University

Visions of the Rewilding Renaissance Rewilding Mind & Heart
#21

I’ve started thinking of it this way, too. Artists are (in)famous for looking at the world from the outside in. I think it’d be easy to convince an artist of the merits of rewilding. Seems as though you’re already convinced. :slight_smile:

Do you need a high degree of education to play jazz? As one who has played beginning level jazz piano, I know there’s a lot to learn if you want to play it well. But you can learn jazz from experience, with other musicians, without a formal course of study.

Of course if you want to teach, that’s a different story. 8) (<— hepcat sunglasses ;))

Speaking of wild African music, the banjo is an adaptation of an African tribal instrument. So American folk/bluegrass music is also a possible bridge for rewilding.

#22

[quote=“BlueHeron, post:21, topic:818”][quote author=Django link=topic=869.msg9658#msg9658 date=1208298193]
art (an inherently non-civilized pastime).
[/quote]

I’ve started thinking of it this way, too. Artists are (in)famous for looking at the world from the outside in. I think it’d be easy to convince an artist of the merits of rewilding. Seems as though you’re already convinced. :slight_smile:

Do you need a high degree of education to play jazz? As one who has played beginning level jazz piano, I know there’s a lot to learn if you want to play it well. But you can learn jazz from experience, with other musicians, without a formal course of study.

Of course if you want to teach, that’s a different story. 8) (<— hepcat sunglasses ;))

Speaking of wild African music, the banjo is an adaptation of an African tribal instrument. So American folk/bluegrass music is also a possible bridge for rewilding.[/quote]

It depends. The idea of getting a college degree in jazz music would have been considered absurd a few decades ago. Some of the greats didn’t even attend college at all. A crucial part of jazz education is great players teaching other players on a personal basis.

The concept of teaching jazz music is abstract. You can teach the theory, melodic passages that sound good, resolution, appropriate rhythmic patterns, etc. but at the end of the day, the teacher wants to get the YOU out of your playing. Jazz as a form of music and as an art form is a matter of speaking the language of jazz. But like Shakespeare is different than Joyce is different than e.e. cummings is different Chuck Palinhuik, nobody is going to speak the same language the same way.

Jason, you’re actually dead on. My interpretation of jazz musicians from the 1950’s on is that they were (and are) the most dangerous artists alive: people with the musical knowledge and expertise of classical musicians with the wild, sexual, natural and beautiful creative urge of folk musicians.

#23

[quote=“Django, post:22, topic:818”][quote author=BlueHeron link=topic=869.msg9699#msg9699 date=1208396805]
Do you need a high degree of education to play jazz? As one who has played beginning level jazz piano, I know there’s a lot to learn if you want to play it well. But you can learn jazz from experience, with other musicians, without a formal course of study.

[/quote]

It depends. The idea of getting a college degree in jazz music would have been considered absurd a few decades ago. Some of the greats didn’t even attend college at all. A crucial part of jazz education is great players teaching other players on a personal basis.[/quote]

That was a rhetorical question (see above), but thanks for elaborating anyway! :slight_smile:

#24

Sorry Matt, I guess I did not understand what you meant about people taking you seriously.

#25

That’s cool starfish, this format can be annoying sometimes.

#26

[quote=“Neighbor Scout, post:18, topic:818”]Heyvic.,

I know what you mean, while at the same time lately I’ve thought a lot about going for a doctorate. [/quote]

Neighbor Scout,
What field would you get your doctorate in?

#27

There are some things that I want to get done, now that I am here. Since I am born into this society, i need at least someone who can teach me primitive skills. NOt the basic ones, but theharder ones such as medical care etc. I lack those skills, at least its not enough to support myslef. Also I would very much like to get a group pf people if i were to leave society behind, its easier that way, since some of us have skills others dont etc.

And once i go i have no plan to return, so that would mean I like a lot of other people are waiting for the right girl as well. (Hint to all the girls on this forum :p)

-Tj

#28

I went to community college before I knew about re-wilding and just wanted to get a “good job”. I dropped out when I read Daniel Quinn’s work because that style of learning (read-regurgitate-forget) didn’t work for me. My grades were awful because I spent most of my time in school trying to learn, not memorise things so I could pass a test.

I’m trying to get into a university right now because they actually have some rewilding programs and seminars. They have this “Wild by Nature” class that I want to take simply because I want to learn basketry. http://wildbynature.org/environ.html <-- I could probably figure out a way to do this on my own (I’ve been un-universitying myself since I dropped out) but this university also has a few other things I’m interested in and I figure it’s easier to be an official student than to pay $400 for one class. They also have the Sierra Institute ( http://www.humboldt.edu/~sierra/application.html ) which looks like fun.

But mainly, I’ve had a hard time trying to get a paying job and my family is very frustrated with me for not “doing something” so they’re pushing me to “go back” to school. Sigh. They’re footing the bill, so I don’t care. I tried to explain rewilding and unlearning to them, but they just don’t get it.

So that’s why I’m going to university.

#29

Hi, this is my first post here on this forum. I finish university in a week, I should be studying but I am procrastinating! I studied Biology and Ecology double major and I can honestly say I’ve learnt ALOT about nature, not just the nitty gritty details of genetics, cell biology etc. but broad concepts, ideas, trends in ecology. there are so many misconceptions out there about nature and evolution.
My choice now is, do i do an honours/research year where i get to hopefully work on the reintroduction of locally extinct species, or work/save and drop out/rewild or start a career in conservation. your input is welcome!

#30

Congrats on your impending graduation, Ulverston!

I’d say it sounds interesting what you’re studying, but I can never actually get into biology the way it’s taught in schools. My brother’s finishing up with a bio degree right now, and from what he says there’s a lot of busy work. But hey, you seem to like it. Maybe you’ll be able to illuminate for us the pluses and minuses to the civilized approach to studying life?

I just wrote something to ask you to introduce yourself, and then you did already! Guess I don’t get to don my shiny new moderator cap yet. :stuck_out_tongue:

#31

I went into university because I wanted to save the world, Quinn style, but I realized I was clueless about how to do that or if Quinn was even right. I figured that university had access to the information I wanted, so I went there. A difference I noticed between me and my fellows in the university is that I had a goal in being there beyond getting the degree: I wanted information. While I did the course work, I ended up building up my understanding of culture, people, and the world around the core desire I had for the future; I didn’t just sit there and passively receive the wisdom of ages.

Admittedly, I forgot myself a couple of times, but when I remembered who I was I just had to go back through and reweave what I had learned so that it was in the context of my desire. Its like suddenly realizing that you are breathing and wondering how you forgot that fact.

When I leave the university in the spring (or summer at the latest) I will have a Masters of Arts in Socio-Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis on agricultural anthropology and a certificate in Applied Anthropology and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. While that is a mouthful for me to say, let alone type, it doesn’t reflect what I learned, what I know, and what I can do. Which is probably the best blessing of Anthropology as a degree course: you don’t fit into a neat slot like an engineer or even a writer would.

What have I learned that matters to rewilding? I’ve learned that while vast amounts of information exists in civilization, that it is largely valueless unless put in context and interpreted. I’ve learned how to find a lot of that information, and learned that I -can- put it in a different context than it was originally framed for. I’ve learned to look at a little picture without loosing my view of a larger picture. I’ve learned that people who can really command information are arguably as powerful as people who have authority ascribed to them by a degree, and that these people are all too often very different from one another.

Overall, I think my university stay has empowered and clarified what I say to people who do not already agree with me about the same topics addressed on this forum.

#32

I decided early on that im not going to university and Im 99% sure I wont.
My goal is to rewild to the best of my ability, though I may only live 50
percent self sufficient, and choose a halfway point between moderen and primitive living. I want to know more Of what its like and what it means to be feral and at least catch a broader glimpse of what its like to be wild.
I dont think I can find the pure essence of that within four brick walls with florescent lights overhead, compared to a forest with the sun overhead.
Dont mean to sound like im bashing anyone, I like hanging around universitys because they usually have people that are aware of the things I can relate to, and its a good place to share your knowledge as a rewilder,or to sit and listen to an anthropology lecture.

#33

:-[ I’m getting really depressed, anxious, and frustrated. I just made my fourth attempt at going back to community college this semester. I’m 27, and this is my first time back to school in five years. I’m just taking general liberal arts classes, with vague plans of going to a university to study anthropology, wildlife, or environmental studies (or something to do with rewilding) in hopes of becoming a legit teacher or something.

But I seem to suck at staying focused and doing the work that school requires. No matter how good a student I tell myself I’m going to be, I always end up procrastinating when it comes to schoolwork. I don’t think I’m particularily dumb, although I’m sure if I went to a psychiatrist I’d be quickly diagnosed with ADD or some other learning defecit. And I definitely don’t want to take drugs to get through school, and I can’t afford therapy. Maybe I’m just lazy, and too coddled by the instant gratification I get from other things this culture provides. Anybody else feel/worry about these things?

It’s coming to the end of the semester and It’s looking like I most certainly won’t finish a paper which is due in two days, causing me to fail yet another class. I want to succeed, but not enough,apparently. I’m beginning to think that this path is just not for me. I consider myself pretty good at reading, listening, and understanding concepts, but when it comes to regurgitating what I’ve learned in a useful form (whether written or oral)… well, it just all comes out as jumbled, boring, malarkey. How could i ever hope to be a teacher with that linguistic disability??

Besides the fact that I’m under alot of family pressure to “succeed,” I worry about what things I can tolerate in making a living through civ. That’s why I have these hopes of being a rewild teacher, where I’d at least feel good about what I was doing. If that dream never comes true, I’m not sure what else I’d like to do. What are my talents? Disliking Civ? I’ve been a landscaper for some years, and I enjoy the outdoor part of that, but dislike the unnatural contortions It forces my body into, and, of course, the unnatural contortions that I’m forcing the land into as well.

This is painful for me. I’m cursing much of my current life and just wishing I was part of a tribe and never had to participate in this extreme specialization of energy channeling that is such an investment of time and money. I want to love, and feel loved no matter what my occupation happens to be. I want to be shaped by the wisdom of the ages, not by some teacher trying to make a few extra bucks at the local community college.

But maybe this is all just a cop-out. A way to justify my laziness so I can go on feeling good about myself. Perhaps I’d be just as much a failure in a tribal setting. I’d like to think not, but who knows?

I think what I’ll do is educate myself. I’m pretty passionate and definitely more articulate when it comes to speaking of rewilding. I can learn to hunt, forage, and build shelter in traditional ways. That sounds pretty good about now, but it won’t support me monetarily. Guess I’ll have to stick to being some sort of wage slave for now.

Sorry for the rant, but just posting this makes me feel loads better! Thank you, fellow rewilding people!! :slight_smile:

#34

Brian,

Some people are just not cut out for the university life, this doesn’t mean that they cannot ‘succeed’ in some sense. One of my grandfathers started a boat building company after he got out of the military and never really went to college. This really didn’t stop him from making boats that broke the water speed record.

My family keeps expecting me to succeed in the traditional middle class way, and it is hard for them to understand how I will do that with an Anthropology degree. The likelyhood is that I wont succeed in that middle class way, even if I live that middle class life for a while.

I’ll take a stab and say you are moving the same sort of way. One of my other grandfathers was fond of saying “Do you know what a man could do if…?” This phrase generally started some sort of crazy scheme or project that produced surprising results, but it was ultimately a reflection of my grandfather rethinking options and opportunities presented to him. In fact, when my home town was trying to build a new town hall to better service the community they found a site but the 4 different property owners who had the pieces of the land needed for the project wouldn’t sell. My grandfather went to each of them individually and got to know them over the course of a while and asked to buy the property from them. They all agreed to this and even supported the building of the new town hall when my grandfather sold the land to the city a year latter. It wasn’t something that people expected he would do or something anybody thought was possible to do, but he did it.

Just spinning some ideas but maybe you could team but with college educated people and bring your landscaping experience to the table to work on designing wetland based septic systems, more visually appealing and intellectually stimulating public land works, or even a system of reclaiming ‘fresh’ food waste from grocery stores for composting.

#35

Thanks, Truly

Yeah, I think I’m getting over it (not being cut out for school), but the tough part is gonna be dealing with my family, and getting/creating a “blue collar” job I can stand. I have thought before about doing something creative with landscaping like the things you mentioned, but I have to find out if there’s a market for that kinda stuff in my area. The whole “green” movement thingy is slow to catch on here where I live, but maybe if I look hard enough I can find a niche that is satisfactory.

Thanks again,

Brian

#36

I’m in college for a few reasons. One is that I like learning new stuff. I’m leaning a lot from college that I could never have learned from high school - and I have a lot of freedom in choosing my courses, because my (small liberal-arts) college has very bare-bones requirements for graduation. I know that being at college (and with a lot of smart people my age and away from my parents) has definitely helped me grow a lot intellectually. Another, slightly creepy but not very, reason is that there are few better places to find eligible people one’s own age and get into a good relationship with them. Another is that I (like some other people here) would like to have a backup plan in case I don’t succeed at rewilding as soon as I’d like to. Another is that I started before I solidified rewilding into a real goal, and I feel like it’s only fair to pay off the debts that got me this far, and I’ll be able to do that faster with a college degree. That might be a marginal one, but when I combine in with the other three it turns into “I enjoy it, and it’ll help me capitalistically succeed at the least, so I might as well finish it.” Another is family pressure, but that’s not a huge one.

Incidentally, I’ve done more in the outdoors since I started college than I did before. There’s a good outdoor recreation program here, and it introduced me to a summer camp in the northwoods that I ended up working at - which added up to a month spent mostly outside.

#37

I am fron a rural (almost ferel) southern family of “challenged” financial means. I was not happy with it. I could not afford college, so I enlisted in the military. It was actually my experiences with native peoples I encountered in my travels that I came to understand that I felt a greater connection to them then I did to my Civ brothers in arms. I eventually lost my respect for civ, and soon after decided to to make the military a career. I was still hopeful of a better world so I relocated here to washington state, where I went to work for the state (as a lowly maintenance guy at a small college). It was a rude awakening. I found that I held even less in common with the civilian Civ population than I did with my military brethren. Once again my mind returned to the people I met while traveling and my own upbringing. I realized that is was a simple, ferel life I desired.

I began planning.

The the housing bubble EXPLODED!

Cutbacks were in the works so I started looking (Google Earth is my ferel friend!) I, as well as everyone, knows that the collapse is beginning… this is just the beginning, but I feel no need stay and watch it any more.

I visited a few locales. Scouted my spots. Put together a list. Cashed my meager retirement, Started collecting what I need. It was too late to head out with snow spitting, so I have been patiently waiting for thawout.

And it’s here.

I’m officially ferel again in 3 more days!

For some reason I don’t feel my feet touch the floor when I walk.
I cant stop grinning.
I feel like I’m 12 again.
I keep closing my eyes and thanking my dear departed mother for giving me such a wonderful childhood and feel great pride that I am returning to that life.

I only stumbled onto this forum doing some last minute research. I wish I had found it last fall once I had made up my mind.

I did not attend a university, just some technical training while in the Air Force, but I am a graduate of the greatest education system I could have ever hoped for. I am a child raised in a feral family.

#38

Honestly, I chose to go to university because I wanted to study what I had a passion for, and as well, I know when I’m old, it’s not likely I will be totally wild so I thought I should get something of a back up before I head out into the world. Just being prepared I guess.
It might be a lot sooner since my learning disability and lack of funds is seemingly working against me and hindering my ability to attend uni. :-X