Great things in Bolivia

Dearest Friends:

Sorry for the absence. As soon as I set foot in good ole Bo, I got the world's worst cold. That and I was waging a little battle with the powers that be in my Department. I'm just now emerging from both. Most of the time I find it tiresome to entertain office politics, but every once in a while I find I simply cannot overlook what, if I'm being kind, I would call a certain mis-guidedness. It's a question of values and of culture and of what different societies, groups, individuals value and I'm afraid I was brought up with a very different set of values, especially with regard to the place and role of the University in a society and its duty to students.

The good news is, with regard to my personal situation it doesn't really matter. Bad news is, of course, it's indicative of a trend. It's a question that in some ways mirrors my dissertation. What are we to do in the face of overwhelming force to conform, to follow the herd, to give up or at least to give into a dominant and often mediocre, no matter how sophisticated, way of thinking and behaving? A little adversity makes us interesting, and in my case, usually confirms I'm on the right path.

Just got out of a wonderful, revitalizing coffee-visit with TWGT. And I think sometimes, here I am, BT, with all the things and experiences that make me me, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, having coffee with a dear old friend who escaped Nazism (but not before his parents were put in concentration camps), who was imprisoned under Banzer, who has a wonderful bookstore and library, who is vibrant and optimistic despite all that has happened and is happening, who has played a modest if significant role in Bolivian culture and history and continues to do so -- and with whom I can talk to and joke with and who gives me more insights than I could ever hope for from much of the educated elite I've encountered in insitutions of higher learning.

End of the day we have to make choices as to who our educators are and what kind of people we want to be. Sometimes it's appropriate to take the readily available steps societies and institutions outline for us, other times we have to craft our own educations and lives. Heaven forbid we should think for ourselves.

For those of you interested, my letter to the graduate advisor is below. I sent it after I was told that despite winning two fellowships last year, one internal the other external, and getting the LL.M., and teaching, and doing fieldwork, and putting plans in motion to finish writing this coming year, etc., my progress was, ahem, slow. Naturally, I was amused:

Dear X:

A final thought. I certainly hope the financial aid committee's deliberations are more nuanced than use of "date of enrollment" as a blunt criterion. For those of us who made the decision not too lightly to pursue doctorates, the investment of years spent crafting a skill set and taking risks early on is exaclty what an educated person does when building a career. What the committee sees as "slow" progress, might just be someone working very hard and taking advantage of the opportunities the University of Texas offers for an excellent and unique education, something I believe the Department advertises quite readily to prospective students.

In my case, I took a leave of absence to obtain an advanced law degree and certificate in a highly specialized area relevant to my doctoral work. I also spent some years working multiple jobs. If students face considerable disadvantage due to length of time they spend in the Department, then I hope it is made very clear to incoming students this is the case before they enroll in the program. I am greatful for the people and resources I have found at UT and would hope that no other student arrive at her final year, after considerable hard work both in and out of the field, ready to write, facing the prospect of not being able to do so, of not being on site with access to the resources and libraries she needs, and with the added distraction of searching for alternative sources of support so late in the game. If blunt criteria are what students can expect, they should be advised to stay in law firms and in factories where billable hours and output reign supreme, but where at least the rules of the game are unambiguous and consistent.

I realize you were not privy to the deliberations of the committee, but I do hope that in your capacity as Graduate Advisor you help future students navigate their time in the department successfully. And I mean successfully to include a sense of well-being and sense they've been dealt with fairly and in good faith.

Best,
BT

Ole! if I do say so myself.

Cheers from Cochabamba.

B.