Experiment: Explaining the part that I do understand. The term “neoliberalism” is very confusing for an American. We tend to use “liberal” as a nickname for those who are socially liberal. In the broader scheme of politics, “neoliberal” is used for the new wave of capitalistic thinking that calls for a liberalized economy with less…
Experiment – make a case for something that sort of exists I would define “methodology” as “the boring part of the article that I always skim, maybe nonsense, probably overly technical just to make sure it isn’t questioned. But definitely boring.” One of my current professors gave our PhD cohort an enthusiastic call to arms;…
Experiment: Writing about something I don’t believe. . . oh, this is too hard! The case for the privatization of schools is an incredibly complex topic. I’ll summarize these main points: The purpose of government and the protection of freedom Education should be local, truly democratic and imposed by federal government The purpose of education…
Experiment: writing about the connection between philosophy and my own view on research. At the end of a long day last week, I encountered a particularly challenging section of a book. I left myself this note, so that I would remember that it was not just a normal bookmark. Having totally forgotten about it, I opened…
Last weekend I attended the conference “A Voice for Education” in Nottingham. This was part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences and none of those titles prepared me at all for what to expect! This was the first question of the day, and I did not have a very good answer. The question is,”What…
Experiment: Writing an analysis of a philosophical concept. Even if you are already familiar with the story, you will still enjoy this version: Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of those philosophical ideas that seems to apply to everything. There are endless avenues that an analysis of The Cave could go down. For my own…
Experiment: Integrate feminist economics and education Teaching is a highly visible position. As a former teacher, I was a “minor celebrity”. I would be recognized in random shopping malls by people I had never met. Every time I left the house I would see at least one student. The job itself involves presenting to a group…
Experiment: Writing about personal conundrums. I have been involved with Kiva for several years. Look! I’ve made a huge difference: Wow! So much giving, with so little money! I’m in the 94th percentile of donors! Doesn’t that sound amazing?! I feel good giving with Kiva. I can see the people I have helped and I haven’t…
Experiment: Writing philosophically about a tough subject Today was a bad news day. Terrible events took place. People murdered other people based on ideology. I read too many articles today around the subject of the attacks. Philosophers lashing out about how even kind words of world leaders paint a picture of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Some wonder…
I am not a writer. So, here we go. After realizing that writing rants on Facebook is unlikely to improve my writing skills, I have started a writing blog. No guarantee on quality, frequency, editing, or argumentation. I expect little readership. This is just to get me in the habit of writing.
Emily Winchip 