference that “celebrates the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture.” I’m both excited and a little overwhelmed at the enormity of this event. I’ve had to block dedicated chunks of time off to schedule these four days of learning because this thing is a monster! I didn’t know it was possible to attend an educational conference where keynote speakers like Yale’s Laurie Santos would be sharing the stage with movie stars like Kerry Washington and Priyanka Chopra! Obviously some event planner in Texas thinks I’ve got something to learn from both Higher Ed AND Hollywood.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Though The Happiness Lab professor will certainly be interesting to learn from, I’m just as keen to pick up what the City of Angels is putting down. Essayist and cultural critic John Berger has said that “it’s in hell where solidarity is important, not in heaven.” And if Hollywood isn’t a little bit of hell on earth I don’t know what is — so these actors should have some wisdom to share with me about solidarity found in community (or the effects of its lack).

Learning in community is what I’m looking for in Austin. That’s the kind of professional development I need at this point in my career. In the Coaching and Mentoring course I’ll be teaching for the next two months I know I’ll spend much time encouraging relational encounters and community building praxis for my students and yet, in my most honest moments, I recognize that I don’t do enough of it for myself. In fact, one of the Austin talks I’m thinking of attending is “How to work with difficult people” because I recognize that I am hard to work with...with myself! I am hard on myself! I struggle to celebrate successes in my own story even as I move quickly to amplifying the wins of others. I am the boss (of me!) and I need coaching.

Photo by Amer Mughawish on Unsplash

Who reading here feels seen with this personal admission? Is it mostly the teacher-types? A good number of us are very hard on ourselves, we aren’t great learners (thinking we have to be the ones doing the teaching) and lots of us balk at community. Because it’s way easier to hide in one’s classroom or cubicle or even behind one’s screen than to engage in the difficult work of being with others. Being with others obligates something both of us and in us — the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas would call it an ethical demand.

So I’m going to see what Washington and Chopra have to tell me about this demand. Maybe they’ve learned the hard way that to succeed as a woman in Hollywood you need a support system to lean on and pull from. And that support system requires sacrifice and an awareness of others beyond the self to grow. Though I don’t anticipate that they’ll go there. Their talks will just as likely be about marketing or branding. And to be honest I’m good with that kind of learning experience as well.

Community thought prompts in Texas. I’m ready to be schooled.

P.S. My forthcoming book is set for release on March 16th(ish…the publisher likes to give dates with caveats!)

Finding Joy: Radical Collegiality and Relational Pedagogies of Care in Education has been a labour of love that spans five years and I’m very excited to finally share it with the world. If a professional library you are connected to would be interested in ordering it please do let me know.