https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary Texts and tidbits to make you think. en-us 2020-02-03 20:09:20 UTC 2025-12-12 23:46:08 UTC hello@padlet.com emiliebryde https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/439919743 ... a place outside of exam stress and university demands to read texts that unsettle old habits and inspire new ideas. It is inspired by the many beautiful and eye-opening experiences we have had with texts both from inside and outside academia. We will be dropping a text a week in this space, slowly growing a library of readings. The library is open, so anyone, student or teacher, can contribute. We focus on texts, but it could be anything – videos, podcasts, etc.

It is a place to remember that we do not learn only for instrumental reasons, but also for existential purposes. Let us learn to become the people we need to be, in the society we want to see. ]]> 2020-02-03 20:16:00 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/439919743 emiliebryde https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/439932429 We're starting off with something as unmodern as theology. Paul Tillich was one of the great American protestant theologians of the 20th century, and this clear and concise text, written in the 1950s, is a beautiful reminder that we exist not only as instruments of development, but as beings in our own right. Tillich's insistence on the need to center existential rather than instrumental questions is a good anti-dote for whenever you've gotten fed up with hearing about "competences", "skills", and "employability." Tillich touches on the essence of why we even study humanities in the first place. [The text is in Danish]]]> 2020-02-03 20:36:15 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/439932429 https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/446869964 We follow up with Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine's manifesto from their Dark Mountain Project. At once a cultural movement, a journal and a network of creatives, the Dark Mountain Project gives dynamic and engaged voice to why stories matter, how they have created limiting ideas and devastating  approaches to our planet. At the center of this conversation is the radical thought that artists, readers and humanists not only can, but should challenge status quo, as they are the ones who can examine the stories we are told and who tells them. Kingsnorth and Hine's manifesto is a call-to-arms for current times to tell other, better, gentler, more upbuilding stories that hold infinite and profound power to rethink our structures and connect us to each other and the earth we live on. 

]]> 2020-02-18 15:37:38 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/446869964 emilie_bryde https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/451348520 In continuation of the Dark Mountain Manifesto, this week we bring to you: Capitalist Realism! Aka the story of the world in which we live. Capitalist realism is a term coined by cultural theorist Mark Fisher denoting "the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it." We have uploaded the first chapter (only 7 pages) of his very short and snappy book on the subject. When reading, keep in mind that Fisher is a) obviously an anti-capitalist, or at least a critic, and b) writing in the aftermath of the 2008/2009 financial crisis, before the mainstreaming of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Jeremy Corbyn were even remotely politically possible. However, were Fisher alive today, he would probably argue the same thing. Enjoy Fisher's on-point observations, and his excellent use of popular culture as a vehicle for social analysis. ]]> 2020-02-27 13:54:10 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/451348520 https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/454890541 This week we have a snappy, barely 3-page essay coming at you from Audre Lorde, feminist, poet, activist, and, in her own self-identified words: "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet". In "Poetry Is Not a luxury", Lorde dismantles some of the paradigms we might attribute to poetry - for one, the idea that it is a luxury, a privilege, a space for those who have the time and ressources to think deeply and write poetically. Instead, Lorde succinctly argues that poetry is not only necessary, but also what gives us insight into what needs action and attention in ourselves and in the world. Thereby, poetic space becomes: 1. activist space, 2. that which gives us courage to go into the world, and, 3. the light with which we illuminate our lives.

]]> 2020-03-05 08:13:16 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/454890541 emilie_bryde https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/467002372 Difficult times like these may call for theory and politics, but they also call for art and reflection. So if you are stuck at home, like everyone else, and tired of everything Netflix has to offer, we bring  you: The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast. In which great author's read the work of other great authors and discuss it with the New Yorker's amazingly soft-spoken fiction editor Deborah Treisman. All episodes are great, but we can recommend David Sedaris reading Miranda July (for those into the wonderfully weird and quirky), Ben Lerner reading John Berger (for those into being intellectual, and for anyone wishing to learn the art of speaking in essay form), and Karl Ove Knausgaard reading V.S Naipaul (for those into heavy Norwegian accents and really long-winded descriptions of the English country-side.) Enjoy! And take care of yourselves. ]]> 2020-03-19 20:58:07 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/467002372 emilie_bryde https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/475987088 The Century of the Self is a four-part documentary by filmmaker Adam Curtis detailing the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations. The film is an incredible compilation of found footage and interviews, and a masterpiece in historical framing and storytelling. Unless you are already an expert on the history of psychoanalysis and its influence, this film will give you a whole new perspective on the history of the last century and how we got where we are today. This first link is to the first part of the film, and the rest of the parts are also on youtube. Enjoy!]]> 2020-03-26 09:12:32 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/475987088 https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/488615886 Please enjoy this On Being Podcast with the late, great Mary Oliver. Mary Oliver reminds us to listen to the world, and that when listening (poetically), the world offers itself up to us and tells us in a million beautiful ways that we belong to it. Her biography and take on what poetry means are sources of inspiration that yield comfort and joy in challenging times. In conversation with another amazing lady, Krista Tippet, Oliver describes how she found the entire world in poetry, that poetry was also what saved her from what was difficult in her life, and, surprisingly, that poetry is community. ]]> 2020-04-02 10:57:29 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/488615886 https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/528064249 Rebecca Solnit is one of our time's most prolific writers and thinkers. Solnit's authorship delves into deep issues of our time, undertaking topics ranging from feminism and popular power, wandering and getting lost, indigenous history, the writing process, trauma and disaster -- and, hope - not as a blind, happy-go-lucky optimism, but rather a deliberate, resourceful and resilient choice that gives meaning and mooring to life. Grounding many of her reflections also in questions of storytelling, reading and what this means for being human - together and apart, here she is:

1. On the pandemic and on living with and in uncertainty - in a hopeful way:
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-life-inside-this-strange-new-fairytale-doesnt-have-to-be-lonely/?fbclid=IwAR2GWBpM6KWX7cza4K7fKnMBJwMvKRNamYSIa9b64SjoGYg9yFjMPBbE8n0

2. In conversation with the wonderful Emma Watson (Levio-SAH):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdNHZDq7XHQ&fbclid=IwAR20BmHM-zttU-ggff-wKoUZ1FDpiqbpuF-Yktf9neoYj8atRsaE-PHQ_nw]]> 2020-04-24 11:10:55 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/528064249 https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/616135892 In this time of urgent and important turmoil, as there are protests the world over attacking systemic racism and police violence against Black people in the US and the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor - countries and individuals alike are adjured to address their place in all of this. For this reason, we wanted to, gently and kindly, draw your attention to this beautiful and rich corner of the internet. Whoever you are and however you are placed within these pressing questions and realities, this library is an impressive gathering of some of the most influential Black thinkers, writers, activists and creatives. We encourage you to dive deep, ask questions, and, most importantly, to talk to each other about what you find. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bz011IF2Pu9TUWIxVWxybGJ1Ync?fbclid=IwAR0xKJz5jguJtd2dDqfA_eHrCwQsEfV9k0tjBMjx7YxDJS_9D2-_3xQcNdg]]> 2020-06-08 05:57:07 UTC https://padlet.com/emiliebryde/secretlibrary/wish/616135892