Kristin Scott

It’s been months since I’ve had the chance to write. The move to Virginia was exhausting and stressful, and not one piece of furniture arrived unscathed, thanks to the shitty job the movers did on the Chicago end. The drive (in a huge truck) was also much longer than I had anticipated, but in the end, we all got here safely, which is what is most important. Unpacking took two weeks, but it’s now done, and aside from a lingering exhaustion, I’m ready for school to start. I’ve already had one full day of faculty meetings; an overnight retreat begins tomorrow; more faculty meetings occur next week; and then at 7:30 a.m. on a Monday (Aug. 24th), I teach a class. Yep — 7:30 a.m. on a Monday. That’ll be a challenge.

I’ve already been assigned several readings by two of my professors and have started to dig in. I just finished reading Geertz’s “Thick Description” and “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.” Though I’m already familiar with many of the concepts within “Thick Description,” it’s certainly useful to get a background/historical perspective on some of the earlier debates around anthropology, ethnography, and the various processes of cultural analysis, which is, of course, the point (since the class is entitled Histories of Cultural Studies). Alison Landsberg, who got her PhD at the University of Chicago (where I also attended graduate school), is teaching that class. Her bio brings to mind Lauren Berlant (thus I wonder if she worked with Berlant while at the U of C).

I’ve only recently begun to realize the significant role that Lauren and her class on embodiment played in my own research interests and intellectual development. Sometimes connections and intellectual revelations are immediate and seem to, as Susanne Langer suggests, burst upon the scene with their own powerful, clarifying force; while others often linger within the shadows, simmering within the subconscious, and only rise to the surface after they’ve been well-marinated by time (although I hate to admit it, this sounds so Freudian). The latter process is actually most powerful and lasting for me.