The Art of Conversations on Art (and Politics)
Aside from the contract I'm doing on absurdist theater, I'm enrolled in a weekend class called “Conversations on Art and Politics”. And that's pretty much the gist of it—conversation. Each week a guest artist comes in to present his or her work and talk about its relationship to politics. The presentations are followed up by Q & A, but we get down to most of our business on the class blog, responding weekly to initial posts by our teacher and to the work presented in class.
This is where things get fun, a little bit messy, sometimes controversial. Since we students can't see each other and don't have to face each other in a seminar setting later, we really only hold each other accountable via the web. Some bloggers treat the assignment like any other, responding responsibly, tactfully, graciously, and with examples. Some take the “this is just a blog” road, neglecting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and shirking anything remotely resembling a claim. And then there are the bloggers who gleefully discard the restrictions of tact, fully embracing their relative anonymity and taking the low blows they might otherwise reserve for more casual conversation. Their posts are often the most fun to read, not only for their content (which varies in quality) but for their childlike sass. Admittedly, some of these blogs are excellent, but what makes them so entertaining is the “real life” identity of the blogger, which tends toward awkward and disheveled educational nomads. They're not really sure what they want out of school, and indeed rarely attend, but they've perfected the art of cocky blogging.