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When Apo first suggested the idea of a skit to our class, I wanted to work on it because I think these "web events" give us the opportunity to avoid writing a typical (and may I say, somewhat boring?) paper. Our first meeting was almost an hour long, as we discussed characters, the setting, and where we wanted the skit to go. We wrote independently, and met twice more to discuss the direction of the piece. The collaborative effort has been pretty rewarding; I've learned a lot from working with Apo and I hope she feels the same.

A NATURAL DISASTER

By: Sadie Mahmoud & Apocalipsis Rosario

CHARACTERS

MARK, early forties    Social scientist; sociologist & psychologist

PEDRO, late thirties   Life scientist; geologist

MARY, mid twenties    Informational scientist; librarian

DAVID, early fifties      Humanist

SETTING

SCENE

Brain Drain

My past few days have been anxiety ridden and I’ve found myself just wanting it to all go away, angry at myself for not trying hard enough to break out of old habits, old ways of thinking.   But when things get rough I’ve been finding myself returning to Jamison’s epilogue in her memoir, An Unquiet Mind. She reminds me to both reflect on what my OCD has taken away from me, but to also be thankful for what it’s given me in return (and maybe, too, how it can enlighten my own work despite how hard it is to meet the demands of the academic structure when going through a rocky time). Jamison strives to accept who she is, what she’s struggled with, and she “no longer makes attempts to exert too much control over essentially uncontrollable forces” (218). Try t

Before starting Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind, I was interested in memoir’s relation to mental illness. I wondered, are memoirs like Jamison’s successful? Are they able to capture the true nature of the illnesses they discuss? Do they work to change perceptions concerning mental illness?  What are the benefits and detriments of these types of personal narratives?  

I just finished reading Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, which describes her long journey with manic-depressive illness. It was a wonderful read and really depicted the roller coaster ride that comes with mental illness—its highs and lows, triumphs and defeats, beauty and despair. Anne and I are particularly interested in talking about An Unquiet Mind because it very much relates to Margaret Price’s Mad at School. Jamison, who works in psychiatry, reveals throughout her book the struggles of coping with her own illness in the academic setting, and more specifically the field of psychology.

            It seems like something from a science fiction novel, a parasite infecting and effectively controlling the mind and behaviors of others. The video illustrates the ant’s absolute loss of control over its body, even sacrificing itself in order to serve a foreign purpose that was implanted into its mind (to ensure the reproduction of more of the lancet flukes). The concept of mind controlling can definitely cause people to feel uneasy but some might dismiss this case since it occurs in species other than humans, however, a disguised perpetrator exists within our society where it is actually welcomed… 

I just finished reading Margaret Price's Mad at School. It gave me an entirely new lens with which to view the academy and very much centered itself around the questions I’ve been thinking about both in my advocacy work and also my independent study. I admire Price for having the courage to make the moves that she did throughout her book—to critique the academic structure, pull issues of mental disability out of silence and invisibility and into the foreground, and assess what intellect/intelligence and broad, liberal thinking really mean. I believe her book can do a lot to change the way we think about academy and who is allowed inside the ivory tower and who is left out. My wish is that all educ

...but what if someone’s experience with bi-polar disorder, depression, or anxiety, could illuminate academic conversations?   

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The Art of Persuasion Through Abuse