Through an e-mail. I guess the whole problem was that we weren't seeing enough of each other. Our schedules just didn't work. And I suppose we weren't important enough to each other to make the time...
So he dumped me. The distinguished professor Merold Westphal, who I might be just a little obsessed with (because he introduced me to existentialism, because he wrote that badass article about the liberal arts and the need for contemplation in humanity, and because he's just such a damn picture perfect philosopher. google him, no shit), is no longer my thesis advisor. I can't say that this doesn't hurt. He isn't teaching any undergrad courses this semester, so he's only on campus on Wednesdays for his Hermeneutics class. My internship this semester is on Wednesdays, so obviously it wasn't going to work out. It wasn't that we didn't love each other.
So here I am, overwhelmed with questions about the role of literature in illustrating the balance between Jean-Paul Sartre's individual existentialism and his affinity for Marxism, and no distinguished professor to save my ass. Not that Westphal would have. He would have pointed to that poster behind his desk, the one with the somewhat disturbing picture of a doll on it. "The Truth Will Set You Free," it reads, "But First, It Will Make You Miserable." He would have given advice that sounded useful at the time, but that I was never really sure what to do with. And he would have told me that it was my project, and it would be successful as long as I learned something. I'll miss you, Westphal. Please don't be too critical of my paper when you do finally read it.
So now I feel like I'm somewhat at a crossroads. I can go to a professor who specializes more in the collective/responsibility end, or a professor who knows more about the existentialist end. And I can't help but feel like either way, this changes a lot.
On the upside, a few things are starting to come together in my head. It won't be bad to have a new perspective.
