The Scam

 

The problem is that academics rely on and benefit from a traditional awe and prestige of the educated individual, 'renaissance man,' 'man of letters,' furthered by the heavy institutional backdrop afforded by universities and schools within social systems solidified by various forms of meaningless rankings. 

It is doubtful this was even viable coin in antiquity but is rather a kind of meme successfully implemented since early modernity. The advent of the written language and the entrepeneurship of religions undoubtedly played an important part as well.

This scenario is, however, completely out of touch with current reality. There is no need to afford academics special prestige. As a matter of fact, demonstrably, they often muck things up with poor theory abandoned by themselves shortly after it was the craze within their field. Then something new comes up which they then sell as enthusiastically to their constituents: their students, the public, themselves. 

It all contributes to a mindset oddly detached from reality but which consequently focus the larger part of their energies onto efforts to strengthen their position within the academic system as they themselves as insiders are fully aware of the transient nature of what actually ought to be the source of that traditional awe and prestige.

 Awe and prestige becomes artificially inflated by social positioning within the system, dependent upon that system, not grounded in qualities and virtues independent of it.

To compond matters: today's educational factories excreet hordes of graduates schooled in this existential mindset, not fit to contribute anything beyond further solidification of this artificial state of affairs. Apart from these hordes there are thankfully graduates who will actually be productive and who will only sporadically be affected by the attempted mindcontrol during so much of their college experience.

What emerges is essentially a rampant, complex, two-faced Ponzi scheme: one, intellectual, in which supposedly critical observations are constantly morphed into something preposterously new but of course nothing more than an add-on; the second, the economic underpinning, enabling the whole circus to keep reproducing itself by inflating costs and by sucking in novel funding from any source possible.

Underpinning is here the correct term: funding is constantly being pinned and unpinned - it is not a foundation. Hence, the double Ponzi scheme. When, then, you have a federal government deeply embedded with the educational system, all the components of the scam are readily at hand.

Stockholm, day 14, Sunday, June 30

Last day after two weeks of intense travel and sight seeing. Now awaits the journals and the research papers on a variety of topics. Tomorrow morning we say goodbye to our hostel-ship af Chapman and Stockholm as we take the Arlanda Express to the airport and catch our various flights back to the US and elsewhere. I am fairly certain that these students have never before experienced such an intense program of museums and guided tours exposing them first-hand to many dimensions of past and contemporary culture. It is up to them to make something of it.

So, we took it easy today. We spent an hour in Medeltidsmuseet, the Medieval Museum, which interactively has recreated medieval settings underground next to Stockholm's original, excavated city walls. Superb museum, professional and pedagogical, and gratis, the best deal east of the Atlantic.

Then we packed and got ready for a 6 p.m. farewell dinner in the Old Town. The sun is still baking down over Stockholm and just a few hours until the alarm clock ring.

Kiera and Rivers admiring a model of Notke's St. George statue.

Micki and Belle in front of the pewterer display.

Hana, Katie, Aiyana and Olivia by the knight talking horses.

Stockholm, day 13, Saturday, June 29

The VASA Ship Museum is Sweden's #1 tourist attraction. The ship is indeed a marvel: full size, 98% original. With two canon decks for 72 canons it would have been the most fearsome weapon on the planet in 1628 when it on the 10th of August left its Old Town Stockholm dock for its first sail downstream towards the Baltic. It was to join the war theater by Poland fulfilling the king of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus' ambitions of world dominance. Except, fortunately for the Poles and for the state account balances of contemporary Sweden, it went down with mice and men and their families on board celebrating the impending reich, as a gentle breeze on the hot summer day caught the sails and exposed its bad design. Too narrow, too tall, too many canons. It leaned 7%, enough to let the water enter through the open canon ports not yet closed following the imperial 64 canon-salute to the hurras of everybody on shore (a tight budget had left them 8 canons short).

Not good. Bad situation. Who's to blame? A lengthy trial ensued but the Dutch master builders in charge were the world's best ship builders but perhaps not familiar with a two gun deck design which Gustavus Adolphus had insisted upon late in the design process. The craftsmen building the warship couldn't be had better, so, the outcome was that no one was to blame. It sat at the bottom of the freshwater stream for 333 years before it was rediscovered and salvaged to the credit of the Swedes. Splendid accompanying exhibitions explores all aspects of life in the 1600s. The students loved it.

The afternoon we visited Historiska Museet, the Historical Museum, whose gold room in the vaults displays a stunning collection of gold and silver treasures since before, during and after the Viking Age discovered in the ground throughout Sweden. Apart from an excellent section on the Middle Ages the museum sports hands-on learning from games to rope pulling and general Viking living.

Hana, Olivia, Madison (hidden) and Aiyana learning how to bake bread and bake it on an open fire.

Stockholm, day 12, Friday, June 28

1st stop Friday morning was Stockholm City Hall. Maria took us through the elaborate preparations for the Nobel banquet, the Hall's finest annual event. The great entrance hall is where all 1500 guests are seated and each is carefully allotted 50 cm (19.68"), otherwise they will not all fit. The prize-recipients and the Swedish royal family get 55 cm (21.65"). The royal family must loathe this evening. Yes, Nobel-prize winner and all but still, there must be limits to equality. Just so you know: if you are awarded a Nobel prize you get 14 tickets to invite friends and family; dancing is in the upstairs ballroom; save some energy for the royal dinner at the palace the following evening. Some tickets are available in a raffle ($300 for a raffle ticket; might be something for the Honors College to consider...)

Like the two other city halls this city hall also excels in myth and need for interpretation. Completed in 1923 Stockholm CH is a mishmash of Italian-inspired renaissance, Viking romanticism, and a hall of gold so out of this world in its selective depictions of Swedish history and quasi-mythological references that you wonder what the heck is going on. And the blue hall isn't blue.

Odd, in a sense, that these three cities/countries so proud of their egalitarian heritage celebrating democracy and creating three city halls dedicated to that virtue, produced such convoluted buildings in need of all kinds of massive academic pomp and circumstance in order to be understood. Come to think about it, shouldn't democracy be entirely transparent? So self-evidently obvious that even a Scandinavian caveman can understand it? With straight-forward buildings to boot? Some simple form of beauty and purpose? Instead, we have Oslo CH whose belated national romanticism (1950!) delivers a kaleidoscope of natural, urban and historical imagery fit for 1st year humanities students. Isn't democracy rather about bare walls and simple algorithms? Culture is for color. Likewise Copenhagen CH (1905) demands our suspension of disbelief (see day 10). All three are imposing, dramatic buildings, yes, definitely worth visits for their value as mental exercises. But do we need to work so hard for democracy? 

The afternoon took us to the Swedish Royal Palace. Never seen so many postcards of a family so neatly presented. As mentioned previously: in Scandinavia we don't need the Disney corporation, we've got royal families. Anna, our guide, seemed near her breaking point probably for the umptiest time going through her selection of the shady deals and rapacious behaviors characterizing the Swedish monarchy, in the past at least. The building itself is an endless sideways stacking of seemingly random rooms sporting extravagant ornamentation, poor art, gaudy furniture what in conclusion leaves us with a strange sense of pumped up irrelevance. Does anyone today, visitor as well as local, walk away from such a tour with a renewed sense of comprehension and purpose? 

After dinner we entered Storkyrkan, Stockholm's grand cathedral, for "Bach I," summer organ concert by Michael Waldenby. Since yours truly consider Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) the greatest artist of all time, it was a pleasure introducing our students to his music albeit in the somewhat uncongenial soundscape of a cathedral organ. Their reviews after the 50 minute concert were politely supportive. Waldenby's final selection, Sinfonia D-dur, was a glorious celebration of upbeat human agency.

Friday morning on deck of af Chapman hostel.

At the Stockholm City Hall.

At the Royal Palace.

Josie, Madison, Olivia and Katelin at Storkyrkan for a Johan Sebastian Bach organ concert posing in front of St.George and the Dragon (Bernt Notke, 1489).

The group ready for Bach.

Stockholm, day 11, Thursday, June 27

The train rides and the ferry ride are part of the journey. Integral to the course experience. A completely different concept of travel than taking an airplane or driving a car. In a train you can close your eyes, read a book, have a conversation, go to the bistro car. On the ferry you can feel the elements on your face as you ponder the purpose of an ocean. You do not go through the hectic security of air travel, humiliating as you know you are innocent but still is subjected to the impersonal scan by machine and unknowns whose metier is suspicion, without shoes, belts or anything in your pockets. Then the humiliating wait to board the plane most likely overbooked as regular threats of being forced to abandon your carry-on free of charge resonate through crackling speakers. Then the boarding circus. Then the hours in the tube's constant barrage of static noise. Toddlers screaming, parents negotiating with the confused child, passengers coughing up the air you will soon breathe in. 

No, in the train from Malmö to Stockholm you board in full control, place your luggage in the overhead fully visible and accessible at all times. Then you stroll to the bistro, chat with the guy there, and return to your ample seat with a coffee and a kanelbulle, a freshly baked cinnamon roll, which seems to be a Swedish staple in addition to the coffee. Most of all you feel connected to the tempo of travel, it doesn't alienate you in the way you in a plane surrender to the powers of 33,000 feet and a speed outside that doesn't make sense. The speed of the train and the ship makes perfect sense.

Few students nowadays seem to master the art of looking out the window. Observing the details of the landscape and wondering how life is in those red farmhouses that dot the forested hills. What it must be like to fish in those lakes that reflect the sunlight. How reaffirming it is to see a cow chewing. Students nap merrily oblivious to the scenery, or, of course, watch movies from home on their phones or pads connected by wires to the speakers in their ears, engrossed, jubilantly. The jury is out on the effects of the digital revolution.

We reached our hostel af Chapman in the afternoon and after dinner in Stockholm's Old Town and some strolling, it's time to hit the bunks.

Waiting for the Stockholm train at Malmö Central.

Copenhagen, day 10, Wednesday, June 26

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We started out the day with the latter at the National Museum of Denmark, no less. I don't mind ripping them this evening writing this blog because it is fundamentally such a lack of professionalism. We are a group of Americans coming for a booked, guided tour of the Viking section but the day before, en route, I receive an email that the museum "hasn't been able to find someone who can do that," so, instead, we are offered an exciting guided tour in English called "Survival!" taking us through pre-history, from the earliest Stone Age through the Bronze Age to the Iron Age all under the guiding light of the amazing human ability to survive. Amazing, indeed.

"Hasn't been able to find someone who can do that" -!? The Vikings!? The freakin' Vikings!? Hire me, guys, I can do that standing on one foot, arms tied behind my back, with a blindfold! The National Museum of Denmark!? Maybe it was the remuneration of DKK 650.00 for a one hour conversation ($100) that was insulting (I didn't set it) for professional staff attached to the Museum; maybe it was just too hot; maybe well-deserved summer vacations were not to be disturbed. To which - all of the above - I recommend some fall workshops involving spades and long trenches to be dug. And, some serious attention to the institutional mission.

The young lady did her best with what she had to work with: a sappy manuscript of technological development: from flint stones to the more refined Bronze Age and I can't recall ever really getting to the Iron Age although we hurried past what seemed to be a collection of Roman artifacts. The scripted, planned route also had her skip past a display cabinet (which she continuously referred to using the Danish (i.e. French) word: "montre" containing two interesting, actual skeletons which had caught the attention of several students causing them to stop in their tracks. I brought her back, she improvised and kindly pointed to a few items that had been placed in the burial but wasn't sure about the time of the burial. The whole thing was concocted under the sappy, sentimental guise that "Look! For thousands of years we, humans, survived by refining stones, then we used bronze, then... doesn't that give us the hope that we will survive the hardships thrown at us in this very day and age!?" Yes, that was it. Whatever contemporary hardships the author (authors?) of this summer's audience-magnet had in mind we were never told. If, for example, in the mind (minds?) of whoever responsible for this sap a parallel should be drawn between scraping the hide of a saber-tooth tiger, freshly killed, and the impending limitations on the use of diesel engines in big cities - it would have been nifty receiving a few pointers. Palpably the young lady's delivery had the chirpy enthusiasm undoubtedly appreciated by 5-year-old's. Her English employed a limited vocabulary and a heavy accent. 

A sappy concoction written by whom!? An intern? Most likely someone high up. We don't need the Disney corporation in Denmark, we've got the National Museum. It leads me to speculate that if the responsible parties for the museum weren't handsomely employed and protected by what we here in the US like to think of as "the Scandinavian socialist model," you wonder, whether such nonchalance towards their public mission - and national, no less! - wouldn't be the cause or should be the cause of some sort of self-induced implosion.

But without doubt it's an institutional success story. And how can you go wrong with all those exquisite treasures garnered through centuries while of course having the historical and sentimental support of the population. As should be for a National Museum. Judging from the lushly stocked museum store (where the only question is where in China their stock is made) the National Museum of Denmark is so successful it must hurt. You just want to avoid the pre-packaged tours. As one of my students said to me: "It would have been better if we could just walk around and read the captions. There are so many interesting things!" Yes, indeed. 0 for 1. And it has happened before there. O tempora o mores. Survival indeed. The whole thing was so depressing that I forgot to take any pictures.

Then we won. Thank goodness. And, boy, did we win. We won so much, it hurt, we almost got tired of winning. In the afternoon, at 1300 hours, we had an appointment at the Copenhagen City Hall. Now, I've been trying to get one of those for years but for whatever the reasons it never materialized: logistics, the city hall is an extremely busy place popular with weddings from all over the world while also being the heart of the significant city administration. It's Copenhagen - we love Bergen but this is Copenhagen, not Bergen. But this time my pre-planning resulted in a touchdown. Not just a guided tour - set for two hours! - but crowned with serving us the world famous COPENHAGEN CITY HALL PANCAKES WITH A GLASS OF WHITE WINE! That's just about as royal it gets in the proud bastion of participatory democracy which is the heart and soul of Copenhagen and of the the Danes.

Kristoffer Ruth Sahlholdt who is a staff member at the city hall and have hosted guided tours of the hall for 17 years, and have written an informative book on the city hall, was our exceptional guide. His main interest is the ingenious ways the architect of the city hall completed in 1905, Martin Nyrop, incorporated references to Nordic mythology, directly so, but often also hidden while integral to a holistic conception of the hall. Kristoffer sees Nyrop as an architectural genius comparable to Gaudi. He pointed out the symbolic function of imagery (e.g. owls, dragons) and how woodcarvings in staircase railings reinforced the building as a people's city hall where its representatives are constantly, consciously and subconsciously, reminded that their job is the welfare of the citizens of Copenhagen if not the nation. 

Kristoffer was born in Sweden to Danish parents and has the advantage of being able to see things with an outsider's sensitivities. He has interesting takes on the peculiarities of the Danes. Compared to the Swedes whose cultural temperament is one of wanting set frameworks for understanding and definition, the Danes just don't really seem to care. For example, he said, they understand and respect hierarchy but the hierarchy at the same time must operate on some some sort of equal basis. Fascinating. After the classy pancakes and the sparkling wine Kristoffer treated us a to a visit in the great hall for celebration on our way to climbing the City Hall Tower, 320 feet tall, once the tallest in Denmark. 

Kristoffer guiding us through Copenhagen City Hall.

Roskilde, day 9, Tuesday, June 25

Continuing the royal theme from yesterday, today took us to Roskilde Cathedral, the burial sight of a good 40 Danish kings and queens (most are authenticated, some are said to be buried there although no evidence has been found in floors, walls, or in sarcophagi). It has been a scorching hot day. Plenty of water around the Danish isles, so, muggy to boot. A hostel room facing south is like a sauna in the afternoon. Not a wind moves and there are a few things Danes have never heard about: decaf coffee or tea, potable water fountains, and air conditioning. Denmark normally is highly air-conditioned but on a day like this...

Anna, our guide did a splendid job (one and a half hour!!) taking us through the history of Roskilde Cathedral. Not only the longest, most detailed and relevant content I have ever experienced by a guide in the cathedral but also with excellent delivery. The cathedral is listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its early medieval brick construction. The many side-chapels added during the centuries to hold the royal tombs display the changing architectural fashions.

Afterwards we headed downhill to the Viking Ship Museum by the waterfront. The story of the five ships deliberately sunken in the shallow fjord to block access is a window into turbulent times. Roskilde itself is worth a visit. It moves at a different pace than the capital Copenhagen which is the magnet these years for the young from all over Denmark. They seem to crave the hectic entertainment atmosphere offered by the capital. It s believed to have swelled to a population of close to 2 million. Somewhat disconcerting. 

Anna guiding us in Roskilde Cathedral

The alter piece in Roskilde Cathedral