Ideas and identities
For a long time now, I have resisted any effort to bring research on topics like language, culture and history into my lab. It is not that I think that these topics are unimportant. But it is because I think that as a society, we do not have the skill to extract ideas from identity for scholarly perusal. Topics like language, culture, history etc. are teeming with issues and controversies regarding social and cultural identities. Identity driven politics is an intense element that we endure daily. A research lab is by definition, a battleground. It is a battleground for ideas , where ideas clash and transform and evolve. But when identities masquerade as ideas, it spells nothing but trouble. A clash of ideas is invigorating, dispassionate and impersonal. We end up energised and enthusiastic after a successful clash of ideas. A clash of identities is disspiriting, passionate and deeply personal. We end up feeling battered and bruised after a clash of identities. Much of the...