The first intensive days
It took me a good few weeks to fully find my way around Edinburgh. To understand the way the bridges, streets and closes are connected. I’ve enjoyed navigating with no technology, getting lost and finding new exciting places. It’s always a fun “aha” moment when I’m wandering in a new area, and a street I previously knew, out of nowhere, appears. The city suddenly makes a bit more sense. I came to think about this when I was reading at the library a few days ago. Opening up and closing one paper leads to more understanding for the following paper. And eventually, I seemed to understand the first paper I opened yet deeper. I know this is no rocket science, but It’s a reminder to stay patient in the learning process and be okay with not understanding everything the first time it’s encountered.
This past week has been intense, thought-provoking, demoralising and optimistic at the same time. There is so much hope in me for a more just, inclusive and ethical future – but at the same time, the academic cliché persists: the more you know, the more you realise you don’t know… and how challenging some problems of our society are. We have just left the intensive days of the inequality and exclusion course behind, and I’m left with a lot of interesting comments and insights from my peers, discussions I’ll remember for a long time… and a pile of work to do for the other courses (bye weekend). The central insight from the past weeks has definitely been the value of interdisciplinarity, particularly when combined with a cohort of various backgrounds. What a resource!!
/Cajsa
Image from Unsplash @wonderland
Wow Cajsa, what a reflection! I love the idea of exploring without a guide, getting lost and finding new paths through that. My experience of doing this so far is that it helps massively with growth on multiple levels. I’ve heard Edinburgh is a beautiful (and relatively safe) city which I’m sure helps with the process. The EFI building itself seems to have such rich history- I can’t wait to visit.
“The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know”- it’s never felt so real!
Hello Casja, thanks for sharing your reflection!
I’m really glad to hear that you are feeling optimistic after the intensive. Especially to hear that the topics of the intensive made you feel that there are many possibilities to improve. I’ve been, at times, overwhelmed by how extensive and deeply rooted the inequalities that I read about are. I think I need to take on a little more of your approach!!
Look forward to hearing more about your project.