Stone House Center for Public Humanities | Slippery Rock University
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Community Advisory Board
    • FAQs
    • The Old Stone House
  • Support Us
    • Grants Received
    • Donate
  • News & Events
    • Event Calendar
  • Programs
    • Humanities Ladder
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Feedback
  • A Feast for the Soul
    • Post #1 Aneurysm
    • Post # 2 Mac-n-Cheese
    • Post #3: Carbonara
    • Post #4: Muscle Memory
    • Post #5: Deux de machina
    • Post #6: Deus Ex Machina Pt 2
    • Post #7: I found my Seoul
    • Post #8: A new wok
    • Post #9 Taste as you Go
    • Post #10 Visual/Tactile/visual/tactile
    • Afterword: A Perpetual Feast
  • Volunteer

1/21/2020

the arts in everyday life: an interview with detective edward doyle-gillespie

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
Detective Edward Doyle-Gillespie has spent over a decade as a police officer serving with the Baltimore City Police Department working in many high-crime areas of the city. While teaching at the Baltimore City Police Academy, Doyle-Gillespie turned to poetry to cope with the high stress nature of the job. He writes about what he and his fellow officers experience while working on the streets of Baltimore. In this interview, Detective Doyle-Gillespie shares with us his inspirations and the values he places on the humanities.

What inspires you in your current position/role?

"A business owner noticed me reading a philosophy book one day, and he stopped to talked to me about it. We chatted and, as we prepared to go our separate ways, he shook his head incredulously. He pointed at my uniform and frowned. 'A young man with all of that education and so much intellect should be making six figures and not wasting his time with this. I run a paper company. Who cares, right? Just give me a call. We will need some new, young executives in the new year.'
He enthusiastically shook my head and graciously excused himself.
Whenever I come to the question of what inspires me, I always recall the executive who, essentially, told me that he had an uninspiring job for me. There was good money to be made, but “who cares?”
I have learned that I simply cannot function in a job that only fills those first and second-level Maslow’s needs. Inspiration, for me, comes from knowing that I am contributing to positive change in our society. I have to see my work speak to the micro-level thinking of my students, and the macro-level of the work that they do when they go into the world. Reconnecting public servants with the ethos of humanism allows me to do that."


Why do you believe that the humanities are important to everyone, and not just people in academia?

"The name speaks for itself. The humanities are about each of us. They can be, must be, nurtured in the greenhouse of academia, but they are practical tools that allow each of us to lead examined lives. They give us examples, questions, and answers about the human condition. The humanities are about people."

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you (hobby, skill, interesting story)?

"I have a black belt in Hapkido."

What's a book you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to?

"
I love magical realism. I need to read One Hundred Years of Solitude."

In what ways have the arts influenced your life and the lives of your community?  

"
I count the arts as a cord that binds me to my community. It’s our lingua franca. It’s our on-going conversation. We write. We read. We share books.  The most important thing is, I’d say, is that we teach each other. The people that are in my karass, as Kurt Vonnegut would call it, show love for each other by teaching and challenging each other to become more immersed in the arts and, thus, more insightful about the human condition."

How can the humanities be integrated into every part of life?

"I was in a subway in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not only was it immaculate, but it was adorned with a statue of Pushkin. The commuter can honor the role of the arts in their national identity, their cultural identity. I would say that everyone who is devoted to the arts and humanities can be as persistent about them and their importance as are people who see only a value in the commute and the schedule of the trains. Always ask whether there is a point to be made about the humanities when the fog of day-to-day threatens to push them out."



Picture

Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    about us

    Our vision is to create a community of learners enriched, engaged and enlightened through the humanities.

    Archives

    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Anthropology
    Archaeology
    Art
    Book
    Books
    Citizen
    Coffee & Questions
    Community
    Contest
    Creativity
    Culture
    Dance
    Democracy
    Disability Studies
    Diversity
    Donate
    Education
    Engage
    Engineering
    Ethics
    Events
    Fiber Art
    Finals
    Funding
    Fundraiser
    Gender Studies
    Giving
    Good Life
    Grants
    High School
    History
    Humanites
    Humanites Ladder
    Humanities
    Humanities Ladder
    Interview
    Language
    Library
    Literature
    Music
    National Endowment For The Humanities
    NEH
    Old Stone House
    Philosophy
    Poetry
    Programs
    Rights
    Science
    Show
    Society
    STEM
    Student Work
    Support
    Technology
    Testimonial
    Theater
    Trailer
    Video
    Writing
    YouTube

    RSS Feed

Quick Links
About Us
News and Events
Programs
​Support
Contact

©Stone House Center for Public Humanities
1 Morrow Way
Slippery Rock, PA 16057
Picture
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Community Advisory Board
    • FAQs
    • The Old Stone House
  • Support Us
    • Grants Received
    • Donate
  • News & Events
    • Event Calendar
  • Programs
    • Humanities Ladder
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • Feedback
  • A Feast for the Soul
    • Post #1 Aneurysm
    • Post # 2 Mac-n-Cheese
    • Post #3: Carbonara
    • Post #4: Muscle Memory
    • Post #5: Deux de machina
    • Post #6: Deus Ex Machina Pt 2
    • Post #7: I found my Seoul
    • Post #8: A new wok
    • Post #9 Taste as you Go
    • Post #10 Visual/Tactile/visual/tactile
    • Afterword: A Perpetual Feast
  • Volunteer