time for a brief intro (to get this ball rolling):  i'm a fourth-year grad
student feeling somewhat deprived of the interaction one should expect from
being involved in seminars.  the dissertation stage is a lonely trail.  this
collective sounds like a great way of talking about, and receiving feedback on,
some ideas i'm working through. i don't think, however, that electronic
communication is a substitute for face-to-face interaction, i.e. at the local
bar over a beer.  hopefully we can do both!  as a beginning: how many of the
english dept. folk got a copy of the john guillory article which brit harwood
circulated?  its a provocative piece of writing, and guillory is a critic who i
like a lot.  i DO agree with brit that it would be a good topic for a forum or
informal discussion.  lisa and i could host it if it was not too big a
gathering (i'm making this offer unilaterally).  the article does rais e the
central question of the political thrust of intellectual work.  by the way, for
those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about, the article is called
"Preprofessionalism" and appeared in the ADE Bulletin last Sring (1996).
responses? read you soon-- Aled
ideas