The Columnist Issue 4

4

CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

CULTURE

3 An Amused Perspective on the New

7 Bureaucracy: a Soft Form of Violence?

11 Family Matters

8 The Online Revolution of the Self

12 Resurrecting the Public Intellectual

9 Enhancing Your Mental Energy

13 Pop Culture Making Us Smarter

Zealand Referendum 5 It’s not News to me!

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Editorial Welcome to your magazine.

The Columnist started in late 2014 with the hopes

that their voices are heard and their amazing work

of increasing the variety of student opinion in

known by the broader student body.

campus, giving a voice to those either dissatisfied with existing publications or willing to participate

Let your voice be heard.

in new publishing projects. The closing down of The Journal in early 2015 meant that the diversity

The Editors

of student opinion on campus was further reduced, and The Columnist wants to keep firm in providing a distinctive platform for students to discuss and express themselves, keeping hierarchies and intermediaries to the minimum.

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For this reason we have applied for an Innovative

@thecolumnistmag

Initiative Grant, through which we hope to develop our website into a peer-reviewed, members-driven, self-publishing platform for students. We have

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also applied to become an EUSA society, as we considered that we are ready to take this step and formalise our existence. We believe that a diversity of publications can only increase the pluralism of our campus, and for that reason we are calling for a joint event between all student publications on

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It is no easy task to take off as a student publication, moving from the model in which only your acquaintances write for you to one in which the whole of the student community is involved. The present issue is an issue of transition, after having demonstrated the resilience to get over the first year hangover. However, we want to reach out to more students, and particularly those who take part in any of the more than 240 EUSA societies that are part of campus. We want you to spread the word and let them know that we are here, that we are more than willing to support them, making sure

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Columnist Issue 4

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Same Same But Different: an Amused Perspective on the New Zealand Flag Referendum

By Mai Nghia Mai is a second year student of History. He enjoys

argument, which is very familiar for those who have

doing comedy and is interested in current affairs.

a keen interest in vexillology (the study of flags), is that it is too similar to the Australian ones which also

Around this time next year, the fate of a nation’s

features the Union with a couple of stars. Thereby,

identity could be decided once more by popular

this led to a massive confusion between the two

votes. Unfortunately, this piece is not about a

neighbouring nations for outsiders. Interestingly,

second referendum on Scottish independence as

in 1985, Australian former Prime Minister Bob

much as Ms. Sturgeon wants it to be. In 2016, New

Hawke was greeted by the New Zealand flag when

Zealand will vote, as part of a 2-stage binding

traveling overseas. When considering the wider

referendum, on whether they should replace the

context, this confusion of national banners is not

current flag with another designed by one of its 4

a unique situation reserved for members of the

millions loyal citizens (sheep excluded). One would

Commonwealth.

hope this would somewhat allow increase New Zealand’s credibility as a global player.

There are many cases around the world where flags of countries look similar in design, despite being

New Zealand, a country famed for being the

situated on different continent. Notable examples

filming location for the cinematic adaptations of

include Ireland and the Ivory Coast, Romania and

your favourite J.R.R.R. Tolkien’s novels and rugby,

Chad. Despite this, what makes New Zealand’s case

has had a long history of debating on changing its

stands out from others is the close relationship

current flag, stretching back to World War 2. Unlike

forged between Australia and New Zealand

its Australian counterpart, this has never led to a

throughout their histories, in terms of economic

republicanist movement to take roots. However,

interactions, sporting competitions and the

there have been several arguments for and against

‘Anzac spirit’ during times of wars

changing the flag arising from this debate. One

involving Britain.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

4

Thus, this led to outsiders to have the

their ‘visions’ of New Zealand’s new

inability to distinguish the two from

flags. During this process, more than

each other, hence, the need to change

10,000 designs were submitted and

the flag. Other arguments are also

the absurdities and outrageousness of

expressed in an emotionally driven

some of the designs, which included one

essay written by Brian Sweeney for

with a Kiwi bird shooting lasers from its

NZflag.com, a trust set up to increase

eyes showed indifference towards this

public support for changing the flag

campaign. It is a relief that John Key’s

in which he listed 8 reasons for the

proposal for one with black background

motion. This included the argument

and a white silver fern, a prominent

of the flag should be a ‘Great Design’,

symbol of New Zealand, was shelved

which sounded like a pseudo-

because of resemblance to the ISIS

theory promoted by the Creationist

equivalent. All Blacks, yes, but purposes of

movement.

international diplomacy, maybe not.

Despite the arguments being put

With only five ‘serious’ designs left in the

forward and quite significant supports,

final round, one will be chosen in the first

it is important to notice the history of

stage of the referendum later this year to

public apathy towards this proposal

be pitched against the incumbent flag

where polls taken in 1973 and 1984

in the second stage to be held next year.

showed the majority of New Zealanders

In terms of its wider significance, the

opposed to replacing the current flag.

referendum could serve as a distraction

This trend continued into the 1990s and

from all strife and wars that are currently

2000s whenever the debate is reignited.

happening in the world. There maybe a

This is quite understandable since

chance the leaders of either Australia or

there are more pressing issues within

New Zealand won’t have to be greeted

a sovereign state with a functioning

by the wrong flag or things will just go

government like New Zealand and

back into normality. History will judge

replacement procedures tend to be

whether all of this was worthwhile.

costly, causing an opportunity cost.

The issue was only to be boosted recently due to the enthusiasm of Prime Minister John Key of the conservative National Party, which led to the announcement of a two-stage binding referendum earlier this year, including a public engagement scheme where people submitted designs of

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Columnist Issue 4

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It’s not News to me!

By Lucca Rolim Lucca Rolim is a 2nd year student from Brazil

media, as in the Arab spring and more recently in

studying international relations and hoping to

the #blacklivesmatter movement, and to the rise

marry Jean Lily B.

of organisations such as FAIR and Anonymous which work towards achieving an unbiased media,

The news should not give us an opinion, it should

self-censorship is not dead. We continue to be

provide clear cut, direct information. The public

susceptible to media control due to main media

should be allowed to make their own judgement

outlets obscuring fact and choosing to focus on

on what news outlets broadcast. The people’s’ right

carefully-selected opinions they already know their

to form an educated opinion on issues around the

audience will accept.

world has been taken away by the mainstream media and it must be recovered.

Major news organizations should take on the responsibility of providing unbiased information for

In his Des Moines speech, US Vice President

the people, in turn allowing commentary pieces to

Spiro Agnew argued that ‘a little group of men

provide opinions on the matter. Big news outlets

.... wield a free hand in selecting, presenting and

should act as middle-men between the people

interpreting the great issues of our Nation.’ This was

and raw information. They should give us the data

1969 and Agnew was arguing against the lack of

and context they receive without tampering or

accountability the US media had. While in recent

added opinions; instead, they work in tandem with

years the public has played a more active role as

corporates and the government in order to feed the

moral watchdog due both to the influence of social

public information that is not necessarily beneficial, but certainly easily digested.

6

CURRENT AFFAIRS

News outlets have other interests than merely

Many people read the news passively, consequently

informing the public of what is happening in the

making them just blindly agree or disagree with

world. By having the power to set agendas and

what is being said based on their previous beliefs.

shape what the public believes it needs, what we

Reading the news actively will lead people to

see on the news and what we view as priorities

question not only the writer but themselves,

are only a reflection of what we as an audience are

making a judgement on the issue. Having their

willing to accept. Media scandals and exaggerated

own opinion will enrich news-readers as they

writing styles are all techniques news outlets use in

will be able to argue against articles rather than

order to gather or reduce interest in topics around

merely agree with them. The choice of news outlet

the world. ISIS, for example, are able to exploit how

is also important. Many people read a single news

the media and our minds work. We are interested

channel religiously restricting them to one opinion.

by violence and it is no coincidence that we see

Whilst reading the news, people must also consider

news about ISIS every day, however over a million

credibility and bias of the news outlet in order to

people die of malaria every year in sub-Saharan

get unpolluted information.

Africa, but main news outlets somehow overlook it.

News outlets want more clicks, more views and so

Although the ideal scenario would be for news

they produce news which will generate the most

outlets to change the way they document

interest.

information, by being more intelligent in the way we read the news we will recover our power to

The process of news production is flawed and will not be solved unless the process of news consumption, which is also flawed, changes.

Our unrivalled reliance and trust of news outlets diminishes our power. We should learn to distinguish between information and opinion and how both can affect our views differently.

think, to act and to have an opinion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Columnist Issue 4

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EVEL: Fair in Theory, Undemocratic in Practice

by Craig Rutherford Craig is an avid writer particularly enthusiastic about music, films and current affairs. He’s always open to discuss his articles!

The terms of EVEL mean qualification of an English law will solely be determined by the Speaker of the

EVEL (English votes for English laws) has arrived,

House of Commons, John Bercow, who is elected

causing significant consequences for Scotland.

by the House. This clearly creates grey area with

Scots will no longer be allowed to vote on the

regards to what is considered an English law and

potential upcoming gargantuan spending project, a

what is not, allowing the Speaker to adopt an

third runway at Heathrow Airport.

invidious position against the opposition bench.

The total price of a third runway is estimated to

Moreover, this proposal has the ability to become

cost the taxpayer approximately £40 billion, a fact

a political ploy which prevents the opposition from

made ironic when considering the recent cut in

repealing bills. As a result, the Tories will be able

tax credits for society’s poorest. There now exists a

to increase their chances of legislating their policy.

stronger chance of this runway being created when

On the contrary, supporters of either EVEL or an

taking into account that the Tories make up less

English Parliament, or both, rightfully felt neglected.

than 2% of MPs in Scotland, as well as Chris Grayling

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had more

suggesting that Scots will not be granted a vote on

devolved powers prior to EVEL, and still do. Despite

the matter.

this, EVEL is not the form of devolution to efficiently deal with economic imbalances.

Furthermore, Tory rebellions, combined with Labour MPs, will be more likely to reach the level

There is no denying that Heathrow has an impact

of numerical resistance required to prevent the

on the economy of Scotland. Heathrow is an

runway’s creation. Banning Scottish MPs views on

incredibly important hub which connects not

issues including Heathrow Airport and HS2 will

just with England, but with the entirety of the UK.

undoubtedly have severe financial implications on

A third runway could extend London’s growing

Scotland due to the current budgetary formula, in

influence at the expense of every other part of

which English-focused legislation will most likely

the UK. In addition, had EVEL been in existence

have financial consequences for the devolved

100 years ago, many UK Prime Ministers, including

territories. A third runway at Heathrow would be a

Winston Churchill and William Gladstone, would

massive financial burden on the Scottish budget,

have been unable to vote on English laws despite

therefore how could it be fair to exclude Scotland’s

being English, due to holding Scottish seats at one

vote?

point. Additionally, Ramsay Macdonald was a Scot who held an English seat, therefore meaning Scots

CURRENT AFFAIRS

8 would be potentially allowed to vote on English

budget than the democratically elected Scottish

laws whilst MPs born and raised in England could

MPs themselves? It’s theocratic, archaic and

not do so.

undemocratic. The UK Parliament should be aiming to establish further democracy, not preserve

During the American Revolution there was a firm

elements of theocracy. The UK happens to be the

belief that there should be no taxation without

only other country in the world, with the exception

representation. This belief allows the flame of

of Iran, which has unelected religious clerics

democracy to burn brightly, and one which should

creating the laws which citizens must obey.

be summoned by the Scottish people. Scottish MPs have been demoted to second class status,

If the Tories truly are unionists, why have they

regardless of Scots directly contributing their taxes

passed legislation which further isolates Scotland

to projects which will affect the Scottish budget

from the United Kingdom? Hopefully people see

and economy.

EVEL for what it is: a failure at fully addressing the economic imbalances which exist in regions all over

Why in the twentieth century have we found ourselves in a position where 26 unelected religious leaders in the House of Lords will have a larger amount of jurisdiction over Scotland’s

the UK.

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

The Columnist Issue 4

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Bureaucracy: a ‘Soft’ Form of Violence?

By Adela Briansó

unexpected debt, overcharges and threatening calls.

Adela is a third year student of Social Anthropology

You have most probably received a letter (or

and politics. She loves doing and watching theatre,

many) urging you to get a TV license. Those are

going for a run and playing djembes with Drumsoc.

often threatening, as they appeal to their right to investigate your property “any day of the week,

My electricity provider is actively refusing to send

morning or evening”. The letters come on a regular

me my own bills. I spent 59 minutes speaking to

basis and they become increasingly threatening, to

Scottish Power on the phone last night and, after

the point that one ends up wondering if he or she

waiting in a virtual queue for 12 minutes and being

actually may need a license, despite not owning a

passed onto three different staff members, I did not

TV or streaming live TV online. The irony is that to

get my problem solved. I was lost in a bureaucratic

avoid the fine, tenants are expected to get in touch

maze for 59 minutes and after I hung up, I felt stupid

and state they do not need a license. We are facing

and anxious. Statistics claim most students find

another example of bureaucratic violence: a threat

themselves in similar situations. According to the

delivered to our very homes.

BBC, students in the UK lose £335m a year in unfair charges, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about

It is often due to incompetence that bureaucratic

our rights and because of the time-consuming

violence arises. An employee may forget to tell you

process of dealing with complaints.

about a required document for your visa, or they may misspell your name and hence deny you access to

Anthropologist David Graeber coined the term

certain services. As Graeber argues, bureaucracies are

bureaucratic violence to refer to organizational

organised so that a significant proportion of actors

systems such as bureaucracies, whose dealings are

will not be able to perform their tasks as expected.

backed up by threats of harm. These threats vary and

But let’s hope incompetent workers only embody

range from cutting your electricity supply to sending

a narrow minority. It is frequently through multi-

you to court. Subtle (or not-so-subtle) threats lay

layered systems like that of Scottish Power, where no

behind most bureaucratic systems through rules,

one seemed to be trained to solve the problem, that

requirements, phone calls, etc. The usual strategy is

violence is enforced. Each layer presents a potential

to transform an expected service or behavior into an

loss of information. My meter readings got lost on

extraordinary, lengthy and logistically complicated

one of the system’s layers and are now nowhere to

process, in hopes that the customer will give up.

be found in a virtual world, beyond the virtual queue

In the case of Scottish Power, you would expect

and the virtual signatures of thousands of unhappy

a utility company to provide customers with bills

customers.

at the end of each month. Ironically, the most frequent complaint is “no bill received”, followed by

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

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Bureaucratic violence does not make complaints

Further reading:

impossible to solve, but make the process a painfully slow, frustrating one. The incredible power of

BBC (2015) Unfair charges cost students £335m a

bureaucracies ultimately lies within the mental

year, says ombudsman, available online at http://

harassment involved in the process of dealing with

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34378804

them. According to the BBC, a significant ratio of students pay their tenancy deposit twice. Many

Graeber (2006) “Dead zones of the imagination: On

are charged for damage they did not cause, while

violence, bureaucratic violence and interpretive

some others pay over-estimated bills based on

labour”, Journal of Ethnographic Theory 2(2), 105-

previous tenants’ expenses. Bureaucratic systems

28.

have an immense power that makes customers vulnerable and has implications for our day to day

Ombudsman Services (2015) Annual reports for the

lives. Bureaucracies create situations of anxiety,

energy sector-Scottish Power, available online at:

misunderstandings and uncertainty because of

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/downloads/

organisational systems that diffuse culpability and

Datasheet_Q2_ScottishPower.pdf

over-complicate simple processes. Get to know your rights, require printed copies of every agreement you make, reach out to supporting organisations, complain, pursue your complains, insist. Do so until we come up with a better organizational method that does not rely in threats of harm.

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

The Online Revolution of the Self

by Louis Gross

The Columnist Issue 4

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confessing the whole of our lives publically and in turn to judge and evaluate the lives of others.

Arguably this is not inherently negative; as we live in an increasingly competitive world, why not take the opportunity to gain an advantage and market ourselves. The most significant problem I see is the increasing power of corporate interests in this process and the lack of individual freedom it entails.

Louis is a third year History

A recent Barclay’s advert typifies this mentality. It

student from Manchester, England.

suggests that people must edit their social media profiles to make themselves more presentable

As the world becomes increasingly capitalistic,

and employable. This is probably not bad advice

people are being encouraged to commodify

– the problem is that employers now hire you on

themselves – to create our own personal brands,

whether or not your Facebook profile has photos

and market ourselves as successful, substantial

of you being a drunken idiot on it. The intrusion of

human beings in society. The corporatisation of the

employers into our private lives is made easy, as

internet seems to be the most significant driving force behind this cultural zeitgeist. While the internet was founded as an egalitarian, liminal zone of complete free speech, more and more it is being used to reinforce social status and gain influence and control. In essence the internet is being used by people to commodify themselves and in turn they are being sold and used as commodities by large internet corporations.

Popular social media websites such as Facebook, Tinder, Twitter and Linkedin all allow people to commodify themselves for various personal gains.

We can now choose a few flattering photos and write a short bio, essentially selling ourselves in hope to see an increase in social status, sexual partners, friends, or jobs. By using personal attributes and life experiences as a means to achieve online kudos we transform them into commodities. Elements of ourselves become resources to accomplish personal socio-economic gains. Social media websites fuel this notion; encouraging us to upload every moment of our lives for the appraisal of others. We are coerced into

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

12 our lives are published online. Equally we are now encouraged to create Linkedin profiles to prove to potential employers that we are acceptable human beings. Increasingly we are being expected to devote our lives to presenting an employable image. As our privacy is reduced we must conform

Enhancing Your Mental Energy

by Alec Edgecliffe-Johnson

to the values of ‘respectable society’ in every element of our lives. Thus the individual loses their

Alec is a third year Economics student who enjoys

freedom of individuality due to the fact that they

reading, playing darts and researching longevity

must conform to the ideals of corporate powers.

science in his abundant free time.

In commodifying ourselves, we can now be

At the core of all mental processes like focus,

bought and sold by Internet companies. The

creativity, reasoning and learning is a finite power

information we put online is sold to advertisers

source: mental energy. Unfortunately we give little

so we can be “actively” marketed to. Essentially

thought to the application of this “fuel” and many

our content which we have freely uploaded is

of us squander it needlessly. In order to use our

sold and used to generate profit, from us, by third

mental energy for its

party organizations. This information is used

most productive

to subtly influence us through poorly written

purposes,

sensationalist articles, targeted marketing and viral

we must

advertising. Thus the information we broadcast gives corporations greater power in controlling the interests and culture of the modern world.

Essentially a new elite has risen using the powers of technology and we are openly and happily turning ourselves into commodities for them. In turn we are allowing them to subtly influence culture and society.

The new technological power structure arguably has a number of significant benefits. It is in many ways more democratic, more egalitarian and has greater free speech than previous power structures.

On the other hand we must be aware of the influence the internet has on society and culture.

We must maintain the freedom of the internet and the original values that it held. As the World Wide Web increasingly becomes a large part of western and global culture we should not let it be controlled as that would mean losing the control of a large part of our culture.

SOCIAL COMMENTARY eliminate unnecessary outflows.

The Columnist Issue 4

13

learning, inserting small amounts of information into our brains once a week for twelve weeks does

Any time you force your brain to switch gears

not seem an efficient model.

from one activity/subject to another you exert a tremendous amount of mental energy known as

If we can batch our studies, the information flows

a “switching cost.” Our lives are filled with “activity

logically from one concept to the next without a

infidelity” as we move from lectures on one subject,

weeklong interruption. You can take advantage of

to meetings, to another lecture, to facebook, to

the power of distributed learning using the precise

coffee, to email responses etc., and we are taxed

time intervals outlined in Pashler and Wisehart’s

heavily every time we switch.

learning interval studies. Rethinking learning takes courage. Need further validation that the way

The most effective way to dodge this tax is to batch

university typically teaches is behind the times?

your activities. Do not check facebook 10x a day for

Check out “How We Learn,” by Benedict Carey.

5 minutes. Instead, check it once for 50 (ideally far less!) Check and respond to all emails once a day.

While you should be wary of incurring switching

Put your phone on airplane and take it off once

costs throughout your day, they are not the only

every four hours. Over time, you will find your own

form of unwanted mental energy expenditure.

methods of grouping that work for you.

Decision-making is also extremely cognitively expensive. Simplifying our life and spending as

In order to lower your switching cost you may want to consider adopting a “no

little mental energy as possible on insignificant decisions can leave space and time to do what we

lecture policy.” Every time you go to a

really enjoy. President Barack Obama has only has

lecture you are disrupting your day

two suit colours to simplify his choices of outfit. The

and losing mental ability. Batch your education. You can read through

same principles can be applied to, food shopping, exercise regimen etc.

an hour lecture in 15 minutes and you can read through your entire semester’s worth of lectures in two days of concentrated work. While there is certainly credibility in distributed

You can take the previous point one step further through habit formation. By mindfully culturing good habits, and then stringing them together into routines you eliminate “expensive” decisions and ambiguity. Routinising the unimportant (but necessary) aspects of your life like morning and evening routines, exercise routines etc. allows you to conserve mental energy. Habits are carried out with little cognitive expenditure. I strongly recommend “Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg for anyone who is interested in optimising his/her life through habit-formation.

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

14 One last consideration for your mental energy and

Some of the lifestyle changes included here require

health: do not consume news. Stay away from news

a bit of courage to adopt, but the reward is worth it.

sites, newspapers, news apps etc. The news is filled

The point of all of this is not, of course, to become

with (often biased) information that is generally

some super-efficient robot. It is instead to increase

useless to you and consumes precious mental

the amount of time and mental energy you have

and emotional energy. Anything that is actually

so that you can allocate it to the activities that you

important you will learn from your human network

really care about, no matter what they are. Happy

or by selectively reading academic and intellectual-

conservation!

stimulating articles. For a thoroughly horrifying explanation of how the news rots your brain visit dobelli.com/no-news-2.

CULTURE

Family matters

By Josh Proctor

most importantly, Chicago, his home town family.

College Dropout, Kanye West’s first album, released in 2004. That year there were 448 murders in Chicago. 11 years later, and with 2015 not quite at

Josh is a second year IR student from London. His

an end yet, there have been 392 . Chance’s ‘Family

interests contain a cacophony of pop culture and

Matters’ comes in an era vastly different musically,

obscure artistic references that one might normally

socially, and economically than the Kanye original,

over look.’

yet one thing remains constant; violence in the hometown they both share. On the original ‘Family

Family, n. ‘A group of people living as a household,

Business’ Kanye raps:

traditionally consisting of parents and their children.’ Whilst dictionary definitions can tell us

I woke up early this morning

what a word means, we’re often left searching for

with a new state of mind

understanding of meaning. Chance the Rapper’s

A creative way to rhyme without using knives and

latest song ‘Family Matters’, a cover of Kanye West’s

guns

College Dropout cut ‘Family Business’, is a heartfelt ballad dedicated to his family. Family however, for

Whilst this was clearly a lash out at the monotony

Chance, far outstrips a simple social construct as

of the ‘Gangster Rap’ dominated genre at the time,

defined by the Oxford English Dictionary. Chance’s

this is also a clear statement against the violence

newest output is about his immediate family, yes,

prevalent in his beloved Chicago. For this verse

but even more so it’s important to consider his

Kanye switches flow, placing emphasis on ‘early’,

wider family: his group ‘The Social Experiment’, the

‘new’ and ‘creative’, perhaps trying to highlight a

thousands of fans that recite every lyric at every

sense of unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe

concert, his musical family full of fellow artists that

with a shift in musical culture, Chicago would

he has collaborated with, and finally, and perhaps

experience a shift away from the violence that

CULTURE plagues it. 11 years later and that sense of hope

The Columnist Issue 4

15

We were all that matters, family’s all that matters

seems to be more like big dreaming. It comes as

This is just business, see you right after

no surprise, then, that Chance the Rapper would

Nothing comes before ya, nothing else matters

decide to cover a song by a member of his musical

All of this is for ya, you are all that matters

family, who just so happens to be his Chicago family, that speaks out so obviously against

Of course, Chance is singing here for his newborn

violence. Chance the Rapper has, for as long as he

daughter, however it’s impossible not to infer

has been on the music scene, been a conscious

that this is a message to his Chicago brethren to

objector to the violence in his city. On ‘Paranoia’ a

remember what truly is important in life. Just as

hidden track off of his second mixtape ‘Acid Rap’

Kanye proclaimed 11 years earlier, Chance is calling

Chance raps with his nonchalant elegance:

for a stop in the violence that so deeply affects his greater family.

They murking kids; they murder kids here Why you think they don’t talk about it?

Sometimes in life it takes a monumental event, such as the birth of a child, to shift someone’s

Clearly Chance is outraged by the violence in his

perspective. Chance the Rapper did not need a

city and the negligence of the mass media towards

shift in perspective, anti-violence lyrics have been

it. In this way ‘Family Matters’ becomes an ode to

a staple of his music for years. Perhaps what the

the lives lost and forgotten by the general public

birth of his daughter has invoked is a newer sense

and to the safety of his greater Chicago family in

of purpose. If ‘Family Matters’ has one residual

the future. The beginning of the song is highlighted

message it’s staring you right in the face: Family

by a subdued stripped back piano instrumental

over everything. Whether it be your blood relatives,

with Chance singing:

your close friends, your contemporaries or your hometown brothers, Chance makes one thing abundantly clear: nothing else should matter.

CULTURE

16

Resurrecting the Public Intellectual

by Eva Rom

as well. Nowadays, university is a synonym for professionalization and specialisation. Let’s not forget where we stand: The majority of students do not chase an unrealistic revolutionary ideal anymore.

Would one be justified in joining the chorus of all those cultural pessimists then? Has the dictate of effectiveness, competition, rationalization and

Eva is a visiting student from Austria studying law

bureaucratization suffocated the last of the voices

and literature in her third year. She is passionate

we could count upon to explain the world and our

about politics and discovering the perfect blend of

place in it? After all, even Noam Chomsky has been

coffee.

somewhat quiet lately.

There once was a time when men in peculiar

Whoever claims the death of the public intellectual

clothing would take seemingly endless walks

ignores two important developments: First,

through the city of their choosing, preferably Paris.

the public intellectual’s changing appearance

They would sit in cafés, read ceaselessly and have

which crucially does not make this individual any

discussions about the very essence of humanity in

less influential. Second, the democratization of

draughty flats owned by their intellectual friends.

intellectual thought through the internet.

When this kind of human decides to engage with the public, the latter would listen, statesmen and

Let’s abandon the outdated prototype of the public

ordinary citizens alike.

intellectual, the male philosopher. The public intellectual is more varied nowadays which requires

The days of Sartre and Camus certainly have passed.

us take a closer look. How many Muslim scholars

The tremors of the 1960s and 1970s have subsided

does the average western citizen know? Let us

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The Columnist Issue 4

17

also not forget the second half of the population

The question is therefore not whether the public

that are climbing academic ladders despite the

intellectual of today is still needed and should

continuously baffling male dominance in higher-

speak up. The question is what takes these people

level academia.

so long in the first place. Their opinions do not only allow us to get a glimpse of the latest complex

Since the internet has an influence on our life

ideas, but would add some colour to a political

that can hardly be overestimated, it is legitimate

landscape that seems to become defined more and

to ask if the incredible load of information that is

more by yes or no questions.

accessible with a few clicks has led to a decline in quality. In the infinities of the internet, there are intellectual pearls to be found, made available to us by the very same tool that is cluttered with pictures of cats. There are first-class blogs about current developments in constitutional law, leading foreign policy analysis provided by think tanks, and platforms to debate, all of them freely available.

The public intellectual is very much alive. What is needed in order for these people to be heard is

Pop Culture Making Us Smarter

by Laura Brook

a public that believes in the steering function of critical intellect and the necessity of listening to

Laura is a third-year English Literature student,

both inspiring findings and unpleasant truths alike.

originally from Huntly in Aberdeenshire.

Earlier this year, Piketty and four other renowned economists published a letter to German Chancellor

At universities across the country, humanities

Angela Merkel, criticising her financial policy with

courses are changing. No longer are they bound

regard to Greece. While one can certainly have

by the works of long-dead writers who comment

different opinions about the German course when

on issues from a distance; instead, they are taking

it comes to austerity, this contribution provided

pointers from some of the most well-known

interesting insights. The publication, however, was

forms of popular culture. From long-established

criticised with the argument that scholarship and

literature courses including books such as the

politics should not mix and while this argument

Harry Potter series, to courses devoted entirely to

has a certain validity when it comes to the

the hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

independence of scholarship, to tell an expert not

it’s impossible to deny that contemporary works

to comment on current issues because this may be

are slowly finding their way into academia. But not

interpreted as a political take on things is utterly

everyone is happy with the inclusion of this media,

misplaced. This person has the unique position of

and many claim that such works have little in the

not being dependent on public perception. There

way of ‘literary merit’, making them unworthy of

are no voters to please, only years of academic

academia’s time and resources.

research to back up his or her opinion.

CULTURE

18 This idea of certain media having a level of literary

will seem deeply familiar to much of its audience.

merit which is deemed acceptable is stemmed

Characters such as the transgender hairdresser

from the literary canon. The concept of the literary

Sophia Burset or the sympathetic, if inappropriately

canon is to collate texts which are deemed to have

named, inmate Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren would

had the most impact on society. Many of the texts

simply not have been included in any text prior to

studied in literature classes across universities are

the 21st Century, and if they were, the sad truth is

bound by this set of books, compiled in compulsory

they would most likely be shallow caricatures and

anthologies across the country. The same can be

figures of ridicule.

said for other humanities courses such as history or sociology; often students are bound by the views of

In order to understand what a fundamental change

one specific and unrepresentative subset of society.

popular culture brings to our present and future courses we must look back at the history of popular

This is one of the main problems with adhering

media. Popular culture is often derided for its

to the literary canon. Historically, the only books

‘low-brow’ leanings and its inclusion in courses can

deemed worthy have been both written and

vary dramatically depending on where you study.

judged by the elite and the privileged, typically straight, white, upper-class men. It could be argued that looking at material by this subset of society allows us to look at historical prejudices, and consider the attitudes towards marginalised sections of society. But by reading such works in isolation, we are bound to such a limited perspective of the world, and silencing the voices of the oppressed and alienated, who have contributed just as much to contemporary society.

This is where the rise of popular culture can help us. By including a variety of more contemporary texts and by consuming this type of media, we are creating a more accessible and representative view of society. Take Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, for example.

In one of their newest writing classes, the required ‘text’ for the course is the Netflix series Orange is the New Black – a television drama about life in a women’s prison, but it goes beyond a simple prison drama; the show takes a magnifying glass to issues of class, race and sexuality and examines them in a light which

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The Columnist Issue 4

19

Ancient universities such as Oxford and Cambridge

We can never know what pieces of our

or indeed even Edinburgh continue to lean heavily

contemporary media will make it into the literature

on the literary canon, and appear hesitant to add

anthologies and humanities textbooks of the future.

any form of newer media to some of their courses.

But by continuing to include media that represents

But we should remember that not everything that is

our modern society as a whole, we can, at the very

venerated now was regarded highly in its day: John

least, see what the world looks like from a variety

Keats faced heavy criticism until his early death,

of viewpoints and lose ourselves in characters who

Oscar Wilde’s work contributed to his incarceration

finally see the world like we do.

for gross indecency and Franz Liszt’s music was seen as little more than flashy piano tunes that sent women into hysterics.

Would you like to write for The Columnist?

We are avidly looking for new writers, and you could be one of them! If you are interested in student journalism and would like to increase the diversity of student opinion across campus, we accept ongoing submissions of 600 word articles. If you are unsure whether your topic fits in with the magazine or would like to get some advice on how to write and what to write about, drops us an email or FB message and we’ll get back to you.

Keep an eye out for our writers meetings and social discussions, and hopefully see you back in January!

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