terrshee's Diaryland Diary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hunting Witches

I spent a beautiful Spring day deep underground in the galleries at the Ripley Pavillion at the Smithsonian Institution yesterday and regret it not a bit.

The head of the history department at UCLA, one Teofilo Ruiz, gave a day long lecture on "Witches in Western Tradition." It was fascinating from beginning to end.

I went because of recently reading "The Reformation" (thanks Knitgeek) and there was much in there about the marginalization of certain segments of the European population, including the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The lecture was a grim reminder of how little has changed in the human psyche in the need to find scapegoats for the problems that we cannot or are unwilling to face, and use punishing the unsightly or inconvenient fringes of society as catharsis and distraction. And try to justify the unjustifiable with lies and distortions.

One older woman left because she was so offended by his "disrespect" of religion. She missed the point that it had nothing to do with religion itself and everything to do with the exploitation of religion for personal and/or political gain.

Dr. Ruiz was a fascinating speaker. I'd been worried that his accent was going to be a distraction, but instead I found myself listening very carefully to make sure I understood. He as brilliant in handling the diverse audience. Of course there was the know-it-all nerd who wanted attention, and the feminist who wanted to be righteously indignant about how poorly women were/are treated, the closet witch who wanted justification that her practices had a direct connection to prehistoric rituals. He found a way to channel their questions and comments back into the main discussion and illuminate our general understanding. There is a man who has followed his bliss and brought a lot of people along with him. I admire him no end.

I am humbled to have been in the presence of a truly learned and passionate teacher. I am reminded of how much teaching used to mean to me at the Atlantian University. After some reflection I wonder if becoming Chancellor wasn't a huge mistake; it derailed me from something I cared about deeply. In an effort to serve one way I lost the way in which I might have served better. Ah well, spilt milk. But it does sort of explain to me why I have lost my passion for my classes; I lost my connection to my students and became an administrator. I wonder how much that happens in the real world?

In any case, I am richer today than I was yesterday.

8:56 a.m. - 2005-05-08
0 comments

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

past tense - always tense - future tense