>> DAVID NIRENBERG: SALVE, O ILLUSTRISSIMI!
CREDO EGO VOS MIRARI, QUID SIT, QUOD, CUM TOT SUMMI ORATORES HOMINESQUE NOBILISSIMI
SEDEANT, EGO POTISSIMUM SURREXERIM.
OH, SORRY.
I SEEM TO BE TALKING IN LATIN.
I MUST HAVE BEEN CONFUSED BY THESE MEDIEVAL ROBES WE ARE ALL WEARING.
AND WHY ARE WE SURROUNDED BY THESE GOTHIC BUILDINGS, WITH THEIR BUTTRESSES AND CRENELATIONS,
ORGANIZED AROUND COURTYARDS AND CLOISTERS, ENTERED THROUGH POINTED ARCHES, IF THIS ISN’T
THE MIDDLE AGES, OR HOGWARTS?
I MEAN, THIS AS A SERIOUS QUESTION.
AND SINCE I AM A MEDIEVAL HISTORIAN, YOU MIGHT EXPECT ME TO HOLD FORTH FOR THE NEXT 12 MINUTES
ABOUT THE MEDIEVAL ROOTS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSITY.
IT IS CERTAINLY TRUE THAT UNIVERSITIES HAVE A MEDIEVAL PAST, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THEIR
BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE COLLEGE AND HOUSE SYSTEM COMMON IN MANY UNIVERSITIES WAS ORIGINALLY
FORMED BY STUDENTS WHO BANDED TOGETHER IN THE MIDDLE AGES TO DEFEND
THEMSELVES AGAINST PROFESSORS, ARRANGE LODGING, FACILITATE STUDYING, ORGANIZE A KITCHEN AND
ESTABLISH A JOINT WINE‑CELLAR.Alas, that last tradition only survives in Oxford and
Cambridge.
THE GREAT RITUALS OF UNIVERSITY LIFE ARE ALSO MEDIEVAL.
WHEN THE UNDERGRADUATES AMONG YOU GATHERED IN ROCKEFELLER CHAPEL FOR THE ANNUAL AIMS
OF EDUCATION LECTURE THAT WELCOMED YOU INTO THE UNIVERSITY, YOU WERE PARTICIPATING IN
A MEDIEVAL TRADITION, ONE PRAISED IN 1699 BY THE PHILOSOPHER GIAMBATTISTA VICO, WHO
GAVE HIS UNIVERSITY’S ORATION THAT YEAR, AS AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS INSTITUTIONS
OF UNIVERSITY LIFE.
THE RITUALS OF GRADUATION IN WHICH WE ARE PRESENTLY ENGAGED ARE SIMILARLY FULL OF MEDIEVAL
ECHOES.
THE TITLES THAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE ‑‑ BACHELOR, MASTER, DOCTOR ‑‑ ARE ALL MEDIEVAL,
AS ARE THE HONORS, CUM LAUDE, ETC., CONFERRED WITH THEM AND THE TRADITIONAL PARCHMENT DIPLOMA
FOR INSCRIBING THEM.
EVEN THE ROBES WE ARE ALL WEARING ARE DERIVED FROM THE DRESS OF MEDIEVAL STUDENTS, AND NEARLY
EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR DESIGN IS MEANT TO EVOKE SOME ANCIENT SYMBOLISMS.
BUT NONE OF THIS TELLS US MUCH ABOUT WHY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, LIKE OTHER GREAT NORTH
AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES, LOOKS SO MEDIEVAL.
OUR FOUNDERS WERE PERFECTLY AWARE THAT THEY WERE ESTABLISHING A MODERN INSTITUTION, DESPITE
THEIR UNIQUE SYSTEM OF NUMBERING CONVOCATIONS.
YOURS IS THE 527TH, WHICH MIGHT IMPLY TO THE UNINITIATED THAT WE WERE FOUNDED IN 1489.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO WAS BUILT IN AND FOR THE MODERN AGE AND DEMANDED OF ITS STUDENTS
AND FACULTIES THAT THEY DISCOVER THE FUTURE, CRESCAT SCIENTIA, WHICH THEY HAVE DONE; HENCE,
MANY OF YOU ARE GRADUATING IN DISCIPLINES UNIMAGINABLE 125 YEARS AGO.
INDEED, UNIVERSITIES IN GENERAL MAY WELL BE THE MOST FUTURE‑ORIENTED INSTITUTIONS OF
THE MODERN WORLD, IN THE DOUBLE SENSE THAT THEY ARE DEVOTED TO LOOKING BEYOND THE HORIZON
OF THE KNOWN, AND TO PREPARING THEIR STUDENTS FOR LIFETIMES TO COME.
SO THE QUESTION REMAINS: WHY DOES AN INSTITUTION SO DEDICATED TO THE FUTURE CONSTRUCT ITS SPACE
AND ITS RITUALS IN WAYS SO CONSCIOUSLY EVOCATIVE OF A DISTANT PAST?
I BELIEVE THAT THE DELIBERATE ARCHITECTURAL AND RITUAL ANACHRONICITY OF OUR UNIVERSITY
IS NOT MERELY THE PRODUCT OF HISTORY; IT IS ALSO ANAN INSTANTIATION OF ONE OF THE MOST
VITAL TASKS OF A GREAT MODERN UNIVERSITY: TO CULTIVATE IN ITS STUDENTS AND FACULTIES
A PARTICULAR TYPE OF SENSIBILITY TO TIME, WHICH I WILL CALL “A TIME OF MIND.”
SINCE IT MAY NOT BE CLEAR WHAT I MEAN BY THIS, AND SINCE THIS CULTIVATION IS ONE OF THE UNIVERSITY’S
MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS TO EACH OF YOU AND TO SOCIETY IN GENERAL, I’D LIKE TO SPEND A
FEW OF OUR LAST MOMENTS TOGETHER MEDITATING UPON IT.
THERE ARE SOME OBVIOUS WAYS IN WHICH THE TIME OF A GREAT UNIVERSITY IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER
TYPES OF TIME IN THE WORLD, FIRST AND FOREMOST IN THE EXTRAORDINARY FREEDOM IT GIVES ITS
INHABITANTS TO SHAPE IT AS THEY WILL: WHEN TO SLEEP, WHEN TO STUDY, TO LOVE, OR PLAY;
WHAT PROBLEMS TO WORK ON AND WITH WHAT DEGREE OF ATTENTION.
DURING OUR YEARS IN UNIVERSITIES, WE HAVE A FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN THESE MATTERS THAT
WE PROBABLY DID NOT HAVE BEFORE AND WILL NOT HAVE AGAIN.
STUDENT POETRY FROM THE MIDDLE AGES MAKES CLEAR THAT THIS WAS ALSO TRUE IN THE MIDDLE
AGES: “GO STUDY,” URGES REASON.
I WOULD OBEY INDEED, BUT WHEN LOVE WHISPERS TREASON
WHOSE BIDDING SHOULD I HEED?
THAT POETRY, CALLED GOLIARDIC VERSE, ALSO MAKES CLEAR THAT THE FREEDOMS OF “UNIVERSITY
TIME” CAN BE ABUSED: TO DIE INSIDE A DRINKING‑SHOP
THAT IS MY TRUE VOCATION.
TO PASS AWAY IN HOLY BLISS THROUGH HIGH INTOXICATION.
AND ALL THE ANGELS WATCHING ME WOULD SHOUT TO GOD IN HEAVEN‑
LORD, HAVE MERCY ON HIS SOUL‑ HE’S DRUNK BEFORE ELEVEN!
[Laughter] 12th Century!
BUT WHATEVER ITS POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE, SOCIETIES, MEDIEVAL AND MODERN, HAVE DONE EVERYTHING
IN THEIR POWER TO DEFEND THE FREEDOMS OF “UNIVERSITY TIME.”
THAT DEFENSE HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEAR, WHICH MEANS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, EXPENSIVE.
ONE MEDIEVAL FATHER PUT IT, “A STUDENT’S FIRST SONG IS ALWAYS FOR MONEY, AND THERE
IS NO LETTER THAT DOESN’T END WITH A REQUEST FOR CASH.”
WHETHER YOU ARE AN UNDERGRADUATE OR A GRADUATE STUDENT, YOUR PRESENCE HERE,
AND YOUR EXEMPTION FROM THE DEMANDS OF EVERYDAY TIME IN THE ORDINARY WORLD, WAS MADE POSSIBLE
BY ENORMOUS GENEROSITY ‑‑ GENEROSITY ON THE PART OF PARENTS, OF UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES
AND OTHER PHILANTHROPISTS, AND OF A NATION WHOSE TAXES MAKE POSSIBLE PELL GRANTS, THE
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, AND MANY OTHER THINGS.
IT IS THIS ECONOMY OF GENEROSITY THAT HAS PUT TIME FOR CONTEMPLATION, A TYPE OF TIME
THAT THE ANCIENT ROMANS CALLED “OTIUM” AND ASSOCIATED EXCLUSIVELY WITH SENATORS AND
OTHER ARISTOCRATS, WITHIN THE REACH OF SO MANY OF US TODAY, IF ONLY FOR THE YEARS WE
ARE PRIVILEGED TO SPEND AT A GREAT UNIVERSITY.
WHY IS THIS GIFT OF “OTIUM,” OF “UNIVERSITY TIME,” SO VALUABLE THAT WESTERN SOCIETIES
HAVE CHOSEN TO DEDICATE SO MANY RESOURCES TO MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO YOU?
MY COLLEAGUES IN ECONOMICS MIGHT ARGUE THAT YOUR YEARS AT UNIVERSITY CAN BEST BE UNDERSTOOD
AS AN EXCELLENT INVESTMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL, AND THEY ARE CERTAINLY THAT;
BUT I WANT TO SUGGEST THAT THE FUTURE TIME VALUE OF YOUR LABOR IS NOT WHAT IS ESPECIALLY
HUMAN ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE ACQUIRED DURING YOUR YEARS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
THAT LIES, RATHER, IN AN ATTITUDE, AN AWARENESS, A “TIME OF MIND” HINTED AT ALREADY BY
OUR ARCHITECTURAL SETTING; NAMELY, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ALTHOUGH FOR US FINITE CREATURES THE
PASSAGE OF TIME SEEMS TO BE THE MOST FAMILIAR AND IMPLACABLE GIVEN OF OUR BEING, WE CAN
CHOOSE TO MAKE IT UNFAMILIAR, TO BEND IT, LIKE A GREAT PIANIST BENDS THE TEMPOS OF A
BACH SARABANDE, IN WAYS THAT CREATE STARTLING NEW INSIGHTS.
CREATING THIS “TIME OF MIND” IS ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF EVERY GREAT UNIVERSITY,
AND IN IT LIE THE POSSIBILITIES OF DISCOVERY.
I MEAN, THIS IN AN OBVIOUS AND A LESS OBVIOUS WAY.
THE OBVIOUS, DEDICATING YEARS TO REACH INSIGHTS ABOUT HAMURABI OR HAMLET, TO FIND A NEW ALGEBRAIC
INVARIANT WITH WHICH TO CLASSIFY A TOPOLOGICAL SPACE, OR TO DISCOVER A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR
GENE EDITING, HAS REQUIRED A CERTAIN DEGREE OF EXEMPTION FROM THE SHORT TERM TIME‑HORIZONS
OF THE EVERYDAY WORLD.
IT REQUIRED A DIFFERENT KIND OF ATTENTION, AS WELL, ONE CAPABLE OF SCREENING OUT MUCH
OF THE CONSTANT CLAMOR OF THE COSMOS, OF STILLING THE ROILING AND RUMBLING OF BEING LONG ENOUGH
TO ATTEND TO A QUESTION THAT LEADS BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON OF THE PRESENT.
IT REQUIRED YOU TO LEARN TO PLAY CHESS IN A WORLD OF TETRIS.
I guess that dates me.
YOU MAY BE LEAVING THIS UNIQUE ZONE OF EXEMPTION FROM SOME OF THE DEMANDS OF TIME, BUT YOU
TAKE THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE YOUR “TIME OF MIND” WITH YOU INTO THE WORLD.
AND THE LESS OBVIOUS, THE ABILITY WE CULTIVATE HERE TO CHOOSE THE TEMPORALITY OF OUR ATTENTION
AND THE DIRECTION OF OUR THOUGHT, THE ABILITY TO STEP INTO A TIME OF MIND.
THIS ABILITY IS THE PREREQUISITE FOR ALL TRUE DISCOVERY, IF BY DISCOVERY WE MEAN RENDERING
THE FAMILIAR STRANGE.
NIETZSCHE ONCE COMPLAINED THAT WHAT MOST OF THE WORLD WANTS WHEN IT ASKS FOR KNOWLEDGE
IS “THAT SOMETHING STRANGE SHOULD BE REDUCED TO SOMETHING FAMILIAR.”
HE CALLED THIS THE “ERROR OF ERRORS,” AND I AGREE.
WHAT IS FAMILIAR IS WHAT WE ARE USED TO, AND WHAT WE ARE USED TO IS WHAT IS MOST DIFFICULT
TO KNOW.
THE GREATER DISCOVERY LIES IN BECOMING AWARE OF OUR MOST BASIC ASSUMPTIONS, SO THAT WE
CAN QUESTION THEM AND MAKE THEM STRANGE.
That was the point of a joke, not very funny, told by
NOVELIST DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, ABOUT TWO YOUNG FISH WHO ARE SWIMMING ALONG.
THEY MEET AN OLDER FISH WHO GREETS THEM WITH "MORNING, HOW'S THE WATER?"
THE TWO YOUNG FISH SWIM ON FOR A BIT, AND THEN ONE OF THEM LOOKS AT THE OTHER AND SAYS,
“WHAT THE HELL IS WATER?”
HALF A CENTURY BEFORE, THE POET W.H. AUDEN MADE A SIMILAR POINT IN AN EQUALLY AQUEOUS
BUT MUCH GRIMMER WAY: “A PERSON STRUGGLING TO SAVE HIMSELF FROM DROWNING BECOMES AN INTELLECTUAL,
INSOFAR AS HE IS THINKING ABOUT THE CONDITIONS OF HIS EXISTENCE.”
SO HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS: YOU DON’T HAVE TO ENCOUNTER A WISE FISH OR RISK A WATERY
DEATH IN ORDER TO BECOME AN INTELLECTUAL, IF BY THIS WE MEAN LEARNING TO EXERCISE YOUR
HUMAN CHOICE ABOUT WHAT TO THINK ABOUT, AND OUR ABILITY TO STEP OUT OF THE EVERYDAY FAMILIAR
INTO A TIME OF MIND AND DISCOVERY.
YOU CAN SIMPLY CHOOSE, AS EACH OF YOU HAVE DONE, TO SPEND TIME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO,
WITH ITS MARVELOUSLY ANACHRONIC MIXTURE OF ARCHITECTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL TEMPORALITIES.
IN A FEW MINUTES, PRESIDENT ZIMMER WILL ASK EACH OF YOU TO STAND, WILL FORMALLY CONFER
UPON YOU YOUR DEGREE WITH ANOTHER ALLUSION TO THE DISTANT PAST ‑‑ “I WELCOME YOU
INTO THIS ANCIENT AND VENERABLE COMPANY OF SCHOLARS” ‑‑ AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
CHICAGO WILL BECOME YOUR COMMON ALMA MATER, YOUR NOURISHING MOTHER.
ALL OF US WHO REMAIN BEHIND HOPE THAT YOU WILL RETURN TO THIS MOTHER EARLY AND OFTEN.
BUT WE HOPE EVEN MORE THAT WHEREVER YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THE YEARS TO COME, YOU WILL ALSO
FIND THIS MOTHER AND HER PECULIAR TIME OF MIND WITHIN YOU, ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU TO STEP
INTO, ALWAYS READY TO RENDER THE FAMILIAR STRANGE, AND PROVOKE YOU TO WONDER.
AVE, ATQUE VALE.
I SALUTE YOU, AND FAREWELL.
[Applause.]