11.0616 Older Wiser

Humanist Discussion Group (humanist@kcl.ac.uk)
Tue, 3 Mar 1998 15:07:56 +0000 (GMT)

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 11, No. 616.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>

Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 09:09:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Francois Lachance <lachance@chass.utoronto.ca>
Subject: older wiser

Willard,

Of late the plight of the jobless younger, though not young, scholar
has received a modicum of attention. Despondancy, (despair is perhaps
too hard a word), also haunts the ranks of those about to retire.
Its source as far as I can reckon lies not in the prospect of penny
pinching pensions but in the angst generated by the simple onset of
age. A senior colleague wrote to me recently wondering why they
should go on "bothering with further cup-in-hand" action to collect
much needed funds for an editorial conference -- this on the heels of
grant failure for a large ongoing project. Further communication revealed
that the brute fact of reading obits provoked a majestic bout of
melancholy.

Of course I can argue that scholars must come together in conferences
to forge the collegial climate that fosters cross-generational
projects. I would however feel better equipped rhetorically were I
able to pass on some reflections from our learned audience. Hence my
plea for postings on the topic of technology and the aging scholar
esp. for the aging novice computer user.

Regards from one whom a memento mori renders mendicant

Francois
--------
Resilience resides in imagination.
"Renegade Academy Notes"
<http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/para.htm>

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