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CSUN College of Humanities Newsletter
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Not quite the PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE continued from p. 2

Jennifer GoettDr. Jennifer Goett
Central American Studies Program


What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Time to write and think; intellectual companionship, friends and good food, a beautiful view.
Which historical figure do you mostly identify with?
I don’t identify with a historical figure.
Which living person do you most admire?
My grandmother.
What is your favorite journey?
The nighttime drive from the Managua airport to the city center after being away for too long.
Which talent would you most like to have?
A beautiful singing voice.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
There are many things that I would change, but I try to remember that our imperfections make us human.
What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t have one.  I can adjust to the loss of almost any material possession.  That being said, I think losing my laptop or my car would be a particularly difficult adjustment. 
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Narcissism, spite, lack of compassion and purpose.
Who are your favorite writers?
Edwidge Danticat, Amitav Ghosh, Cherríe Moraga, and others.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Ella Cara Deloria’s Waterlily.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
My idea of perfect happiness is having endless conversation with people who challenge and respect me (and whom I challenge and respect as well).

Robert GressisDr. Robert Gressis
Philosophy Department


Which historical figure do you most identify with?

The only historically important people whose lives I know well are certain philosophers’ lives, and unfortunately a lot of them are extremely weird dudes. Still, if I had to pick someone, the person whose attitudes remind me most of my own is Leibniz.
Which living person do you most admire?
I recently spent my honeymoon in Thailand and there I met a mind-blowingly capable forest guide named, I kid you not, “Mr. Sexyman.” He had the most amazing powers—he could catch fish with his bare hands, imitate monkey-calls, spot chameleons, and make a vine-bridge in thirty minutes. The entire time he led us through Khao Sok national forest, I was geeking out.
What is your favorite journey?
Not to sound too self-absorbed, but my journey to self-understanding. Just trying to figure out what I do is treacherous enough. Alternatively, Steve Perry’s Journey.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My wife and philosophy are almost tied, but philosophy can’t hug me, so I’ll give the edge to my wife.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I could get pretty fantastical and say something like “the ability to lift 10,000 lbs.” but the talent I most often find myself wishing for is the ability to get things done (which, I suppose, can be reduced to being organized, having a high attention span, and having a lot of drive).
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I probably shouldn’t say this, but my tendency to be too confessional.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A very meandering river that forgot important dates in its calendar.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
So many candidates. I’ll just list: (1) being completely unable to move but no one notices; (2) knowing something really awful is going to happen to you or your loved ones but being unable to stop it.
Who are your favorite writers?
Among novelists, Dostoevsky. My favorite philosophical stylists are Plato and Descartes.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
He’s not particularly admirable, but the Underground Man from Notes from the Underground is perfectly drawn and, I fear, scarily near.
What is your motto?
“If you want something done, talk to a busy man.”

continued on page 4

 

"My idea of perfect happiness is having endless conversation with people who challenge and respect me (and whom I challenge and respect as well)."

 
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