Seminar Journal 3

Where do we go from here?

Years of experience in the program have left me a little jaded. I'm not saying that I'm an expert in the ways of all things SMC: many of the particular tropes of the program still befuddle me into a stunned silence. However, I have been in enough seminars to feel that the selection process has become old hat. Then again, some of my favorite hats are the older ones, so we should give it another pass, yes?

I imagine that we'll veer away from something directly related to the previous book. This includes works by the same author. Frankly, I'm not as enamored with Weismann's writing style as I first was, so this would be a welcome change. In the past, we've trended towards topics that are only tangentially related to the previous work. This pattern of thought was likely an expression of a desire to cover more ground, rather than delving deeper into the current topic with a more focused work. The obvious themes that come out of "The World Without Us" are post-apocalyptic scenarios, human impact, and nature. There are also other topics and subtopics thereof, but those are the major themes that run through the course of the book.

Fortunately, these topics are well represented on Blackboard at the moment. We haven't had a formal vote, but a few of the suggestions have comments of approval. One of the things I think is odd about SMC (and a lot of peer communities that I've participated in) is the reluctance to offer criticism, especially of the constructive sort. Not that there are many ways to improve upon individual book selections without having a thorough command of knowledge pertaining to the subject and relevant books besides, but...it's something to think about, isn't it?

Personally, I support Where's My Jetpack? and Rats. These two books are divergent enough in topic to spark good debate between the two, while both subjects would hold my interest in equal measure. Plus, they are only tangentially related to The World Without Us! It's perfect! "Rats" discusses human impact without getting too weepy about the harm we're doing to the planet. I'm sorry, but I feel guilty enough about my American dependence on hamburgers, packaging, and cheap electricity. I would also like to read about unseen impacts that don't require a science degree to fully understand. Human society gives off enough detrius for many scavengers to survive, and one of the most persistent animals to congregate in human cities happens to be rats. "Pigeons" would also be an interesting book, but I digress. "Where's My Jetpack?" will satiate the little mad-scientist-that-never-was within my soul. Come on, a field guide to fantastic technology that not only may be possible, but some pieces of tech that are already in production? Please, sign me up. It's about the future, it's about human impact, and I'm sure we can steer it into an environmental discussion if we think that we're not being "green" enough. I personally do not care if we fail to consciously choose an eco-friendly topic or are not "conscientious caretakers" of our planet for one topic every now and again.

That's my rant. We'll see how the vote goes.