Rory Contra Nietzsche
January 25, 2008
It’s Mor’s 19th birthday and I found myself in the level 599 graduate course titled Contra Nietzsche. Professor Wurzer elected me to present the second part of Untimely Meditations next Thursday and immediatley anxieties, headaches and fears set in as I realized that with no history in Western philosophy or German culture I am asked to present Nietzsche’s ideas to a well-versed audience. From my perspective I just want to pass this class so I can leave Duquesne University with a degree in psychology. I talked with Wurzer after class and he reassured me not to worry, and that my presentation should be purely textual. So I’m a bit relieved.
There was a sign exiting the night class as I walked pass a seminar room. I was intrigued at how many elderly people were listening to the speaker. I tried to catch wind of what was being discussed but was too far away to really gather anything. Then I caught sight of George Yancy my philosophy professor in critical race theory last semester. He saw my curious gazes through the door into the lecture hall. He smiled, and I smiled back…
The key to Rory contra Nietzsche is breath. As Nietzsche once proclaimed, “if you come with me, come with yourself”. And that is what I intend to do… So, I’m going to wrestle with the text and have faith that I will making a meaningful contribution to the class. Somehow Yancy was the omen.
Yom Holedet Tov, Morile!
