The University Of The Commons

Honestly this Project was born from long building angers and frustrations watching Public Education Systems fail to live up to their promises at the best of times and have all of the good parts systematically dismantled most of the time.

The University Of The Commons are just my thoughts on what Education should and could be. I’m not saying anything too revolutionary here, just adding my ramblings to a long tradition of people who Care about the Humanity and the World and that Education Systems should be about the link between Humanity and the World – about Life.

We’re out there – this is just my riff on the same theme, but I do truly believe that those of us who Value Knowledge and believe that it belongs by right to everyone need to start building some resilient Institutions immediately or sooner to replace all the Public University Systems that are quickly being dismantled in the violent transitions from Neoliberalism to Fascism that are underway in many countries right now.

Anyway, The University Of The Commons Project will include posts with specific suggestions about possible Institutions that could comprise such a University System; posts primarily about The Commons themselves; posts about the nature of Language or Education or Art or Science or anything else that I consider Shared Human Knowledge.

Okay then, let’s bake this cake:

You Bet Your Sweet Release I’m A Commoner

I use this article to lay out my Political Agenda. Spoiler Alert: I’m a Commoner. I believe that the best way to organize Human Societies is around The Commons – or in a bunch of loosely connected Projects all based on certain Commoning Principles.

It’s fun and easy to do! Don’t believe me? Give it a read just to prove to yourself how much of a goofus I am – I dare ya!

A Quick Metaphor About Metaphors

This was originally a section in A Doomer’s Guide To Getting Right With The Apocalypse – but it does a good job of looking at the way that Metaphors act as a tool for gaining Human Knowledge.

Plus Metaphors are fun, too!

Why Won’t You Debate Me, Bro?:
A Brief Foray Into Context And Meaning

This is a short essay explaining part of my personal writing style – in that I am not trying to convince anyone of anything here through careful argumentation and debate. Mostly because I don’t think either are all that useful for convincing anyone of anything.

I am merely trying to present Perspectives or Conceptual Frameworks that other people can use to help them understand their World. If you don’t find them all that helpful, then sorry I guess – but that really is all that I am trying to do with most of these what-have-yous.

I tackle the same issues from different perspectives in Keywords For The Apocalypse and in:

Let Them Cook!

This is another section from A Doomer’s Guide To Getting Right With The Apocalypse – where I talk about the importance of Expertise, and how The Society That Broke The World consistently denigrates Expertise in favor of Authority, and how maybe that sucks donkey butt.

The cooking reference is from when my kids would sometimes tell me that a meal I cooked was good enough to be on or win Top Chef – to which I always answer “Lol, No.” And then me being who I am, would use that as an excuse for a “teachable moment” about how one goes about becoming an Expert and gaining Expertise – and of course, how one does not.