Bulletin Board of the Brain » The Seattle School/MHGS

What Happened To Me Tuesday

Kj — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:16:54 +0000

This

What can I say? I am astounded, dumbfounded, profoundly humbled, and indescribably grateful.

And a little bit closer to leaving Seattle.

[no comment]

Miss Representation

Kj — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:16:18 +0000

This Wednesday at The Seattle School, I’ll be one of 7 panelists for a screening of this excellent documentary. We’ll be discussing portrayals of women in media, and no doubt lots of feminist theology goodness! Come, if you like.

Celtic Prayer

Kj — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:57:20 +0000

I’ve been fortunate this spring to be an assistant instructor for the Celtic Spirituality class at The Seattle School, taught by Tom Cashman. This week, students brought in prayers they had written in the Celtic style, some features of which include a Trinitarian focus, attention to nature and specifics of everyday life, a rhythmic structure, and nuance between the immanence and eminence of God. I took the opportunity to write two myself. Here they are.

Prayer for the orphaned

Holy God
Fractal father of the universe
You are the same from near as from far
show me how I am shaped like you
that I would not prize isolation over relationship

Holy spirit
Voice of the wind
You are as gentle as you are strong
Help me hear the secret vows I have made
That I might be freed from lies I have believed

Holy Christ
Most human of humans
You are both healer and king
Enlarge my heart to take compassionate risks
That I would not run from the pain of love

Prayer for Awe

I bind to me this day
The wisdom of the Spirit
She who wakes the fairies
Speaks through dream language
Rouses repentance through story
May I respond to your truth at the moment I hear you, and not hesitate to trust

I bind to me this day
The beauty of the Son
He who walks with the wolves in winter
Laughs with the mischievous toddler
Keens with the mourning lover
May I respond to your desire at the moment I am near you, and not hesitate to love

I bind to me this day
The faith of the Creator
Who stirs the atoms of the universe
Unfurls the spirals of time
Encloses every reality to one
May I respond to your presence at the moment of my need,
at the moment of my joy,
at the moment of my death
and at the moment of my transformation,
that I would not hesitate to embody the fullness of what you made me to be: yours.

What I Do in ABQ

Kj — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:07:06 +0000

Last week, Ian and I reunited for our third trip to the Southwest/Texas Popular and American Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a fascinating blend of faculty, doctoral/grad students, undergrads and random smart people, all getting together for four days of watching people present papers on anything and everything relating to Pop Culture or American Culture. This spans the Grateful Dead to Library Sciences; The Beat poets to Grand Theft Auto; Film History to Biker Culture. It’s pretty rad.

Ian and I attended over 18 panels in 4 days, which measures at least 54 individual papers. The conference was a bit (extremely) disorganized compared to past years, with an unending tide of no-shows and cancellations, as well as one day where no lunch or dinner break was scheduled, with only 15 minutes breaks from 8am-8:30pm. Needless to say, while staying at the lovely and newly remodeled Hyatt Regency for 5 nights may seem like a vacation, (Ian & I have logged enough nights at this place over 4 years to qualify for their Gold Passport) we were lucky if we got seven hours of sleep ever, usually having to get up at 6:30 (app. 6 hours earlier than I’m used to getting up). But it’s always worth it to be inspired by new ideas and frames of thought, as well as gaining new perspectives on things you know well.

Our approach to choosing what panels to attend is honed each year. What I landed on this time, is that I get a lot more out of going to papers on topics I know very little about as opposed to going to the one’s in my field. It comes down to the fact that hearing papers on the Hunger Games, you just sit there saying “yep- already thought of that and that and why didn’t you mention this”, etc. But when I step into a different discipline, where I may know the thing being discussed, but not the methodology being applied, my synapses explode with new frames of thought. As has been true every year thus far, Ian and I are always most impressed, inspired and mind-blown by the presenters from Game Studies, even though-or especially because- neither he nor I ever really play video games. Listening to people talk in detail about the theories and meaning behind stuff you personally only know a little about opens up whole worlds of ideas. We love the gang at Game Studies. We’re their biggest secret fans.

But even in great presentations, you run into some common tropes- tempting one towards drinking games of oft-used phrases or sources. This year’s list:

Most-Heard Phrases From SWTX2012 Papers:

“gender performativity”

“Baudrillard says …”

“according to Thomas Campbell’s hero’s journey…”

“signifier”

“the Walt Disney Corporation”

Also, of note, of all places, Mark Driscoll came up three times. (Is nowhere safe?)

We had a great time, and thanks to the fact that my friend Sarah moved to ABQ last fall, Ian and I actually got to travel beyond the 5 block radius of the Hyatt Regency. We were not forced to eat at Maloney’s three nights in a row. Hallelujah. Here’s the list of panels I attended and some notable papers.

SWTX2012 Panels & Papers of Note

Gender and Sexual identity 1: Queer(ying) American Popular Culture
Young, Out, and Proud: the History, Development, and Impact of Young Homosexual Characters on Television
Robin Haynie, University of Texas at Tyler

Graphic Novels, Comics, and Popular Culture 1: Superheroes
Superinjuns: An examination of Two of Popular Culture’s Native American Stereotypes in Marvel Comics’ X-Men
Kristin Riggs, Texas State University

Religion 3: Interpreting Religion, B
Faith Plus One: Jesus People, Contemporary Christian Music, and the Question of Authenticity, 1970-today
Krystal Humphries, Texas Tech University

Stephen Colbert and Stephen King: Catechists for a Secular World
Kathleen Heininge, George Fox University

Science Fiction & Fantasy: Screening and Sing-along
Joss Whedon’s ‘Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog’ and Buffy the Vampire Slayer S6E7 ‘Once More With Feeling’

The Apocalypse in Popular Culture: Literature of the Apocalypse-The Hunger Games
Teenage Love, Dystopia, and The Hunger Games
Heather Braun, Macon State College

Computer Culture 2: Apps, Blogs, and Social Networks
Hipstamatic, an App for Nostalgia of the Recent Past
Maria de Panbehchi, Virginia Commonwealth University

God 2.0: Religious Groups, People of Faith, and Social Media Use
Amanda McClendon, Independent Scholar

Myth and Fairy Tales 1: Disney’s Consumer Culture
Cooking with Class: How Food Represents Status in Ratatouille
Jason Feldstein, New York University

Game Studies 5: Culture, Play, and Practice
Fallout 3 and Yesterday’s World of Tomorrow
Rowan Derrick, University of Wyoming

Religion 5: Women and Religion
Be Quiet, Already: Evangelical Popular Culture’s Misogyny Problem
Melanie Springer Mock, George Fox University

Blogging for God: Women, Christianity Today, Sojourners, and The Christian Century
Kendra Weddle Irons, Texas Wesleyan University

Game Studies 7; Culture, Play, and Practice
The Mouth of the Cave: The Challenges of Player Doubt in Computer Game Narratives
Jennifer DeWinter, Worcester Polytechnic University

Harry Potter Studies 4: Colloportus! Harry Potter and Class
Work in a Magical World: Revisiting the Stratification of Castes in the Harry Potter Series
Lindsay Clifton, Youngstown State University

Harry Potter Studies 5: Protego! The Relationships of Harry Potter
Making Up Wizards: Technologies of the Body in the Magical World
Deana Day, University of Pennsylvania

Expecto Pater: Reading Harry’s Journey of Identity in Prisoner of Azkaban through a Theological/Psychological Lens
*Me! Kj Swanson, The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology

Computer Culture 4: Theory and Vision
From the Page to the Screen: Towards a Model of Interactivity in Reading Practices
Jenna Pack, University of Arizona

The Apocalypse in Popular Culture 4: The Apocalypse as Positive and/or Negative
‘I’d Shake Your Hand But I Don’t Want to Set a Bad Example’: Contagion and the Display of Global Paranoia in Contemporary Epidemic Films
Julia Echevarria-Domingo, University of Zaragoza

‘Not With a Bang But With a Whimper’: Dollhouse’s ‘Thought-pocalypse’ as Cautionary Capitalist Tale
Erin Giannini, Independent Scholar

Food and Culture 11: Alcohol and Nostalgia in American Popular Culture
Don’t Drink the Bath Water: Moonshine and Filth in the Lower Class
Sarah McMahon, University of Colorado Denver

Cosmos, Wine, and Shots of Tequila: The Urban Girl’s Fairytale
Tiffany Fitzgerald, University of Colorado Denver

Science Fiction & Fantasy: Guest Lecture
Thinking Dothraki: An Evening with David J. Peterson, Language Creator for HBO’s Game of Thrones

Film & History 2: Ethnicity, Gender. Politics, and Film History
Dealing in Absolutes: Experiments with Music and Animation in the works of Walt Disney and Oskar Fischinger
Ian Klein, Columbia University (my co-conferencer!)

Double Dutch: Transforming Female Jewish Identity in Verhoeven’s Black Book
Ruuard Dykstra, University of Western Ontario

Film & History 3: Medieval History/Contemporary Film
Crusade, Jihad, Film: The Encryption of Despair
Robin Vose, St. Thomas University

Templars, Witches, and the Holy Wars: Religious Critique in 21st Century Medieval Period Films
Benjamin Villarreal, New Mexico Highlands University

Films of Finding Your Voice (without finding a dude)

Kj — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:45:14 +0000

Once again, a faculty member here at MHGS, soon to be renamed The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, asked me to come up with a list of film recommendations for a class. For this list, the goal was finding films that show a young woman coming into her own voice/coming-of-age. Sounds easy at first until you realize that nearly every coming-of-age story told about a female is actually about her falling in love with a guy. While there are hoards of films about young men stepping into strength of identity without any romantic element, stories that center on a girl’s journey rely almost entirely on linking her self-discovery to being discovered by a male.

Thus, it’s a pretty short list that draws near the hoped-for criteria. Here’s the list & info I sent to the professor. Please submit your suggestions.

Young Women Finding Their Voice/Coming-of-Age Film List

Whale Rider (2002)
Written & Directed by Niki Caro

This is pretty much the pinnacle. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it immediately. It deals with community, faith, tradition and family. The girl’s journey is one of discovery, leadership and living into what she knows to be the truth. Resistance is not necessarily defined as defiance. This is on my list of films that have marked me for life. So beautiful, poetic and visceral.

Whip It (2009)
Written by Shauna Cross, Directed by Drew Barrymore

You* won’t like this movie, but it speaks pretty significantly to the feelings of rebellion that can be helpful in articulating female experience. While the story deals with the culture of women’s rollerderby, which is aggressive and sexualized (in a third-wave feminist kind of way), the film’s victory in my opinion is that it explores issues of rebellion and self-expression in the context of persevering in family relationships, rather than rejecting them. Also, though there is a bit of a romance, it is decidedly not the center of the story.

Girls Rock! (2007)
Directed by Arne Johnston and Shane King

A documentary about a girls-only music camp here in the pacific northwest. I only saw it once a couple years ago, and really liked how it explored the goals for the camp in entering girls’ lives at the critical point where they tend to stop speaking in school and become more reluctant to express themselves. It’s a great documentary (and fun).

The Young Victoria (2009)
Written by Julian Fellows, Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee

This is also in the list of films that have marked me for life. While it is largely about the growing love relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, it’s essence explores a woman’s struggle to learn whom to trust, and from whom to break free. As a woman who had more power than any woman living at the time, it’s still an intimate portrayal of the challenges of making choices as a woman, and in discovering one’s voice.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Written by Linda Woolverton, Directed by Tim Burton

I didn’t love this much, (though I liked it in 3D Imax), but it’s a specific re-framing of Alice in Wonderland as a coming of age story for Alice in the midst of constraining cultural roles. It’s a sequel to the original, so here Alice is a teenager, not a little girl. The fantastical elements & some anachronistic issues make the heroine’s journey a bit dismissible, but I’ve heard it had some great impact for young girls who saw it.

The Secret Garden (1993)
Written by Caroline Thompson, Directed by Agnieszka Holland

Beautiful adaptation of the Francis Hodgson Burnett story, where a little girl, whose neglected childhood has made her bitter, is transformed by hope and relationships, gradually blossoming into tenderness and courage.

*meaning the specific person I was sending this to. You the reader will probably enjoy this film. I did!

My Bookshelves Are Organized By Color

Kj — Mon, 02 May 2011 07:54:59 +0000

Thus, when I receive an email like this from my roommate,

“Do you have any of these?

Plato’s The Symposium
Saint Augustine’s Confessions
Thomas Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles: God
Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy
Immanuel Kant Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics

If so, can i borrow them?
b”

My response turns out like this,

“Pretty sure I still have all of them. feel free to browse the shelves

Plato is on the black shelf with all the Penguin Classics
Aquinas, if I still have him, is on the white shelf. A well-worn copy
Descartes would be with the greens or blues. It’s kind of teal, very thin.
Kant would be on the white shelf and I think it has reddish or burgundy lettering.”

Also, dear roommate, I forgot to mention that Augustine is on the white shelf with the other Oxford World Classics. They have a small red band at the top of the paperbacks.
Enjoy Philosophical Inquiry 1.

Best,
Kj

Enchantment: Living in Magical Reality

Kj — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 05:53:59 +0000

en·chant
–verb (used with object)
1.
to subject to magical influence;
2.
to delight or captivate utterly; fascinate; charm;
3.
to impart a magic quality or effect to;

“Enchantment produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their sense while they are inside.”
–J.R.R Tolkien, ‘On Fairy Stories’

“[The Secondary World] is a place in which transformation can occur; a transformation that does not fade upon reentry into the Primary World, but significantly, casts a new light upon the Primary World. It is, in a sense, a medium of revelation.”
–Kristin Johnson, ‘Tolkien’s Mythopoesis,” Tree of Tales

It is less than two months since I took a fantasy vacation to DisneyWorld and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was a fantasy trip because of the magical, un-looked for generosity that made the trip possible, and now even moreso, because of the enduring enchantment that has continued since my return. I’ve never been a “Disney” person per se, but something deeper and truer than mouse-ears and tween-geared marketing has begun to permeate my world. What was a whimsical trip to a theme park has taken on new meaning in 2011. I’ve become a resident of the Magic Kingdom: not the Magic Kingdom of Orlando—the Magic Kingdom of the Soul.

My ability to take up residence in the Magic Kingdom definitely started in late 2009, when in order to survive the harrowing depths of my final year of graduate school, I became reliant on potent metaphors in order to persevere through impossible tasks and writing of painful words. I was no longer just an MDiv student, I was Hermoine Granger learning with and battling alongside Ginny, Luna, Neville, Ron, Cedric and Hagrid (yes, these are the correlating character identities of my fellow 2010 MHGS MDiv graduates. No one was Harry because we ALL are Harry). I was part of the Fellowship: limping, heavy-laden toward Mordor. I was a Narnian, expectantly awaiting the return of Aslan to bring life where all was cold and dark. These metaphors were not ways of avoiding reality–they were the power to move into difficult and terrifying places, with narrative meaning and life-giving hope. After a year of writing/researching/teaching about the theology of Charlotte Brontë’s fiction and the spiritual power of Mythopoeia, it’s no suprise that my week spent in two physically-constructed fantasy kingdoms would leave me marked with real magic.

Two other enchantment-encouraging factors were that within weeks of my return, I learned that Ian was doing his dramaturgy thesis on audiences’ experience in the narrative environments of Disney rides, and that the three Spiro sisters were spending 2011 watching every single Disney animated feature in chronological order: a Magic Marathon. I was immediately immersed in conversation about the worlds Disney has created, and how we inhabit them. The Disney being talked about was not that of Radio–Disney or 1990’s embroidered Tigger shirts, but the Disney that could take ink and an orchard, and transform the world of imagination forever.

Since coming home, I’ve had a voracious hunger for all things fairy, firefly, castle, starlight and magic. I literally carry a wand in my purse at all times. I’m living proof that a true Secondary World does not fade upon return to the Primary, but instead, transforms everyday life.

What struck me further after watching a documentary on Walt Disney, was that he not only created Secondary Worlds through the myth of his animated fairy tales and stories, but Walt Disney actually BUILT his Secondary Worlds. Tolkien may have written more than three-hundred ages of Middle Earth, but Walt Disney made it possible for us to actually dine in Cinderella’s Castle and fly to Never Neverland. Apparently, Walt would often spend mornings driving the old-fashioned firetruck around Disneyland before opening. He was “playing with his toys,” as his employees would say. He had imagined and created a world he could actually particiapte in: one that we too could enter. It’s a real Secondary World.

And now all of us who have imagined ourselves as Hogwarts students, can now wander through Hogsmeade, wands-at-the-ready, buying candy at Honeydukes on our winter break. (I literally did this!) i know the enchantment is real because my journey into DisneyWorld and Hogsmeade has contiued to grow as I remember and reminisce. When I was there, I kept thinking how sad I would be to leave, but instead, I’ve been able to visit these places in my heart and mind. Here are some of the magical moments and places from my trip now inhabiting my inner landscape:

Leisurely wandering 11 countries in EPCOT’s World Showcase

Hearing Aslan’s voice welcome me as a Queen of Narnia as we stood by the Stone Table in “Journey into Narnia”

Becoming fascinated by Walt Disney’s modernist vision of a future world of progress

Watching an 8 year-old girl being chosen by a wand at Ollivander’s

Watching the Little Mermaid sing live, amidst a shower of bubbles

Millions of dancing Christmas lights on a fictional city street

The taste of Butterbeer and the view from the Hog’s Head Inn

The long, slow, audioanimatronic journey through Spaceship Earth

Co-blogging with Spiro about our Hogwarts journey

Hearing “I Can Go the Distance” amidst fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle on the final night of the trip

What is the Magic Kingdom of the Soul? It’s the capacity to be awestruck with wonder, to watch fireworks with tears in your eyes, to marvel at the early-blooming flowers in your backyard, to be stopped by the sight of the Milky Way as you walk home at night, to be easily surprised and frequently silly. It’s the ability to say YES, PLEASE! to mystery and to allow the knowledge that we are truly made of star-matter to affect our sense of identity.

True enchantment is perhaps this: to be utterly captivated and breath-taken by reality. I love living here.

Bio

Kj — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 08:19:52 +0000

Since September, I’ve been enjoying my side-project curating and editing the blog for Mars Hill Graduate School, recently re-branded as Stories@MHGS. To complete the site, Josué suggested we should add our bios, and further, suggested we write the bios for one another. I was honored and flattered not only that he wanted to write one for me, but that he trusted me with his. I love the result. Reminds me of those old Friendster days. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Check out the new site, and the bio that makes me blush with the pride of camaraderie.

A Blessing & A Prayer

Kj — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:16:22 +0000

Today was the final day of BTI 501 Introduction to the Hermeneutical Task at MHGS where I had the honor and privilege of assisting Prof. Dwight Friesen these past four months. Here’s the benediction I offered the students at the end of their first term of graduate school.

A Blessing

A Prayer

May you read dangerously,
listen passionately,
and write with risk

no matter whom you are running from,
where you are hiding
or who is telling you to beware

and when you find yourself face to face with a story that
awakens your desire
or breaks your heart,
unleashes your hope of adventure
or reminds you why you started seeking in the first place

then dive in, steal it if you have to,
and wrestle it for a blessing.

May you be brave, may you be kind,
may you be haunted by the wonder of God’s Kingdom.

Amen

Why Hogwarts Matters to Me

Kj — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:57:22 +0000

After a year of living in New York City on theater-intern pay, I had run out of book money. It’s almost physically painful for me to read and not be able to write in the book I’m reading, so purchasing is always my first choice. But, somewhere around Christmas 2004 I applied for a New York Public Library card, and got on the waiting list for every available Harry Potter book. I’d been reading non-fiction for 5 straight years, and if it hadn’t been for lack of funds, I might never have climbed into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. But I did.

The very first thing I noticed as I read was that the books actually made the act of reading seem magical. The stories, which primarily concern students doing their magical homework in an enchanted castle, have the effect of enchanting your own experience of holding the big books in your lap. Reading felt like I was participating in an enchanted world where learning takes on mythic proportions. No wonder this series got non-readers of all ages to start reading.

Another contributing factor to my reading-enchantment was that I was primarily using the Jefferson Market branch of the NYPL. Right where the East Village becomes the West Village is this red brick castle-looking library replete with tower and spiraling marble staircase. Climbing those steps to pick up my copy of “Prisoner of Azkaban,” I couldn’t help but feel solidarity with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

But reading the Harry Potter books was really just background. My real love relationship with this mythopoeic world of Muggles, wintry villages and talking books, came through the film adaptations. I’d seen films 1-3 before reading any of the books. In fact, I never even saw the 2nd film in theater, skipping right onto the third film, which ranks in my Top 10 favorite films of all time. It was seeing “Prisoner of Azkaban” that made me interested in reading the books.

As soon as I owned the first three films, Kim and I practically had them on repeat in the DVD player of our tiny Brooklyn apartment. They became background and atmosphere setting whenever we had crafting projects or decorating to do. Unlike the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which requires ritual, epic commitment and focused attention, the Harry Potter films provide an aesthetic world you can enter and leave at anytime.

While I find sweet comfort and welcome in the enchanted atmosphere of the films, I have found the series’ themes of orphanhood, bravery and trust both challenging and galvanizing. Along with Narnia and the Lord of the Rings, the metaphors of the Harry Potter universe have offered life-giving paradigms through which to view my own experiences, hurts or hopes. Sometimes you need the distance of an epic story to tell the intimacies of your own story.

And it’s largely because of this, that in my last two weeks of graduate school, I found myself fantasizing nonstop about taking a trip to the (then about to open) Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Florida. I went so far as to price all-inclusive resort trips to Orlando that could get me to see Hogwarts as well as DisneyWorld, which I’d never be able to afford. Well little did I know that some amazing friends were working behind the scenes to gather graduation gift money for me to use however I wanted, with the goal for me to be able to rest in a way I’d not been able to do basically since 2006. When I was given this surprise collection of extremely generous graduation money on June 26th, 2010, I knew exactly what to do with it. And when one of those friends mentioned she’d be shooting a wedding at DisneyWorld Resort during the exact week I wanted to go to Orlando and that she was allowed to bring a guest, I was dumbstruck.

So in less than a week, I will set off on my magical, mythical, enchanted, still-can’t-believe-it’s-happening, trip to Hogwarts and DisneyWorld, paid for almost entirely by my friends. I still tear up when I ponder their love and generosity.

Expecto Patronum.