Because lady_rhian asked...
lady_rhian asked me a more questions off of the interview meme. If you still want me to interview you, drop a comment here and let me know.
1. Who is your favorite political philosopher and why?
You do realize that this is like asking me which chocolate I most want to eat? (Answer: all of them. Except for Hershey bars.) Offhand, my favorite political philosophers to read--the ones whose works I read for genuine pleasure, as well as enlightenment--would probably be Hobbes, Machiavelli, Alexis de Tocqueville and Nietzsche. If you think you see a cynical trend in that list of names, you would be correct. *g* Of those, I think that Machiavelli and Nietzsche provide the most pleasure to me. They're both profoundly flawed and limited in certain ways, this is true, but I admire the crackling wit on display and... one hesitates to call it "realism," but there is an acknowledgment of the less-than-noble core of humanity (Nietzsche, in fact, thinks of us as beasts in "civilized" trappings). Machiavelli isn't concerned with teleology; he's concerned with what he sees as the prevailing dynamic of power and how best to exploit it for the sake of 1) stability and 2) personal profit (not necessarily in that order). I think of Machiavelli as one of the first political theorists to look at the world as it is, rather than as it should be.
2. What's your favorite class you took at the undergraduate level and why?
This is actually a difficult question, because I loved more than one class. However, if I could name one that was pure pleasure from start to finish, it would be "God and the American Author," which is interesting, because I am generally not an American Lit. person. However, this class was an elective special topics seminar, and our enrollment was low--perhaps 15 people at most (it was such a success that it has since become an established course, rather than a special topics seminar). The instructor was a prof who was very near retirement, and he was such a profoundly thoughtful, poetic, philosophical person that I think he made everybody in the room more insightful simply for having listened to his lectures. He was the person who inspired me to do my graduate studies in English Lit. (at the time, I was a Political Theory person), and he was also the person who inspired me to teach. He examined the effect of faith (or a lack of it) on literature from so many different angles, with such patient wisdom and brilliance, that despite the wildly varying backgrounds of all the students, we had some of the most fruitful discussions I've ever heard in a classroom. It was... a wonderful experience.
3. What would your Amortentia smell like?
Mmm... sandalwood, most definitely, but what else? I think of leather and dusty, musty old books, the lightly sweet scent of fresh paper, with other hints of vanilla and jasmine.
4. Of Alan Rickman's many brilliant performances, which is your favorite and why?
For sheer bawl-your-eyes out romance, it has to be as Jamie in Truly, Madly,Deeply... and yet I just adore him in Galaxy Quest. It's silly, but I swear I always find something new to admire in his performace--some small gesture or facial expression, a rolling of the eyes or a line so perfectly delivered that it becomes instantly memorable.
5. What singular characteristic do you most value in a friend?
I admire many things in a friend, but above all: loyalty.
It's very overcast here. Also, my ankle has decided to act up and hurt intensely for no good reason, so that I have to hobble around in the corridors. This impedes effective striding and billowing.
Stupid ankle. I wonder if somebody's made a voodoo doll of me. It's awfully early in the semester for that, isn't it?
1. Who is your favorite political philosopher and why?
You do realize that this is like asking me which chocolate I most want to eat? (Answer: all of them. Except for Hershey bars.) Offhand, my favorite political philosophers to read--the ones whose works I read for genuine pleasure, as well as enlightenment--would probably be Hobbes, Machiavelli, Alexis de Tocqueville and Nietzsche. If you think you see a cynical trend in that list of names, you would be correct. *g* Of those, I think that Machiavelli and Nietzsche provide the most pleasure to me. They're both profoundly flawed and limited in certain ways, this is true, but I admire the crackling wit on display and... one hesitates to call it "realism," but there is an acknowledgment of the less-than-noble core of humanity (Nietzsche, in fact, thinks of us as beasts in "civilized" trappings). Machiavelli isn't concerned with teleology; he's concerned with what he sees as the prevailing dynamic of power and how best to exploit it for the sake of 1) stability and 2) personal profit (not necessarily in that order). I think of Machiavelli as one of the first political theorists to look at the world as it is, rather than as it should be.
2. What's your favorite class you took at the undergraduate level and why?
This is actually a difficult question, because I loved more than one class. However, if I could name one that was pure pleasure from start to finish, it would be "God and the American Author," which is interesting, because I am generally not an American Lit. person. However, this class was an elective special topics seminar, and our enrollment was low--perhaps 15 people at most (it was such a success that it has since become an established course, rather than a special topics seminar). The instructor was a prof who was very near retirement, and he was such a profoundly thoughtful, poetic, philosophical person that I think he made everybody in the room more insightful simply for having listened to his lectures. He was the person who inspired me to do my graduate studies in English Lit. (at the time, I was a Political Theory person), and he was also the person who inspired me to teach. He examined the effect of faith (or a lack of it) on literature from so many different angles, with such patient wisdom and brilliance, that despite the wildly varying backgrounds of all the students, we had some of the most fruitful discussions I've ever heard in a classroom. It was... a wonderful experience.
3. What would your Amortentia smell like?
Mmm... sandalwood, most definitely, but what else? I think of leather and dusty, musty old books, the lightly sweet scent of fresh paper, with other hints of vanilla and jasmine.
4. Of Alan Rickman's many brilliant performances, which is your favorite and why?
For sheer bawl-your-eyes out romance, it has to be as Jamie in Truly, Madly,Deeply... and yet I just adore him in Galaxy Quest. It's silly, but I swear I always find something new to admire in his performace--some small gesture or facial expression, a rolling of the eyes or a line so perfectly delivered that it becomes instantly memorable.
5. What singular characteristic do you most value in a friend?
I admire many things in a friend, but above all: loyalty.
It's very overcast here. Also, my ankle has decided to act up and hurt intensely for no good reason, so that I have to hobble around in the corridors. This impedes effective striding and billowing.
Stupid ankle. I wonder if somebody's made a voodoo doll of me. It's awfully early in the semester for that, isn't it?