Reverence Lost

I get the feeling that being an author and an acclaimed researcher gets less reverence and admiration than Jacob Cohen did. This idea came to me last week when I attended a lecture given by a certain individual from England, a Professor of Literature at Manchester, who had for many years prior taught Comparative Literature here in Hong Kong. Besides being a teacher, he has also written many books and authored even more articles for publication. His topics include everything from Dickens, James, and Dante to Romanticism, Modernism, and Western Opera. A veritable farrago of themes, eras, styles and differences. This man has written about it all.

I was curious about the talk because the theme was Cosmopolitanism, and in it, the lecturer was going to somehow tie it in with Derrida (who years ago penned an article entitled "On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness"). I was excited at the prospect of attending this reading, partly because of the topic, but also because I wanted to immerse myself in the Shue Yan Academic English circle.

So I walked down to the room it was being held in. I opened the door and entered.

And I was the only person there.

I waited 5 minutes. By that time, a grand total of 9 people were in attendance. 9 people. 5 of them were teachers, only 2 (including myself) from Shue Yan.

As soon as the talk was under way I immediately began to squirm in my seat. The academic doctor who sat before me spoke of "exile," "sovereignty," and "global tourism." He name-dropped Joyce, Forster, Kant, and Foucault. He verbalized this in a sedate English accent. And he continued to do so for over an hour.

It was a monumental disaster.

Had he been reading his paper to a group of English graduate students, it might have been an effective presentation. However, the students who were in attendance were not on that level. If the level that the speech required was the top floor of a skyscraper, then these students were subterranean.

An example of a student reaction and subsequent dialogue:

"Could you please explain what you were talking about in 25 words. I came here to practice my listening skills but I only understood 4 words of what you said."

"Well. It's about the idea of forgiveness and how it is a power struggle. Do you know who Derrida is?"

"Who?"

"Derrida, the great French philosopher and critic."

Blank looks and silence ensues.

The moderator then stood up and asked if any one else had a question. The same student raised her hand.

"What is the best way for us to practice our English?"

My advice for her. Stay far away from graduate level discourse.

Somewhere, a group of literati are channeling their best Jacob Cohen impersonation. Or maybe you know him by his more commonly used name, Rodney Dangerfield.

"I don't get no respect."