I have turned, in recent weeks, to Arendt's "Essays in Understanding," to gain some purchase on the unsettling dynamics of the current moment in the life of our embattled democracy. Her account of understanding here speaks to a way of knowing that has been eclipsed in a social and political culture that has long demonstrated an incapacity to engage complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty with nuance and grace.

https://cplong.org/2025/10/learning-to-be-at-home-in-the-world/

As we navigate the difficult challenges that face us in higher education — and across our civic life in these United States — I return to the practices of blogging that have long enriched my academic and personal life. #HigherEd @humetricshss

https://cplong.org/2025/04/finding-new-modes-of-communicating-as-provost/

We are stewards of a vast and beautiful country.

After four days of driving from #PureMichigan with two cats (whining much of the way), the three of us have arrived in #EugeneOR!

Here is the route we took: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Z-6hqQd3ppUeAzIblPrz3Q4I8DNSyYo&usp=sharing

Each day of driving brought a new and magnificent landscape, from the wide plains of Iowa and Nebraska, to the craggy rocks of Wyoming, the snow capped mountains of Utah, and the winding rivers of Idaho. Then, on the final leg, we drove straight across the high desert plains of Oregon, a vast expanse of sky and dry land, over the Cascade Range where rows of pine trees welcomed us as we made our way across the Willamette National Forest down Rt. 126 along the McKenzie River into Eugene.

I am grateful to have had a safe journey, and I look forward to doing it all over again with Val and Darcy in July!

As you can see, I love the new Knowledge Commons identity: deep humanistic roots, now with a broader canopy of engagement!!

https://hcommons.social/@hello/112365982494856620

Here are some reflections of the first gathering of the Coalition of the Future Academy. The Coalition charts a course that invites us to relinquish the hegemony of liberal subjectivity and embrace our interconnectedness.

https://cplong.org/2024/01/coalition-for-the-future-academy/

#HigherEd #Future #Transformation #Neoliberalism #rhizomes #subjectivity #liberalism @kfitz @humetricshss @schopie1 @terrainsvagues @jasonrhody @lmrhody @msucal @hello

In “A Thousand Plateaus,” Deleuze and Guattari write:

“Amsterdam, a city entirely without roots, a rhizome-city with its stem-canals, where utility connects with the greatest folly in relation to a commercial war machine.”

I was reminded of this passage yesterday during our visit to the Stedelijk Museum when we came upon an experimental exhibition entitled, “Descent into Fungal” (https://burostedelijk.nl/manifestations/16-descent-into-fungal/). Here in this rhizome-city, the birthplace of extractive capitalism, the exhibition asks us to imagine and co-create a future with human and non-human kin.

As we welcome a new year, let us recognize our interconnectedness with all that exists and learn to practice ways of living together that empower mutual flourishing. Let us imagine and co-create a rhizome-city where care connects us to one another with the greatest joy in relation to a sustainable ecosystem of peace.

We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday.

Today we had the privilege of touring the newly renovated Rijksmuseum with an insightful tour guide by the name of Isaac. He was passionate about the art he was showing us and his enthusiasm charged the group with curiosity and attentiveness.

When we came upon the 1566 painting by Joachim Bueckelaer entitled “The Well-Stocked Kitchen” (https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/SK-A-1451), Isaac made a comment that has remained with me. Pointing out the places where the paint is deteriorating, he indicated where the charcoal sketching underneath was beginning to show itself. Then he said:

“As we lose the art, we get the process in return.”

This is a beautiful articulation of an idea that we in the @humetricshss initiative have been emphasizing for some time: attending to the process of creation is at the heart of understanding what has been created. The process is the product.

The presented work of art hangs there as an object, as it deteriorates, it comes to life again.

A few weeks ago, a group of colleagues and I made a pilgrimage to the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit. Here are some reflections on that experience in which I tell a story about the mysterious ways we are connected when we listen to one another.

In telling that story, I hope to weave our efforts to create a new #Ubuntu Institute at #MSU together with the commitment Grace Lee and Jimmy Boggs embodied to bring liberatory theory and practice together in ways that deepen and reinforce one another.

"Let our practice be enriched by theory, our theory enlivened by practice.”

In addition, I have added my blog to the #fediverse thanks to a wise suggestion by the amazing @BatsInLavender to install the #ActivityPub plugin for #WordPress. Now you can follow my blog at @cplong.org.

https://cplong.org/2023/10/a-pilgrimage-to-the-boggs-center/

I’ve been a little quiet here lately as this very difficult semester comes to a close. It was healing yesterday to spend some time with Dr. Fauci before our MSU doctoral convocation.

https://cplong.org/2023/05/joy-and-the-gift-of-education/