The Way We Have Become

Against a background of a white marker board with nothing written on it in Park Hall, Professor Ihab Hassan explained how American culture has become a culture of nothingness, yet a nothing is always a something.

In other, more intellectual words- “If you look at the number 0 you see nothing. But look through it & you will see the world,” Hassan said, “How many of us can see the world through nothing?”

Ihab Hassan is a literary scholar. Hassan’s lecture, entitled The Way We Have Become, was sponsored by the Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts. He is a Wilson Center visiting artist, an honor voted for every year by faculty regarding the most creative and widely appealing scholar.

Steve Corey of The Georgia Review nominated Hassan and, during his introduction, told the audience of about 70 students and teachers: “his [Hassan’s] three books were groundbreaking works, examinations of new writings.”

Hassan began his speech by warning his examination of America and its “tyranny of appearances” might be harsh, but that “themes have hummed and buzzed in my mind lately, like bees…[but] bees buzz and also sting.”

Among those stinging bees is Hassan’s concern that America seems to only be interested in the shallow truths, and will most often settle for lies in exchange for the laziness accommodating a people with no will to examine themselves. “We have perceptions all the time but without substance,” he said.

Without such substance, Hassan believes the media is free to play any role in our lives they wish, marketing our “own” beliefs, politics, and tastes directly to us.

In fact, Hassan stated there is a large discrepancy between whom we should trust and whom we do trust. According to Hassan, “We credit what demands nothing from us. We trust those who can empty themselves of their needs…you trust the person who wants nothing from you.”

Yet in addition to trusting those who have nothing to gain from assisting us, a large portion of Americans trust the media. In Hassan’s opinion, politics is not so much about the issues between the candidates as it is about the issues of perception.

“State craft is stage craft,” Hassan said, meaning that politics is nothing more than a dramatic play set on a national stage. “Perception is all and the method is magic,” he said, “practiced at the cutting edge of technology.”

“I thought his views on politics were very interesting, especially coming off such a heated and historical election,” said Lauren Andrews, a senior history major, “there is no denying that both candidates tried to play to the cynicism of the voters. I think it is an issue that will be studied for awhile.”

Technology is another huge aspect of American culture that has turned America into shallow, cynical beings. With the introduction of social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace the need to get out and socialize gave way to the need to stay in and socialize. “On these sites a person of any age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or class can have not ten but one hundred friends,” said Hassan. Such an opportunity has flung open many doors but in the process it has slammed the important ones as well.

Hassan stated a worry for the absence of time a person spends along, reflecting. A relationship with the self is vital to a person’s identity and understanding, yet today one can have constant companionship in a number of different formats.

“The urge to socialize becomes the urge to be perceived to be socializing,” he said, “and in the process you alienate yourself from yourself.”

Hassan said that technology will continue to be a powerful tool in our ever-changing culture, “The internet is here. It will not just stay, it will evolve.”

With no true identity or sense of self, what do today’s Americans have to instill in tomorrow’s Americans? Hassan said that societies only survive by transmitting its values from one generation to the next. So, for the continued success of American society, today’s generation must decide what is important to their own lives in order to encourage such behaviors in future generations.

One such value important to Hassan, an immigrant originally from Egypt, can be found in The Constitution. It is more important to him than the typical American dream of money or fame. Yet it reflects an ideal that is quintessentially American. “I believe in the pursuit of happiness...richer, stronger than the dream of riches,” he said.


America has faced many challenges and changes throughout its history. Hassan is unsure about the future of American culture. However, his view on change did hint he has not entirely given up on the American innocence of the past or of the notion that all changes America is undergoing are bad. That maybe the change is just a way of sorting out what America actually needs from all the choices it has.

“Meaningful change,” Hassan said, “always preserves as it destroys.”

Scholar Speaks of The Way We Have Become

ATHENS- Ihab Hassan, a post-modernism scholar, spoke to a crowd of 70 professors and students in Park Hall on Tuesday afternoon about “the way we, as Americans, have become in this current age. The way that things must seem, not be.” Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts, this American literary theorist offered his deep, intellectual criticism of the current conception of truth, American politics, economics, celebrities, the mind, and the arts.

Hassan has written numerous books on the idea of truth and post-modernism, and is a very prolific critic. Born in Egypt, Hassan made his way to the United States and became incredibly successful as a writer and scholar. His works include “A Plague of Mendacity: A Plea for Truth, Trust, Altruism,” “From Postmodernism to Postmodernity: the Local/Global Context,” and “The Eagle, the Olive Branch, and the Dream: Changing Perceptions of America in the World.”

Steve Corey, a professor in English at the University, introduced the speaker. “I have known Hassan for forty years, and just met him today,” said Corey. Corey highlighted some of Hassan’s accomplishments and ended his introduction by stating, “There is no such thing as an idea too large.”

Dressed nicely in a suit and tie, Hassan took the stage and began his lecture by comparing his feelings about the world to the “incessant buzzing of bees.” He forwarded the speech by stating that this was a work of testimony and personal criticism.

Trust, Hassan said, has deep historical roots. It relates back to the great philosophers such as Locke, Hume, and Kant, who had a benevolent view of trust, with regards to human sympathy. Truth in the past was considered a leap of faith, something spiritual. Yet today, the definition of truth has changed.
To Hassan, “Truth is now cognitive dissonance. We credit what demands nothing of us.”

“We have perceptions all of the time, but without substance,” said Hassan. He then went on to expand on this idea by focusing on different aspects of society today.
First, he discussed politics and economics. “Stagecraft is stagecraft,” he said, with regards to politics. He then went on to theorize that we perceive merely through appearance. “If appearances is all there are to see why speak at all?”
Marketing is now, as he refers to it, “the grip of an insidious hand outstretched.” He theorized that we even “sell by pretending not to sell.” He highlighted the fact that spam and the web have transformed marketing.

Facebook and MySpace are new innovative social media tactics used by many people today. Yet with reference to the mind, Hassan questioned the quality of the friendships based on these sites, and if this was a redefinition of self.
“The urge to socialize becomes the urge to be perceived as socialized. You alienate yourself in yourself,” said Hassan.

With more regards to Facebook and MySpace, Hassan expressed a concern: “The concern is thinning of self when perception becomes reality.” He offers the idea that this may be a generation of change, but also highlights that despite this, a society that cannot transmit values ceases to exist. Meaning, the generation is lost.

The “missing beam” in America for Hassan is the Arts. He made a point to distinguish the “American popular arts that are the gold utensil of entertainment” with literature, to which he attributed much greater a value. Hassan stressed that one should “trust the novel, not the novelist.” He also quoted C.S. Lewis, with which he once said “My own eyes are not enough for me.” Meaning, to see is to see through the eyes of other people. This is an “imaginative” trust.

Hassan made a true statement in his speech, which is that America has lost its sense of reality, truth, and the importance of true literature.

“Nothing is the best way to look at things,” said Hassan. “Like 30 spokes that share a wheel’s hub, but it is the hole that provides the usefulness.”

“Naked we see the reality at last.” He concluded.

University of Georgia English student, Jackie Daane, attended the lecture. Her reaction to the speech was that it provided her with insight that she had not thought about before. “I had never really considered my definition of truth and my perception of it,” Jackie said. “He presented a very interesting point when he wrote about how Facebook thins a person’s sense of self. We all use this social network too often, diminishing the foundation of what a true friendship is.”

According to the English department, a version of Hassan’s work will be published in The Georgia Review sometime in 2009, the ninth of his essays to appear in the journal during the past three decades.

World Renowned Artist Speaks to Students in the New Art School

ATHENS, Ga - "I am now sensitive to light because I work with it daily," Spencer Finch said after speaking at the Lamar Dodd School of Arts, Tuesday. Finch, an American artist whose work has been exhibited in museums world wide, said he gets his artistic influence from the sun. 

More than 100 people, including art students, professors, and local Athen's residents, gathered Tuesday night to hear Finch's explanations of his unusual works of art. Notebooks in hand, the crowd was prepared to marvel over the artists work. Finch presented a number of his works from past years, and explained how the masterpieces were created and the meanings behind them. 

"Of course it makes sense to me, but I have some thought you all might need some help," Finch said as he presented his first piece. 

Finch explained that artists should ask themselves, "What is the point and why am I doing this?" For Finch, the questions were easy to answer. Light is his primary focus in his art. Finch is interested in the conscious and the way viewers see his work. Finch uses different mediums but his favorite is light. 

The audience gasped as Finch showed a picture of his 2003 work titled, Paris/Texas. The sculpture consisted of stained glass, which filtered the summer light of Texas at midday to recreate the exact light of Paris. While in France, Finch had to measure the exact wavelengths within the light by using a "fancy art tool," then recreating that same light in the studio. Finch's big projects focus mainly on measuring light by using different mediums to portray the light in his exhibits. For example, Finch set up nine synchronized TV monitors facing a blank wall. These monitors were set to resemble the sunset in Finch's hotel room in Monument Valley. The audience was amazed at his creations. 

"I feel so lucky because the range I have with my art. Some ideas good and some not so good," Finch explains as he flipped to another instillation. 

Color was another point Finch discussed in his lecture. An instillation titled, Colors from My Dreams, portrayed the many colors Finch saw in dreams. "I began to keep a dream book of all the colors I saw. Sometimes I would even wake myself up during a dream because I saw a cool color," Finch said. A main point Finch focused on was how color always comes from the brain. Finch wanted to see how the conscious life could interfere with the unconscious life by trying to interpret why he saw the colors. Finch wanted the viewers to have their own interpretation of the colors. 

Sky, Finch's 2004 instillation at Miami Beach, took the aspect of color even farther by using balloons to precisely match the color of the sky over Coney Island. "I bet nobody knew you could blow up one balloon inside another to get a different color," Finch laughed. That was exactly what he did. Finch used violet balloons inflated inside cobalt balloons to create the color of the sky over Coney Island. "I was amazed this is even possible," senior art student Abby Jones said after Finch's explanation. 

"I like his (Finch) work because I think I might understand it," Jones explained. "I can not wait to see what he is going to come up with next." 

Finch's ongoing project is with the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. With a crew of architects, Finch is currently building a stain glass design, which covers the entire side of the hospital. "My fear is getting sick in Baltimore and the doctors won't treat me because they hate my work," Finch jokes. 

As soon as Finch was done discussing his art, students were eagerly waiting to ask questions. "Have you always worn glasses and does it effect the light," Laura Mason, a freshman art student asked. Finch laughed and responded by saying he sees better with his glasses on. 

Finch concluded the lecture by saying, "my dream is for people to be as sensitive to color of light like they are to images." 

High School Dropout Rate and Other Challenges to the Higher Education System

      Currently 39 million adult Americans are without a high school diploma and 40 percent have no education past high school, said Molly Broad during her speech as the twentieth annual Louise McBee lecturer last Friday.

     Broad is the first woman to be president of the American Council on Education (ACE) since its founding in 1918. Since taking the position, she has spearheaded an effort to change this shameful statistic. 

      Broad is working on marketing the General Education Development (GED) exam, a high school equivalency test, in an effort to make it more readily available to Americans who, according to Broad, are in desperate need of this level of education to secure a job. 

      Broad often referred back to Tony Cavoli's vision that education determines how far you can move up the social and corporate ladders. Broad also notes houw our world is shifting to one that holds greater importance on higher education. In 1967, Broad reports that 70 percent of Americans with only a high school degree were a part of the middle class. According to Broad's research this statistic no longer holds true, and even some with a high school degree are often part of the lower class in America. 

An extension of Broad's initial project as ACE president would be to create a "GED with honors," that would deem a person "college ready." This idea proved to be very popular with the crowd full of educators, especially after they viewed Broad's graphs showing the benefits of higher education. 

           Broad wants people to think of investing in higher education the way they think of investing in a home. According to her research, both increase a person's wealth and are a great asset. 

          According to her statistics, Broad's comparison rings true. Broad showed a graph that visually represented the strong correlation between education level and income. The median household income for a person with a Bachelor's degree is around $80,000 a year, while someone with a high school diploma makes only around the mid $30,000 mark. Broad expressed concern for the 39 million Americans without a high school diploma who are statistically only making $20,000 a year, which is below the poverty line if this income is supporting a family. 

          Broad also cited several social benefits of attaining higher education. Those with higher degrees are statistically less likely to be unemployed, and are also less likely to be incarcerated. Additionally, they are more likely to vote, have reduced chances of smoking and generally have better health, and are even more likely to volunteer, said Broad. 

          It is for all these reasons that Broad believed the higher education system needs to find a better way to serve not only their current students, but nontraditional students as well. Nontraditional students include adults 65 and over, individuals returning from war, displaced workers as well as the large amounts of high school dropouts. 

         When referring to adults over 65, Broad is speaking more of  a continuing education. 

"Although they're generally well educated historically speaking, we need to find ways to serve those who still wish to remain active in the workforce past age 65."

Broad also considers people returning from war as a type of nontraditional student that the higher education system especially needs to reach out to. Broad believes  educating these individuals is a great way for them to step back into the work force, and even American society. 

         Broad is confident that she is well on her way to helping serve high school dropouts by getting them "college ready" with her "GED with Honors" program, a project many attendees expressed interest in and talked about after Broad's speech.

         Broad's speech also touched on other challenges to the higher education system in America including the global economy, demographics and educational disparities, the cost and revenue structure of higher education, as well as the importance of public goodwill. 

         Although Broad notes the importance of facing these challenges and adjusting to overcome them, she still believes that students are the most important part of educators' jobs. 

         Colleges "must be seen as credible, a place of opportunity, a place to teach, a place to mentor, and a place to solve problems," said Broad. "Even with America at a crossroads, it is important for the higher education system to remain true to our values." 

Broad Addresses Changing Trends in Higher Education

A former president of the University of North Carolina spoke Friday morning about the changing trends that have challenged American higher education as part of the annual Louise McBee lecture series.

Molly Corbett Broad, the current and first woman president of the American Council on Education, named the global economy, investment in higher education, and the cost and revenue structure of higher education as some of the biggest issues and tied together the current state of the global economy and access to higher education, calling it the “great differentiator” when it comes to wages and the hollowing out of the middle class.

“The new currency of the global economy is going to be and already is knowledge,” Broad said, speaking in front of a capacity crowd of educators and doctoral students. Broad was referring to a statistic that showed that over 14,000 jobs were outsourced last year because there was not enough of a workforce with higher levels of education.

            Broad identified the significant issues here to be the changing trends in state budgets for public institutions of higher education and the fact that a person is more likely to go to college if they come from a high income family, calling it, “something that must be addressed.”

            Broad referenced how the significant increase in expenditures per student at private universities has caused them to have little motivation to expand enrollment because they are spending almost twice as much as new students are bringing in for tuition. This, according to Broad, inhibits more people from obtaining higher education and shows the catch-22-like issue between spending in our current poor economy and making higher education accessible to more people.

            Still, Broad urged people to go out and do what they have to do to obtain higher education, calling it the, “most important thing you can do for yourself and for the nation.”

            Broad supported this by also pointing out the greatly reduced likelihood of employment and incarceration for those people who hold a college degree.

            Broad noted that in many cases these institutions of higher learning are the “economic and cultural bedrock” in their communities and actually do a lot when it comes to determining the quality of life in their respective areas.

Because of this, Broad said, the challenge for leaders is to, “remain adaptable and resourceful while not losing the values on which their institutions were founded.”

Broad’s lecture was held at the University Chapel and was sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education and the Louise McBee Lecture, which is held annually in honor of Dr. M. Louise McBee, vice president for academic affairs emerita of The University of Georgia. The McBee Lecture is characterized by distinctiveness, and it is one of only a few annual lecture series in the United States that focuses solely on higher education. 

I-69 Encourages Exploration of Gender Roles in Activism

An associate professor in the Department of Geography spoke Friday afternoon on how gender plays a role in the process of social movements and activism.

            Dr. Nik Heynen, who is also affiliated with the Department of Women’s Studies, discussed gender roles more specifically in relation to an activist group based out of Indiana called Roadblock Earth First. The mission of Roadblock Earth First is to stop the construction of I-69, a “NAFTA superhighway already constructed from Canada to Indianapolis and projected to extend down into Mexico.”

The construction of I-69 has caused many disputes in the state of Indiana, and Roadblock Earth First has included several women in leadership positions in their organization, which has caused even more tension within the group and when dealing with government officials.

Heynen noted how our society is ruled by “domination, aggression, and exploitation.” Because of this, people did not think that the women of Indiana were capable of holding ranks within the organization. This state of mind has created, according to Heynen, the beginnings of a “complete radical environment,” who spoke in front of an audience of about 50 people.

In his research, Heynen spoke with a woman named Sandra who refused to sell her property and will one day have part of I-69 running straight through her front yard.

Her statements solidified Heynen’s take on the mindset of the government officials of Indiana when she said, “The policy of Daniels’ administration is to intimidate. It’s like. I’m bigger than you, I got a big stick, shut up and go away,” referring to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ support of I-69 and methods used to deter activists groups.

Heynen perceived these tactics to be the result of Daniels’ not taking the groups seriously because of female leadership and spoke out against them.

            “Let everyone speak up,” Heynen said.

            Heynen mentioned several famous women’s studies leaders of the past and noted that all of these people had gotten things done through direct action.

            “Every person who ever had a plan to do anything and went and did it, or who laid his plan before others, and won their cooperation to do it with him, without going to external authorities to please do the thing for them, was a direct action,” Heynen said.

            Heynen in closing challenged women to speak up in a “modern society dominated by men” and to not be deterred by those trying to stop them.

            Heynen received his doctorate degree from the University of Indiana in 2002 and has published three books. His research focuses on urban political ecology and inequality in social movements.

Heynen spoke in the Miller Learning Center as part of the Institute of Women’s Studies’ Friday Speaker Series. The weekly series brings in speakers from different departments in the University to speak on past and present issues in the area of women’s studies.

Amanda Gailey, who is an assistant professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will give the next lecture on Friday, Nov. 21. 

"Broad Speaks On Issues Facing Higher Education

ATHENS – The President of the American Council of Education addressed university faculty and students on a rainy Friday morning about issues providing challenges for higher education in the United States.

Molly Corbett Broad provided a variety of viewpoints on issues that are plaguing the higher education system in the United States in front of a crowd of approximately 125 people in the University of Georgia Chapel for the 20th annual Louise McBee Lecture.

Broad, a former president of the University of North Carolina, claimed that many issues are reasons for worry, but she ended her lecture on a high note: public goodwill. Broad claimed that although universities have more students and fewer resources, they still have the public’s trust.

“While America is at a crossroads,” Broad said,” we continue to stand tall among Americans’ (opinions).”

She also cited a study where they surveyed Americans to see if they thought Universities were in a better, same, or worse state than they were 10 years ago, and 75 percent of respondents said that they believed it was at least the same or better.

Although Broad ended on a good note, she left room for a good amount of worry by highlighting many problems facing the universities in America today, many of which tied into the state of the U.S. economy. She noted that times are hard, with the unemployment rate higher than usual, and with foreign economies growing faster than the U.S. economy. She also mentioned that because of other growing economies, many universities are building overseas now instead of in the U.S. She said that because of these reasons and more, the “American dream” could be at risk

“We are approaching a tipping point of the American dream,” Broad said, “where each generation is no longer better off than the previous one.”

This was just what some audience members suspected, and raised apprehension in some.

“I’m looking at the future for my grandchildren.” Joyce Placek, a retired faculty member from the University said, “ It makes me want to go tell them to study harder and for myself to start saving more for them.”

Along with the economy, Broad also noted that many people’s savings for college aren’t what they used to be worth due to the financial crisis that is plaguing the United States. She hopes that people will begin to save more and be wise, because it is of crucial importance.

“The most important thing you can do for yourself and your nation is to get higher education,” Broad said.

After ending on the note of public goodwill, Broad fielded a few questions from the audience before the lecture was concluded. Notable guests were present at the lecture, including University of Georgia President Michael Adams and Louise McBee, the former GA House Representative for whom the lecture was named. The Louise McBee Lecture is an annual event that is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) and the College of Education at the University of Georgia. It is one of a few lecture series that focuses primarily on the topic of higher education.