What have I done?
So I just waded through 176 pages of 19th century literary criticism about William Blake to come to the conclusion he was a pre-existentialist.. that could have been summed up in a paragraph.
My professor looks like Ismarc.. only a little older.. and I have this feeling you'd like him too. He uses big words that make me want to cry to complicate ideas that start out sounding so innocuous and tame. By the time he's finished I am certain I have no place in this program. The man is a genius.
I did a search on the web for other English Grad students feeling the crunch and I came up with an article from which I have pulled the following excerpt:
Hassan calls his outline the "BITE Model," which stands for behavior, information, thought, and emotional control. Let's review a few of the traits of each category and see if any of them sound familiar.
This is the description of a cult. It is also a play by play of graduate studies in English.
My professor looks like Ismarc.. only a little older.. and I have this feeling you'd like him too. He uses big words that make me want to cry to complicate ideas that start out sounding so innocuous and tame. By the time he's finished I am certain I have no place in this program. The man is a genius.
I did a search on the web for other English Grad students feeling the crunch and I came up with an article from which I have pulled the following excerpt:
Hassan calls his outline the "BITE Model," which stands for behavior, information, thought, and emotional control. Let's review a few of the traits of each category and see if any of them sound familiar.
- Behavior control: "major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals"; "need to ask permission for major decisions"; "need to report thoughts, feelings, and activities to superiors."
- Information control: "access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged (keep members so busy they don't have time to think)" and "extensive use of cult-generated information (newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.)."
- Thought control: "need to internalize the group's doctrine as 'Truth' (black and white thinking; good vs. evil; us vs. them, inside vs. outside)" and "no critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate."
- Emotional control: "excessive use of guilt (identity guilt: not living up to your potential; social guilt; historical guilt)"; "phobia indoctrination (irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority; cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group; shunning of leave takers; never a legitimate reason to leave"; and "from the group's perspective, people who leave are 'weak,' 'undisciplined.'"
This is the description of a cult. It is also a play by play of graduate studies in English.