18. april 2022

Academic Sword Fights

Comic strip

By Ask Urheim, 18 April 2022

Illustration from the comic strip ‘Academic Sword Fights’. Four students stand in fighting stance with swords. Speech bubbles: ‘Academic Sword Fights By Ask Urheim’.

The ethnography used in ‘Academic Sword Fights’ takes its departure from observations, fieldnotes and interviews made among my neighbors at my student housing. I’ve altered the names of all participants, however, with their approval, decided to keep their physical characteristics somewhat true to nature. One character is a combination of two persons. Everyone in the student housing has studied at a university for at least two years. Some quotations might be slightly condensed, mostly for readability, and everything is translated from Danish to English by me.

Four students are sitting at a table looking thoughtful. Speech bubbles: "How does it feel when you write outside an academic context? ... Hmm ... Hm ...". Names: Sean, 27 (Climate Change); Carl, 26 (Medicine); Ask, 24 (Anthropology); Annette, 24 (Pharmaceutical Science).

Carl sits under the starry sky and writes. Speech bubbles: "I used to have a craving for being creative when I was younger. I could write rimes and lyrics for hours, especially with my friends. It was like gazing at the stars; millions upon millions of options, and I would just pick the stars that inspired me the most. The inspiration could come from endless places, and it was really fun to express myself through music. That feeling sort of disappeared after I started medical school. Now I’ve picked up a diary instead to manage my thoughts."Sean sits alone with his diary in nature. Speech bubbles: "I’ve been backpacking and travelling quite a lot by myself. I used a diary to map out my experiences, just like a memory bank. It was very satisfying to know that everything was gathered in the diary. I felt free like a bird, no obligations whatsoever. I could write about extraordinary things – not just dull everyday-occurrences, but things you don’t experience every day. That’s the most fun to me. I normally have to think a lot, if I have to write something on a blank sheet of paper, but while travelling all the extraordinary stuff just wrote itself. It could be quite lonely, though. I used the diary like a companion; someone to share my thoughts with when I couldn’t tell anyone about my experiences."

Annette is sitting with her diary, she looks thoughtful. Speech bubbles: "It helps me to get my feelings out, both in case of heartbreak or when I’m the happiest. I don’t do it often though, but I always reach for my diary, if I need to figure out what I’m feeling. I don’t really write much... But sometimes I use my diary."Ask is writing in his diary, surrounded by imaginative characters. Speech bubbles: "Ask: Diary. However, Alle: My friends have substituted my diary. In the split second I press the tip of a pen against my notebook, a meteor bursts into my creative atmosphere, and the words in my head start breathing. While writing I’m like the mad scientist from Frankenstein who feverishly gathers parts and bits of his visions and dreams in order to assemble a being who, despite its ugly, sporadic, and often incomplete appearance, is alive. They inhale the fumes from the fantasy residing in my soul and open their eyes wide in the euphoria of life that fills their lungs. I love writing."

Students look frustrated in front of computers. Speech bubbles: "How does it feel when you write within an academic context? Um... Hm... Well..."

Carl at his desk with books. Speech bubbles: "To be honest, I would prefer not writing academia at all. I only do it because it’s an obligation to pass my exams. To me, it’s more enjoyable to write when I know precisely what to write. The process is mostly about figuring out what should and shouldn’t be written. I usually feel most motivated after a meeting with my teacher. If he praises the work I’ve done, I feel safe and secure, and I enjoy the process much more. It can be quite stressful, and it’s certainly not for my own sense of accomplishment."Sean imagines himself as Michelangelo sculpting a statue. Speech bubbles: "Sometimes I feel like a boiling pot trying to figure out what the teachers want from us. It’s like a game between me and my teachers, but they have the rulebook, and I don’t. I kinda feel like I need to be Michelangelo... I have to envision the statue within the rock, and shave everything else off. Not much space for failure. To me, it feels like being stabbed by a sword forged by ancient smiths..."

Sean pulls a sword out of his stomach and writes with it. Speech bubbles: "The sword goes right through my stomach, only for me to pull it out and use it myself. When I write academic papers, I use that same sword instead of my usual pen and notebook. I use the sword to argue, I use it to unveil semantics, I use it to shape my discourse, and I use it to pass my exams. You can master the sword as much as you want, but the blade will essentially always remain the same. It will always have been forged by the work of old traditions."Ask and friends discuss writing. Speech bubbles: "Ask: Elaborate. Everyone: It’s definitely more fun to be done writing. Sometimes it can be quite interesting to learn how to use the sword. However... It’s not about the process of writing; it’s about the end goal. It’s much more enjoyable to be done writing."Ask imagines forging his own sword. Speech bubbles: "One day I hope to be able to forge my own sword: a sword not made of stainless steel, but a powerful combination of the knowledge from the old traditions and my own creative mind. A breathing sword. The wound from the first time I was stabbed by the sword is still leaking, and with it the fumes of my fantasy and creativity is soaring out into thin air."

A single image with the text “END”.

The comic strip was created during the course Ethnographic Text (2021) as part of the study and challenge of the boundaries of ethnographic text.

Emner