university makes me wild

yesterday was restless and resentful. after reading about the sad state of universities, i once again wondered why i still want to be part of the machine. once again, i look around for something that suits me better, but i see nothing that will pay me a wage. and so maybe i have to be in the machine, and stay satisfied through a commitment to its disruption.

this morning i wonder about the possibilities of being 'wild' in a system that expects compliance and productivity. Certeau says:

"the name 'wild' both creates and defines what the scriptural economy situates outside of itself. It is moreover immediately given its essential predicate; the wild is transitory; it marks itself (by smudges, lapses, etc.) but it does not write itself. It alters a place (it disturbs), but it does not establish a place" (Practice of Everyday Life, p155).

by 'the scriptural economy' certeau refers to a world that likes to order and classify (through science, history-making, research, etc.) by a process of transcription. all knowledge must be scriptural (despite the fact that transcription alters voices, bodies, and lived practices). transcription both tames what is considered wild, but also names things 'wild' so as to distance these from the person/organisation who holds the pen. but... at the same time, that which is wild continues to obfuscate, disrupt, and challenge such systems. 'wildness' cannot be extracted from society, because it does not inhabit a proper place. by never establishing a place (a system of its own), 'wildness' continues to flourish and disrupt, to mark and smudge the institutions that seek to diminish it, or the language that seeks to contain it (by pinning it down and writing it away). but it can never do this, because 'wildness' operates beyond a scriptural economy. thus, there's a continual opening for untamed, wild practices, and a continued ability to fuck with systems.

i've been listening to shakespears sister lately, and suddenly it makes more sense. just like this video.



i guess, when faced with challenges in the world of academia, i just need to ask myself 'what would catwoman do?'