Roni Dragusha
As someone who prides themselves in seeking knowledge, and acting like I don’t like being called a ‘nerd’ (I take it as a compliment), I always find it interesting to listen to other people’s relationship with academia.
Academia is a very interesting topic, as many people regard education as an almost segue to a job. However, education is so much more than that. There are so many different dimensions than what meets the eye, and this event encapsulated this perfectly.
The panel, led by Alesia, oozed such a level of articulation and intention in their way of communication, that it made me triple-question my career aspirations.
It was intriguing to see the varied experience on the panel, beginning with Dr Adela Halo, who is well into her post-PhD life. Dr Halo posited a very interesting narrative regarding “placing too much emphasis on intentionality”. This was followed by her saying that “accidents happen” and that a student pursuing a career in academia should invest their time solely in the things they can control, as opposed to the things they cannot.
As the discussion developed, Dr Flamur Krasniqi, who is fresh into finishing his PhD, contributed to the narrative opened by Dr Halo. Dr Krasniqi said, “when easing off the pressure of intention, there’s the freedom of not following a rigid path”. I was extremely perplexed at this approach to pursuing a career like academia, where at first glance, it seems like you need to have a streamline in which you will follow, which narrows in each step of the journey from Undergraduate, to Masters, to finally your PhD.
More interestingly however, Dr Flamur and Dr Halo both echoed the significance of discipline during your journey with Academia. At this point, everything that I know and practice, is being confronted with an approach that seems to directly challenge it.
Even away from academia, I am someone who places a huge amount of my mental capacity into knowing what I am working towards, and understanding the reasons as to why I am doing so. This discussion was really challenging the way I viewed the pursuit of knowledge, but in a very good and constructive way. Anyways, the blog must go on.
Finally, it was refreshing to hear from Arbër Qerka-Gashi, who has finished both his Undergraduate and Masters, and is considering pursuing a PhD. Arber has a very unique and authentic approach to academia, and more importantly the application of academia, with his line of interest being expressed more in the visual arts space, as observed through his generational work with Balkanism.
I went through a journey of contemplation, evaluation and ultimately, development. With these questions in my head about removing the emphasis away from intention, and following a more free-approach to your career, the ‘critic’ had to ask a question regarding the interaction of discipline and freedom when pursuing a career in academia.
Dr Flamur answered this question by simply saying, “discipline makes you free”. I always knew this in theory, but when I understood the practical aspect of this, it clicked. And to top things off, Dr Halo, referring to a favourite book of mine, ‘The Prince, Machiavelli’ expressed discipline and freedom as Virtu and Fortuna. With discipline symbolising Virtu (linked with one's capacity to understand the world and control it), and freedom symbolising Fortuna (personifies the accidental and the unforeseen).
In my closing thoughts, discipline allows you to navigate the unpredictable world of academia. The event was eye-opening, and informative as always, and I highly recommend for anyone reading this, to try to get their hands on a ticket to our next panel event!
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