Pulling back the curtain and seeing a frail, pale-faced man wielding levers.
We used to call narrative "ideology" — when I studied philosophy years ago. Which is fine, though it didn't quite get at the nature of its constructability and deconstructability. I remember with great clarity my first class at 19 years old with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in a philosophy of literature class, she asked if anyone could define "ideology". An axis of hers at that time. We were all petrified with fear to dare an answer. (What happened then is another story for another time!)
Sahana, you divinely put it here:
"The narrative running the show is actually just an economic monomyth passing [ ] as reality. It's a construct cleverly sold through imperialism and colonization, and then through neoliberal capitalism in its various guises. Unfortunately, this construct has invaded all aspects of society from healthcare to education, from business to politics, from ecology to economy. And even religion and spirituality. It will take some deliberate undoing and unraveling. The good news is that it is already frayed at the edges and loose threads are showing through. They just need strong tugs and pulls to unravel."
Jenifer, thank you so much for engaging with my articles. Gayatri Spivak is one of my role models. Her work is so very important in deconstructing the ideology/narrative that has cast its long shadow on the civilizational trajectory.
I'd love to hear the story. I can imagine being petrified. I've never met her in person but often find her work stimulating and sometimes, incomprehensible. It's quite a feat to follow her thoughts and her intertextuality.
Here's to collective tugging and unraveling. Thank you 😊
Are you familiar with the Tamera community in Portugal? I visited them a few times several years ago. Many of the ideas they work with are compatible (or essentially the same) as what I read here.
Pulling back the curtain and seeing a frail, pale-faced man wielding levers.
We used to call narrative "ideology" — when I studied philosophy years ago. Which is fine, though it didn't quite get at the nature of its constructability and deconstructability. I remember with great clarity my first class at 19 years old with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak in a philosophy of literature class, she asked if anyone could define "ideology". An axis of hers at that time. We were all petrified with fear to dare an answer. (What happened then is another story for another time!)
Sahana, you divinely put it here:
"The narrative running the show is actually just an economic monomyth passing [ ] as reality. It's a construct cleverly sold through imperialism and colonization, and then through neoliberal capitalism in its various guises. Unfortunately, this construct has invaded all aspects of society from healthcare to education, from business to politics, from ecology to economy. And even religion and spirituality. It will take some deliberate undoing and unraveling. The good news is that it is already frayed at the edges and loose threads are showing through. They just need strong tugs and pulls to unravel."
Here's to collective tugging!
Jenifer, thank you so much for engaging with my articles. Gayatri Spivak is one of my role models. Her work is so very important in deconstructing the ideology/narrative that has cast its long shadow on the civilizational trajectory.
I'd love to hear the story. I can imagine being petrified. I've never met her in person but often find her work stimulating and sometimes, incomprehensible. It's quite a feat to follow her thoughts and her intertextuality.
Here's to collective tugging and unraveling. Thank you 😊
Are you familiar with the Tamera community in Portugal? I visited them a few times several years ago. Many of the ideas they work with are compatible (or essentially the same) as what I read here.
Hi David, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am not familiar with the Tamera community. But I will definitely look them up.
That’s great. Hope it’s a helpful exploration.