Grammar & Empowermentalism

(Courses w/o Borders Series)
 
“What do you think of ‘grammar,’ Sam?”
a student in my Humania Class asks, possibility
curious as to my apparent  disregard, disrespect,
my many errors both typological & neglectful—
as if  maybe I don’t care enough to send the
very best.

Grammar. The word has an etymological
connection with Scottish “glamour.” It stands
for an underlying organization of a system, any
system: pick your system: the grammar of science,
for example. The grammar of art. The grammar of
Warren  Wilson, the grammar of this class. The
grammar of skiing, kayaking, skateboarding,  banjo.
The grammar of  domestic violence. The grammar
of  empowerment.

Of course I'm interested in  GRAMMAR. 
Love it.

Consider the Grammar of GAME, for example.
                    
                        II.  Structures & Contexts
     I.                      (stereo-types) courts, boards
  Deep Rules                                  tracks, arenas
  common to         III  any particular
  any and all                game-going-on
  GAMES                   in performance
(archetypes)        (allo-typical variations)

Or consider the Grammar of  Computer
Programming:

                 II translator language
I. Program
language           III User-Friendly
                                    language

These examples parallel Chomsky's model for
a generative/transformational grammar that
 provides a way of talking about how-it-is
that an infinite number of sentences can
be generated from a finite set of rules
and structures

Not to be conflated, collapsed and  confused
with traditional “school-room” prescriptive
grammars that tell about complete sentences
and fragments, comas, colons & semi-colons,
phrases & clauses, split infinities and  dangling
elements so you know how to dress your
sentences for fancy balls & inaugurations,
business interviews & recommendations,
resumes  power-determining encounters &
not be wearing the wrong punctuational
clothing. .

Not that there's anything wrong with that. .
But we needn’t wear  tuxedos working
the garden, true? Generating our
Local Food production.  

Surface grammar:
how to regulate & control
those infinite utterances that are
generated any be-here-now moment in
performance, in game, in play:  part of the
surface empowermental agenda.  .

As opposed to deep generative
and transformational grammar that
suggests how such infinity is generated:
born out of a violently reduced and finite
dynamic All the complexity collapsed and
conflated to a triad, really.


                                         
            structures   (like this analogue)
     rules   Surface production   
 s -- np vp                             infinite—like: you can
np-- (det) n                            generate endless country
vp--v (np)                             western and rockNroll
like that linear                                      songs our of a 3 chord progression
arrangement:                                        and some rule theory re “chord.”


Ecologists use the same model, I suspect.when they
talk of a DEEP ECOLOGY, as opposed to some
particular forest management plan, or some village
sustainability scheme. Empowerementalists might
could consider the same differentiation between
I)    the Deep Generative,
II)   the Transformative &
III ) the surface play of Power
(it's infinite manifestations &
embodimentalisms). 

Grammar!

xxxooo, Sam