The Morrissey Effect

It creates a real problem after you have taken a class taught by Dr. Morrissey. Why? Take several of his classes and find out.

Now, I will tell you why...making the assumption that you didn't take my advice.

Part of it is his style. "What'd ya think?" Perfect in the simple elegance. Everyone always jumps to pathos...why...because it is easy. I felt this, I thought that, I didn't like the tone...etc. He writes it up on the board. You soon realise how silly such comments are. You make a stupid comment, an illogical statement--he will take you down to Chinatown if you know what I mean. Every comment made must be thought out and intelligent, otherwise it get destroyed by intellect.

The cultural references, the jokes, the sly comments, the quick references. Just brilliance. He is confrontational, but above all brilliant.

Meeting with him was like two lions eying each other for the pride. Each word spoken had an academic spearhead, and each time there was a retort and counter. It was amazing. You do not often get that.

Confrontational, brilliant, multitude of references, everything meaningful, beautiful discussion, class collective experience.

The issue is when you go into another class.

The vocabulary of the amazing readings is gone (Lacan, Derrida, Milton, Foucault, Badiou, Ranciere, Zizek, etc). You can't talk about it. Most teachers aren't as smart or well read, but if they are they don't throw it at ya and exude it like Morrissey.

The students also become bothersome. Speaking on romantic poetry, reading a critical work on it actually...fun, a fellow asks what the purpose of language is. Well that isn't a huge question, is it? I toss out language games of Wittgenstien, but no one knows what I am talking about. I toss in generative grammar when a fellow asks why/ how people communicate. I also explain the Lacanian topic of the autre, how we must speak in the language of the other for understanding, how we never speak in our own language, but that is not understood. I toss out the idea of play and Derrida's ideas of multiplicity. I chastise for phonocentrism of one guy...but oh no, none of it sinks in, most sad.

Then a girl says, well we all have different opinions. Exactly..that is romanticism, I experience things differently. We embody it. It is a reading, it is the current mode of reading/ production....we value our individuality. And of course we get the obligatory religion question...bleh.

I talk to the prof after class....Hartman was discussing the Mirror Stage wasn't he? Why yes, why didn't you bring that up in class. I got the feeling no one would have no what I was talking about. Hmm, yeah you're right, well some how bring it up next class. If man is full of infinite possibilities then it will take him enterity to fully know himself. That was the idea. The separation of the self...the self conscious and the subconscious...hmmm. No one reads freud or lacan anymore it seems.

What can you do?