Letter to Suresh Caganaraja, part III.

Dear Dr. Caganaraja, c/o Suresh at Detroit Edison:

In Geopolitics, you note that periphery scholars frequently lack access to the materials and processes of Center scholarship such as paper (p. 164), a secure postal system(p. 171), telecommunication lines for phone, cable and internet access(p. 176) and copies of recent publications in peer reviewed journals (p. 183-233). Therefore, information from Center institution has a hard time "contacting" spheres of work in periphery scholarship. In at least this respect, scholarly life in my neighborhood differs from the stark material conditions of scholarship in periphery communities such as Sri Lanka: the Center has absolutely no trouble contacting me.

For example, each day I receive valuable peices of paper from the Center containing notices of traffic violation, 7 day notices and notices to quit. These peices of paper are made out of flame retardant material and conveniently delivered to my residential mailbox: I can "write back" to these institutions free of charge. In fact, I argue that DTE should be contracted to rewire the postal system in my neighborhood: no matter how insecure our mail becomes, I always receive my shutoff notice in a timely fashion. Even the guy who is hovering around my mailbox will is not tempted to steal these valuable papers. Throughout the day, additional papers are posted directly to the windshield of my car. Furthermore, I receive telephone calls at varying times from powerful Center authorities who always pick up when I call back. Since these phone calls frequently are routed through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, this infrastructure could be transformed into a tremendous resource for academic communication between Center and periphery institutions. The advent of online bill payment only widens the possibilities for international collaboration in the "electronic age" of academic culture.

I am confident that the infrastructure for radical change is in place. Please find pre-stamped, electronically tagged and flame retardant DTE envelope, encl. Suresh knows where I live.

Hilary
c/o Suresh at Detroit Edison