"Where Nothing is Yet, but Everything Acts."

Upon entering the Williams common-room to listen to Dr. Jody Shipka speak, I was unsure of what I would find. Whether I would learn anything new, gain new perspectives, hate her, or love her were all in question. Despite wanting to be a master of the language, I often find myself reluctant to hear a so-called master of language speak because I've heard an ego radiate further than the range of one's work. To my surprise, I had never found such a refreshingly scientific English professor. At one point, she showed us a quote: "Inquiry ends with judgement," and then she exclaimed that in her field of work, it's most important to remain in the stage of inquiry. The stage of inquiry allows for risk, experimentation, and learning. I loved this idea because I am naturally experimental; I always question things and wonder how I can do this or that, and then get better at this or that. She lead her discussion into an interesting point, if we compose with a question instead of a goal, how does this change the process? So often as a student, I am given an assignment with specific boarders and needs. My mind has been trained to do this. What if, however, students were told, "ask yourself something you've always wanted to know, and then do your project on that," would there be huge differences in the learning process? Yes! This is what she argues. Shipka argues that when we lead composing with a goal, we fail to attend to the potential of undisciplined things. Her many hobbies are used experimentally for these arguments. Her cooking and antiquing where my favorite examples because they put it into perspective easily. When you go to an antique store with something in mind, you will miss so many things in the store because of your blinders. When you go to the antique store with, "I wonder if I'll find anything that I can play with," you will see the potential in all things, without blinders. This lead to her point that there are piles of things where nothing is yet, but everything acts. Even those giant messes in your garages, those confused heaps, are overwhelming with a scholarly goal, but they want attention. They want to be molded by inquiries and transformed into something that can teach us something. As somebody who wants to be a lawyer, this is a difficult concept at first, because I so often look at things as black or white, and this or that. I did not think that there could be room for me inquiring confused heaps and letting these messes lead me through a composition journey, but I'm starting to think that if one could apply these academic principles to daily hobbies, I could apply those lessons learned and questions answered from the hobbies to my law practice. Inquiry: Could thse principles benefit a career in law? We will have to see how this experimentally turns out. Thank you Jody Shipka.

Below is Dr. Shipka's website where her recent projects are posted.

http://www.remediatethis.com/