Reflection:
Of this week's readings, I definitely was able to glean the most from the Holland book. Holland's examples, such as the story about the Hindu woman who climbed up the side of an upper-caste woman's house rather than have to pass her in the kitchen and the examples about children's play as reflective of later adult participation in "figured worlds", were illuminating and interesting. I kept thinking that universities are excellent examples of "figured worlds"-- failing to take a required major course in the right semester can set your graduation dates (and wallets) back a long way, and there is little we can do or try to do about it thanks to the (imagined? institutional?) rigidity of the figured world of the university system.
I found the Roswell and Paul reading on Sedimented Identities to be the most difficult and generally dry. Maybe I have taken too many English classes focusing on the "what" literature means as opposed to "how" it means, because I'm having a somewhat difficult time understanding how texts can be seen as "durable projections" of social identity-- perhaps that different texts are written for different groups or people who share the same identity of affinity? Or that texts should be understood as projections of the authors' identities (values, etc) and their beliefs about the identities of others? I guess to sum up all this, I feel I am having an easier time beginning to understand what is meant by Identity, Discourse, etc (largely thanks to Holland's examples) than understanding how we can actually read literature through the lens of identity or rhetoric.
Your institutional-figured world correlation was quite intriguing, I can certainly see how the world of academia is one of subjective assessment. We do indeed freely choose to participate in this world, but there is incredible exigency. In order to progress and better ourselves (intellectually, socially, and economically), we must participate in this world. If we choose to have our desired degree conferred by the institutional representatives, we must abide by their policies. While our autonomy remains, the final verdict is not ours to proclaim. As you stated, the rigid policy of institutes may indeed cause road bumps and extend our graduation dates by incredible periods of time. Sometimes. these postponements are not results of our academic efforts or success rate in the classroom, but a result of technical error, misunderstanding, or curriculum alteration. These factors are simply outside our proactive boundaries. Seldom as they may occur, they are possibilities nonetheless and any negotiation is subject to administrative verdict. Because of this, we exist and contribute to a figured world. Despite this reality, I personally believe we benefit from this experience and acquire a genuine understanding of the world around us. These figured, institutional places of school and work are ubiquitous and we must learn how to adjust if we are to become productive members of society.
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