PHILOLOGY IN DAYS OF GLOBALIZATION
Jalver Uyabán
Did we say Philology? Is it that antique art that grasps the spirits inhabiting the written texts? Is it a mysterious discipline that studies the anatomy of a culture by dissecting its literary works? Or is it that strange word used by the ancient Greeks referring to the love of learning through the language? Yes, we are talking about Philology and its role in the "light" of the global fashion.
It may become another piece of memory in the global museum of the forgotten human sciences. In the future, there will be neither purpose nor place for the study of languages and cultures, since the neo liberal globalization longs for a universal language -English -a unified channel - audio-visual – and only one culture: an homogeneous and shapeless mixture named Globalized Culture.
This is very similar to fast food, it means, it is light, easy to produce, find, and eat, and it fits for all kind of hunger. The globalized culture does not need to be explained or studied, it only needs to be consumed. Then, in that context, what the purpose of philology could be? By now, the globalization project needs distributors for its cultural useless products. This is the reason why neo-liberalism is invading schools and universities running advertisements with inscriptions like "Teachers (read instructors) are wanted" or "students (read consumers) here is your place to learn".
Instructors know how to teach and what to teach, meanwhile philologists can also explain why to teach and the most important, why to learn: because all the peoples in the planet need to preserve and develop their cultures. Besides, the philological why is too complete, too rich and too human to be put in a box of take away knowledge. This knowledge is not a piece of merchandise in the “ supermarket of knowledge”* and that is why we may expect actions to put philology out of the market.
A deep criticism must be done on the role and the relevance of philology, taking into account that our studies should help us to preserve the culture from the overwhelming shadows of the globalization.
*La educación en el contexto neoliberal, Miñana Carlos y Rodríguez José Gregorio. En La Falacia Neoliberal, Críticas y Alternativas. Bogotá, Universidad Nacional de Colombia,2003,pág.301.
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