Thank you Richard. Very helpful. Inspiring, Thought-provoking.
>On Fri, 5 Mar 1999, Bob wrote:
>
>> Yes, that's very interesting -- intellectually, theoretically, academically
>> -- as well as assisting us to understand our world from our own privileged
>> positions of power in the West -- but how relevant is it to those involved
>> in the resistance?
>
>It's a very good question to which I can only give anecdotal replies from
>my own experience. A couple of things come to mind:
>
>1. In South Africa professional academics have played very prominent roles
>in the struggle. Some academics became popular heros of the struggle and
>the state certainly saw progressive academics as a serious threat....
>
>Most of
>my Department is involved in an ongoing and well organised project to
>teach and discuss Political Philosophy with trade unionists and we've also
>worked with rural communities. And in fact the university where I work has
>made a specific commitment to draw its students from the poorest of the
>poor communities....
>
>2. There are also a number of examples of intellectuals outside of the
>academy who have used theory to make an enormous contribution to society....
>
>3. There's also something of a tradition here of academics engaging in
>popular journalism ....
>
>4. Right now, for better or worse, academics play a very large role in
>designing government policy and in supporting resistence to it....
>
>5. And then of course the intellectual still has a role as a social
>critic.....
>
>But perhaps the bottom
>line is that when knowledge is shared as widely as possible it *does*
>become empowering.....
>On Fri, 5 Mar 1999, Bob wrote:
>
>> Yes, that's very interesting -- intellectually, theoretically, academically
>> -- as well as assisting us to understand our world from our own privileged
>> positions of power in the West -- but how relevant is it to those involved
>> in the resistance?
>
>It's a very good question to which I can only give anecdotal replies from
>my own experience. A couple of things come to mind:
>
>1. In South Africa professional academics have played very prominent roles
>in the struggle. Some academics became popular heros of the struggle and
>the state certainly saw progressive academics as a serious threat....
>
>Most of
>my Department is involved in an ongoing and well organised project to
>teach and discuss Political Philosophy with trade unionists and we've also
>worked with rural communities. And in fact the university where I work has
>made a specific commitment to draw its students from the poorest of the
>poor communities....
>
>2. There are also a number of examples of intellectuals outside of the
>academy who have used theory to make an enormous contribution to society....
>
>3. There's also something of a tradition here of academics engaging in
>popular journalism ....
>
>4. Right now, for better or worse, academics play a very large role in
>designing government policy and in supporting resistence to it....
>
>5. And then of course the intellectual still has a role as a social
>critic.....
>
>But perhaps the bottom
>line is that when knowledge is shared as widely as possible it *does*
>become empowering.....