The following is my latest concept for this project. It has changed a lot in the last few years of thinking. I think this can really happen next summer, and I’m going to do all I can to see that it does.

The Problem

We are in a global crisis, and the stakes are high. Our actions at this moment could have ramifications for centuries to come. This is not the sole responsibility of some cabal of elites; everyone from activists to parents must act wisely in order to create the world we want to live in. Scholarly practices¹ such as thinking, learning, reading, deep conversation, writing, and research are imperative so that we can reflect on our lives in order to expand our vision and participation in the world. The unexamined life may be worth living, but it is a reckless way to live in the present circumstances.

However, we are surrounded by barriers to scholarly practices. I went around Downtown Bloomington, Indiana recently to ask 15 people about what was getting in their way of productive thinking and effective learning². Reported barriers to productive thinking included hunger, exhaustion, stress, and distraction due to social media, random thoughts, and noisy environment. Reported barriers to effective learning included lack of time, lack of tools, inadequate teachers, and emotional complications with self-development such as ego, arrogance, fear, and self-doubt. I have not tried yet to determine the barriers to other scholarly practices such as reading, writing, and deep conversation.

The university could be a place which helps people work through these barriers to scholarly practice and truly examine their lives. Instead it functions as a barrier in itself, defining the boundaries of who gets to do scholarship, about what, and how deep they can go. These boundaries are primarily defined through finance. Access for most students depends on paying lavish tuitions and going into debt. The ability of professors to do research depends on procuring lavish grants for the university. Additionally, out of a misguided concern for financial efficiency, research universities inhibit teaching through absurdly large class sizes and lack of support, accountability, or adequate payment for teachers.

The Solution

Rather than trying to reform the university, I propose the creation of new scholarly institutions — institutions expressly designed to help people work through the barriers to scholarly practice which they experience. (More generally, I hope to see the growth of a culture of scholarship.)

In constrast to the lavish finance of the university, I advocate frugality in order to allow access to as many people as possible. Just like monastic practice, scholarly practice lends itself to frugality — it does not require luxury, just the essentials, such as lodging, food, and internet, as well as specific, inexpensive tools such as books, paper, and desks. Through economies of scale (e.g. buying food in bulk, and community health insurance), we could be even more frugal together than is possible independently.

I now pose the following questions:

1. How cheap and accessible can we make scholarly practice without sacrificing health or scholarly focus?
2. How does this work fit into the history of scholarly institutions?
3. What is the first step to create new scholarly institutions?

If a scholarly institution truly believes in the power of scholarship to inform action, it will use scholarship to inform its own action. Indeed, one of the biggest hypocrisies of the modern university system is that universities do not have “University Departments” which study universities from a holistic perspective³ informing how they are run.

Hence I propose an answer to the third question: the first step is scholarly practice concerning all three of these questions, as well as others relevant to the growth of a culture of scholarly practice. In other words, I propose a scholarly project to investigate institutions and cultures of scholarly practice, with an eye to the creation and stewardship of these institutions and cultures.

The Proposal

I suggest to aim for an in-person 8 week workshop in the Summer of 2023 to engage in scholarly practices regarding cultures and institutions of scholarship.

Tentative schedule:

Phase 1:

We study the history of cultures and institutions of scholarly practice. This includes the history of universities and monasteries, Plato's Academy, etc. Central scholarly practice: reading.

Phase 2:

We study the barriers to scholarly practice existing in the world today. This includes the new field called Critical Universty Studies, as well as our own research, both through reading and empirical methods. Central scholarly practice: research.

Phase 3:

Informed by the first two phases of reading and research, we set into motion plans to catalyze scholarly practice. Participants will explore ideas, validate business plans, and start building. Central scholarly practice: activism / social entrepreneurship.

Tentative principles for the workshop:

Free:

Participants are not obliged to pay anything, as they are doing a public service. All expenses will be covered by voluntary contributions from both participants and donors.

Frugal:

We will reduce expenses as much as possible in order to admit as many participants as possible.

Democratic:

Participants will be in charge of the workshop, including writing the budget.

Experimental:

Without the pressures of the university (grades, publishing, etc.), we will be free to experiment in our practice of scholarship. We will use this freedom to try out different arrangements to see what works.

Focused environment:

We recognize that focus, or attention is a crucial resource for learning. Thus we will do our best to facilitate focus, e.g. by actively reducing distractions (such as social media) and eating healthy food.

Inclusive Admissions:

Admissions will be based first and foremost on how well a person can live in community and work with others. Then if we cannot procure enough funding to admit everyone who meets this first criterion, we will choose who to admit based on how helpful we think they will be to the project.

No Absentee Donors:

Anyone who donates more than $5000 must visit the workshop for at least a couple days so the participants can get to know them. This way the inevitable influence of the donor will never be hidden from the participants. In exceptional circumstances, a remote visit may suffice.

If successful, the workshop will make significant progress in our understanding of scholarly practice, its history, and how it can be catalyzed, and it will end with several projects set in motion. Furthermore, the workshop itself will serve as a case study of scholarship outside the university which can inform future projects. Finally, through the workshop a scholarly culture will grow which will extend beyond the end of the workshop.

We are now led to the next question: how will this proposal come to reality?

The plan

By putting out this very text, I am sending out a call for action. If you want to be part of this project, email me at contact@scholarship-workshop-2023.org to get in touch. I will personally be unavailable June 13 - August 19, but my collaborators Beth Gebresilasie and Jimmy Mathews will still be checking the account during this time. From the people who contact us we will choose a committee to organize the event: in September the committee will start organizing virtual and in-person events building momentum towards the Summer 2023 workshop, as well as finding a space, fundraising, marketing, and admissions. The committee may also find something better to do instead of the workshop. I am open to that possibility as well, as one never can predict where serious scholarship will lead.

Conclusion

We need scholarly practices in order to respond to the present global crisis in a manner worthy of human dignity. There are currently many barriers to it, but institutions and cultures can be developed to help people surmount these barriers. I propose to begin with an 8-week workshop pursuing scholarly practice regarding scholarly practice: this will have a dual effect as it will both help us to better understand how to catalyze scholarly practice, and it will itself catalyze scholarly practice. Essentially, this workshop is a way of “investing” scholarly practice into the engendering of much more scholarly practice. Anyone who enjoys and values scholarly practice should be gratified by this opportunity to engender what they value by means of doing they enjoy.

I encourage feedback and public responses to this piece, especially ones that are critical of it. If I am wrong in a major way, I would sincerely like to know. I also encourage any and all questions as we will be making an FAQ section based on which questions are frequently asked.

Notes