Jeremy Bell

Gilford, Ontario
M.A. in Theory, Culture and Politics
Came to Trent from Carleton to pursue a master’s degree studying the “sociology of culture”. Jeremy Bell hopes to become a university professor to pass on his love of learning to future students.

Why did you choose Trent?

Initially I was drawn to Trent by the conference that was held by my MA program in May of 2000 entitled “Georges Bataille: Community, Transgression and Excess”.  I didn’t attend the conference, and in 2000 I was still completing my undergraduate degree.  I discovered the program for the conference online while I was looking for Master’s programs interested in supporting my own interests.  The Theory, Culture and Politics program looked very interesting to me, and I had visited Peterborough a few times before, and really found it a very pleasant town.

How would you describe yourself? How would others describe you? What are your passions in life?

I like to read a lot, many people say too much.  I have an overactive intellect, and it’s a little hard to hide sometimes.  I ask a lot of questions.  Besides reading, I’ve also always been interested in the arts; I casually do oil painting and collage, as well as dj electronic music, which I really enjoy actually.  Really, my interests are extremely varied; I like politics but also spirituality, not to mention science, literature, philosophy and film – that’s just the surface.  I try to hold as few preconceptions as possible.  I guess that makes me easy to get along with.  Ultimately though, I’d prefer that life and the event determines who I am, rather than my own prejudices.

Have you been involved in any clubs, groups, and/or sports at Trent? If so, which ones?

During the last year of my Master’s, I was the student representative for my program’s Advisory Committee.  Fun wouldn’t be the first word I would use to describe it, but it was still really rewarding.

Where did you complete your undergrad/other graduate work?

I completed my undergraduate work at Carleton University’s College of the Humanities in Ottawa.

Describe your graduate studies research? Which faculty members did you work with?

My thesis was titled Bataille, the Economic, and the Sacred: working through the accursed share.  It had lot to do with what one might call the sociology of culture.  It concerned Georges Bataille’s critique of economics, and how we look at things from the perspective of a “restricted economy”.  It questioned all of this from the perspective of the sacred.  Andrew Wernick was my advisor.  He did a lot of work helping to put together the conference on Bataille in 2000, so it made a lot of sense.  As well, he was one of the founding members of the cultural studies department here at Trent.  He introduced me to a lot of stuff that has been very important for me.  As well, I worked Emilia Angelova from the philosophy department.  She was really amazing to work with too.  I have a bit of a philosophy background, and her interests are very close to my own, although much better informed.  She gave me a lot of help.  Both Andrew and Emilia were extremely generous.  Both Constantin Boundas and David Holdsworth also offered me some very critical advice as well, and were very supportive in general.

What has your time at Trent meant to you? What are some of your favourite memories? What will you take with you from Trent?

If I could use only one word to describe Trent and Peterborough in general, it would be “community”.  Really, life at Trent and in Peterborough in general is active, open, and fun.  Not only are there things always happening, but it is really free of the elitism you find in bigger towns and cities.  I have a lot of great memories that I will take with me from Trent, but one of the best definitely was the Windy Pine retreat everyone in my MA program went on right when I first arrived here.  It was just the start of just some of the many good friendships that I continue to have.  I also will very much remember my time at Traill College.  It was really great, especially with student’s homes, as well as the offices.  Everything was very shared.  Trent University, much more than other Ontario universities, has a really progressive social outlook.  I hope I get to take that outlook with me wherever I go.

What are your future plans and aspirations? What do you hope to accomplish?

I hope to stay in academics, ideally cultural studies, actually something I knew very little about before I began at Trent.  Cultural studies is really an amazing discipline, kind of an amalgam of the most interesting stuff from other disciplines, it allows me to dive furthest into what I am most interested while bypassing a lot of the duller stuff.  I guess what I am really interested in is what one calls cultural theory.  If I get to teach that, share that with people that are also enthusiastic about it, I’ll be very happy with myself.