{"id":563,"date":"2018-12-15T18:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-15T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.convivialthinking.org\/?p=563"},"modified":"2018-12-14T09:52:13","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T08:52:13","slug":"the-feast-and-the-liberation-of-sensing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/convivialthinking.org\/index.php\/2018\/12\/15\/the-feast-and-the-liberation-of-sensing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Feast and the Liberation of Sensing"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Zuleika B. Sheik<\/em><\/p>\n

Feast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowledge.<\/p>\n

I am hungry for it.<\/p>\n

With gluttonous abandon,<\/p>\n

I devour it.<\/p>\n

Leaving you depleted.<\/p>\n

Exhausted.<\/p>\n

Drained.<\/p>\n

Still you come back for more.
\n
\nWhy? Because I promised you something.<\/p>\n

A piece of paper.<\/p>\n

Legitimacy.<\/p>\n

A seat.<\/p>\n

A table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ah\u2026your ancestors fell for that too.<\/p>\n

So many generations, yet so little learned.<\/p>\n

Once a coolie, always a coolie[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You say you are doing this for them.<\/p>\n

But you did not heed their warning.<\/p>\n

Silly, they could not read,<\/p>\n

what\u2019s your excuse?<\/p>\n

A print too small.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can stay here you know, and feed off the knowledge of others as I do.<\/p>\n

Drain them, deplete them, leave them worse off than before.<\/p>\n

Call this research.<\/p>\n

We will reward you, praise you, hell we\u2019ll even give you that piece of paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go on then\u2026this is what you came for.<\/p>\n

Cannibalise yourself in the pursuit of knowledge.<\/p>\n

Gnaw on the bones of your ancestors.<\/p>\n

Drink their blood spilled in the (sugarcane) field.<\/p>\n

So that you may arise, anew\u2026in my own image.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And\u2026whilst we drown you in a black gown.<\/p>\n

Think not of your ancestors draped in the kala pani[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Think not of their sweat fertilizing the soil.<\/p>\n

Think not of their tears watering the sugarcane.<\/p>\n

Think not of their backs broken to sweeten my tea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Think instead that you are one of us now\u2026and feast.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Zuleika B. Sheik is PhD researcher at the International Institure of Social Studies (ISS). She can be reached at sheik[at]iss[dot]nl<\/em><\/p>\n

This poem was first published on the BLISS blog<\/a> as part of an epistemic diversity series.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

[1]<\/a>Coolie is an unskilled labourer employed cheaply, especially one brought from Asia.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>Kala pani means black waters, referring mainly to the Indian Ocean. By crossing this ocean many Indians feared they would loss their caste, social standing and cultural identity.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Zuleika B. Sheik Feast Knowledge. I am hungry for it. With gluttonous abandon, I devour it. Leaving you depleted. Exhausted. Drained. Still you come back for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,27,24],"class_list":["post-563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speaking","tag-epistemic-asymmetry","tag-knowledge","tag-poetry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t