"think, listen, and be present"

With my home workspace ready for the new year, it's time to start preparing for my spring classes, which begin in about four weeks. Serendipitously, Randy Murray (Who Writes for You?) has a compelling post today that perfectly captures what I want for my students. No matter what I am teaching -- popular culture, fashion history, research methods -- my number one goal is to awaken them to thinking. Balzac's dismissive description of unreflective existence, "like skating on the surface of life" (Cousin Bette) jumped out at me from the page in 1977 and changed me forever. In that instant, I recognized what I wanted for myself, having drifted through most of my twenties waiting for "real life" to begin.

Murray's one resolution: "I want to think, listen, and be present".

In my daily life, that means taking some time everyday to stop and really attend to what is right in front of me, whether it is chopping onions or talking with my husband. Embracing the cold, gray winter day I have instead of the spring thaw I long for. One of the reasons I write is that I cannot do it mindlessly.

In my teaching, that translates into really thinking about our relationships with the "stuff" of everyday life. Clothes. Electronic gadgets. Music. Reality TV. It means learning to recognize that we each experience life from our own unique position in time and point of view, shaped by our identity. It means listening to others' opinions and experiences and being able to understand them in the contexts of their own unique humanity. It means learning to write from the center of their being, not from a graphic organizer and a thesaurus.

"think, listen, and be present" -- I like that!

 

Preemptive downsizing

I am not about to retire, and we don't plan on selling our house for at least 5-10 years. But while everyone else seemed to be lugging new stuff into their homes, we've been dragging things to the curb for pick-up. So far, we've had two charity pick-ups and one Freecycle giveaway in the last three weeks, for a total of probably 40 cubic feet less stuff in the house, and we've acquired less than 5 cubic feet of new stuff. That doesn't count the old papers, calendars, craft supplies and other odds and ends that went out with the recycling or the trash.

Here's how I see it: when we do decide to move to a smaller place, I don't want to find myself trying to reduce our 8 rooms of belongings by half over a few harried months. (Not to mention the basement and garage. Eeek!).

Here's a simple way to start: If you buy something new, get rid of two old things. Or three. For more great ideas, check out Gretchen Rubin's Eight tips for preparing for a real (or virtual) move at The Happiness Project.

Required reading: Shop Class as Soulcraft

I have added one more title to my book list for AMST 498Q (Craft and Production). It is Matthew B. Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft", previewed in the NY Times Magazine on May 24. (Thanks, Jacob!) Crawford also appeared on the Diane Rehm show last week, which finally got me down to the local book store. He's a motorcycle mechanic with a PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and he's written an engrossing and mind-bending examination of the value of manual labor. So far me only quibble is that he focuses on male-dominated trades, begging the question of the value of manual labor when it is "women's work". But that's really a small quibble; he is doing what all writers are told to do -- write about what you know -- and so far it's a marvelous book.

I spent a day last week volunteering in a museum costume collection, working with my hands and with a large group (most of them women). Crawford is quite right in his argument that handwork can involve the brain in very intricate ways, defying the modern dichotomy between "manual labor" and "knowledge work". Each object presented a unique problem to solve -- imagine trying to vacuum the dust (and insect casings!) off a child's parasol made of very fragile silk, then describing the object and carefully labeling it and preparing it for storage. Not only did we need to use our wits, we relied on each other, for expertise or suggestions or just an extra hand. The women I worked with that day were my special new friends the rest of the week!

My academic side: teaching a new course on craft and production

I've been blogging here as a side interest, while a book project gets most of my attention. (It's related to ethical fashion on the gender vs. gender-free side of things, being about pink and blue and all that.) It's been a real luxury being on sabbatical; time is everyone's most precious commodity, and I was willing to go on half salary in return for a full year to research, think and write. (also knit, cook and take afternoon naps) With just under six months before I am back in the classroom, I now have my teaching schedule and and trying hard not to get too excited, lest the book slip to the back burner. Fortunately, next year's courses include two new courses which will be making frequent appearances in this blog.

Advanced Material Culture: Craft and Production (Fall 2009). Most material culture literature and teaching these days seem to emphasize either object analysis or consumer culture, as opposed to the production of objects and the relationship between maker and artifact. Given the interest in DIY (including gardening, knitting, furniture hacking, and all forms of cookery) and my own lifelong fascination with how things are made, this seemed to be a great, fresh angle to pursue. I am looking for good readings, but want the course to be very hands-on, not text-heavy.

Consumer Culture: Simplicity and Anti-consumption in American Life (Spring 2010). This is a course I've been imagining ever since I migrated from textiles to American Studies. Consumer culture literature and courses tend to focus on advertising, marketing, consumer-identity/branding aspects of purchasing behavior, but American culture has always included movements which resist or oppose excessive consumption. David Shi's The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culturewill provide the historical perspective.

I'll be posting about both courses here as they progress.

Recession Chic, Pt. 2

There's more food for thought in Kelly Marages' terrific piece in the Washington Post. But when the economy needs consumer spending, having frugality become a trend among people who actually have disposable income is not necessarily a good thing. Consider the case of Marie Antoinette.

For nearly two hundred years, the fashion extravanances of French royality, led by either the Queen or a royal mistress, had driven the demand for domestically-produced silks. Marie Antoinette abdicated this role in the 1780s when she adopted the "chemise" style of dress, fabricated of English cotton. The fashionable ladies of France followed her lead, despite protests from the French silk industry. We all know how well this story ended.

Living beyond your means is never wise, and I'm not saying that people should be maxing out their credit cards to boost the economy. But if you're in a position to support your local restaurants and shops, please do. And if you've got some great clothes in your closet that you seldom wear, I'd love to find them on the rack at my favorite thrift store. And if you're a journalist write style articles, consider going easier on the "rich people making sacrifices" stuff. Some of it is embarrassing. As Kelly Marages writes:

And when it comes down to it, if you need to be told that packing your lunch saves money, you're probably not someone who needs to pack your lunch. So please don't pretend that you are.

Recession Chic

Kelly Marages has a terrific piece in the Sunday Washington Post about how newsfolk have covered the impact of the recession on fashion and lifestyle choices. Like me, Kelly seems to have been raised frugally in the unselfconscious middle class manner. There are two ramifications of this upbringing. First, it is possible to feel insanely hedonistic doing something wealthy people do so routinely they no longer enjoy it. Because I eat leftovers nearly everyday (because I make lots of food whenever I cook), having a meal in a restaurant is an exquisite, self-indulgent experience. Second, while frugally-raised people are certainly capable of spending money in flush times, it's never been that hard to dial back on expenditures. I already know nearly all of the advice being offered by magazines and newsletters, and I can save a ton of money not buying them to read articles I could have written.

Marages' article raises some wonderful points about the new "recessionistas". There's the silliness of dresses and shoes being "a steal" at under $150. The breathless discovery that inexpensive cuts of meat and in-season vegetables, cooked slowly, make a great low-cost, nutritious meal. (Not to mention fabulous leftovers!) My favorite, the place in the article where I choked on my coffee:

The advice doesn't stop there. We've been told to go shopping in our closets. Cute -- but what does it mean? That I should take a shirt and pair it with some pants or a skirt that I haven't already matched it to? Call me crazy, but isn't that just called getting dressed?

I don't deny that there are some people out there who didn't have the advantage of a frugal upbringing, and who are looking for ways to economize. For them, some of this information is not only fresh and new, but necessary. As a mom, I do hope that my kids picked up some of these habits at home. If they didn't, it's probably my fault.

"Tightwad Gazette" author's take on the recession

One of the prime movers in the frugality movement of the 1990s was Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced sort of like "decision"), whose "Tightwad Gazette" newsletter inspired people all across the country to seek ways to live better for less. The Ann Arbor Business Review interviewed her at her home in Maine, where she still lives by her frugal principles, and it's an interesting read.

I don't agree with Dacyczn on every point, but -- as she points out -- neither of us is an economist. She faults people who took the subprime mortgage bait more than I would, and she thinks employees of the Big Three automakers are overpaid (she seems unaware the health care and legacy pension benefits parts of the equation).

Dacyczyn and I are just ordinary citizens -- sister Nice White Ladies, if you will -- who are trying to do the right thing for ourselves and our families, to live by our values. I agree with her that ""what's best for the economy is that every individual and individual family unit is in the best financial health possible" and I share her concern that too much self-sufficiency might not be "good for the economy at large", when that economy depends so heavily on consumer spending beyond necessity.

In the end, my primary concerns continue to be my own household's well-being and our impact on the planet, rather than on the economy. If I had much more money, I would probably not own more things, but better things and more locally-made things. Old Navy and Macy's should probably not count on me to help their bottom line.

Chic Without Guilt (Slate.com)

Patty and Sandy Stonesifer have an article on Salon.com that reminds me of the sustainable style challenge I gave myself a while ago.Back during the holidays in 2007, I set out to assemble an ethical dressy ensemble for my daughter. (For the results, see the update post.) My experiment was on a much smaller scale - a single outfit, not a wardrobe. We built upon a thrift store skirt, and the Stonesifers went retail all the way. But their article shows, once again, that there ARE options out there, especially online.

The comments on Salon are also interesting, and food for much though and future blog posts.

New Resource: Green Fashionista.tv

If you prefer your green fashion info video-style, instead of text. There's a new option: The Green Fashionista.tv, a video blog by California-based eco-stylist Pam Brandon. Accordng to the website,

The Green Fashionista is an Internet TV
program sharing green fashion information, facts, tips and how-tos. We
cover green fashion topics like eco-fashions made from sustainable
fabrics, how to recycle what you already own, and where to shop for
used and eco-friendly fashion.  We also have fun with topics such
as celebrities who are dressing green, finding a popular look in a
green version, and more. Host Pam Brandon proves you can look fabulous
and leave a smaller carbon footprint by going green in the fashion
scene!

So far, I like what I see. It's a nice blend of DIY, interviews and trend-spotting.

Ethical Fashion Forum

I am on a book-writing roll right now, so can't get too off-task, but this bit of news distracted me:

The Ethical Fashion Forum is a UK-based organization promoting ethical fashion to professionals and consumers. Looks like a promising source for information and energy.

Confessors of an Eco Sinner

Item added to my reading list:

Confessions of an Eco Sinner: Travels to Find Where My Stuff Comes From
by Fred Pearce

It should make a nice companion read to Pietra Rivoli's Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, which I recommend to anyone interested in the supply-chain view of clothing.