September 16: Blog Post #3 – "The Way We Ran" (Yannick Kluch)

I really liked reading Denison’s “The Way We Ran: Reimagining Research and the Self” this week. Denison emphasizes the importance of personal narratives and stories within academia; he argued that “performative writing, which demands writers to consider a range of critical perspectives, infuses our work with tremendous transformational and transgressive potential” (2006, p. 339). Denison underlines that we need “stories, therefore, where the outcome … offers the possibility of change” (2006, p. 338). I think that performative writing is especially beneficial for athletes (and individuals in general) belonging to minority groups, for it is a sufficient way to create understanding rather than knowledge about that group. While most athletes are under a certain amount of pressure to succeed, minorities often have to deal with immense societal pressure placed on them as well. Through performative writing (“stories”), minorities have the potential to give insight into their lives, thus signifying change and progress to the masses.

What I found also interesting about Denison’s essay is his argument that who we are - our identity - shapes our research and scholarly activities. He writes about himself:

I once was a runner, but now I am an academic who writes about running. And to an extent, the way that I write does speak volumes about the kind of runner I was, that is, careful, critical, observant, … . I performed running, too – the race as art, movement as expression – just like I try to write in ways that perform culture. Feel, rhythm, and pacing were as important to me as speed and results. (2006, p. 334)

Just like Denison’s scholarly identity is reflected in his athletic identity (and vice versa, as can be seen in the passage above), I think that some of the characteristics of my athletic life (even though it is rather for recreational than competitive purposes) shape my identity as a scholar and academic. Like my academic work, recreational bodybuilding requires me to be very organized and disciplined. In order to see satisfactory results, I need to not only plan each workout in detail (What muscle group do I work on, with what workouts, on what day of the week, in what order? When do I do cardio, for how long, in what intensity, what time of the day?), I also have to keep track of the weights I use and the repetitions I do for each workout.  Just like with the process of writing an academic essay, I need to be accurate and thorough in how I carry out my workouts.

I think Denison makes a very strong point here, and I agree with him that the characteristics, behaviors, and attitudes that shape who we are in sports, also interact with and underline who we are outside of sports. What do you think? How does your participation in sports reflect yourself as a person, and vice versa? How are your behavior patterns as a scholar, or in your job, based on the sport you play?