A Love Song for Evie Rose: An investigation of health, education, identity, and social change Kim Hershorn A Thesis In the Humanities Doctoral Program Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada September 2008 © Kim Hershorn, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-45662-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-45662-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada ABSTRACT A Love Song for Evie Rose: An Investigation of Health, Education, Identity, and Social Change Kim Hershorn, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2008 This creative investigation revolves around A Love Song for Evie Rose, a semi-autobiographic travel narrative of multiple quests that are part of the same journey: finding a route from pain and illness to wellness; the search for social justice and healthy approaches to social activism; the search for identity and a place to belong; the need to find meaning in the past as well as the future; and the tracing of possible paths to healing the world and the environment, as well as the individual. The investigation of the connection between learning and health is central to this inquiry which comprises a profound reflection on pedagogies of love in both formal and informal education. Excerpted from a longer novel, You Say You Want a Revolution (whose writing was part of the research methodology), the story spans two generations and moves back and forth between several countries and three continents, capturing the political Zeitgeist and history of over three decades from the late sixties to the present. The story of a woman's chronic pain and search for healing is shown against a backdrop of popular culture (especially music) and political unrest that mirrors and often shapes her journey. A series of critical scholarly reflections punctuates, accents, and analyses the series of snapshots and soundbytes that form the narrative, highlighting the intersection and the relationships between personal, social, and political change. The narrative and the accompanying reflections raise and re- iii frame current theoretical questions about health, education, individual and social change, and identities. DEDICATION To my parents, Noreen and Marvin Hershom for their unrelenting love, support, and dedication To my sister, Marny and my brother, Robert for their friendship and for always making me laugh To my PhD supervisor, Dr. Sandra Weber for giving me both the space and the guidance so I could follow my heart ...And to everyone whose hearts have ached and longed for life v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE 1 YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: AN OVERTURE 1 Autobiographic Fiction as Inquiry 2 Travel and Music as Metaphors 3 Health, identity, and Social Change 4 Education and Self-Study (Project Background) 5 Cultural Studies & Cultural Reproduction 11 Krisis-A Turning Point in a Disease 15 Love Stories & the Search for Utopia 20 Love-Songlines (Signposts & Life Literacy) 23 The Unlived Past (Time Travel) 24 Heroes 27 CHARACTER MAPS 32 CHAPTER TWO 34 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION BEFORE EVIE ROSE'S BIRTH (INDIA 1968) 34 Twists of Fate 34 Connecting 35 Serendipity 38 Peace of Mind 41 Salvation (Ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi-Rishikesh, India) 43 Love at First Sight (Lee meets Vita, Montreal 1969) 49 CHAPTER THREE 51 CONTEXT: OUR LONELY PLANET (2003-2008) REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING SOCIAL CHANGE & WELL-BEING 51 vi End Of Days, Act Now 51 Be the Change-New Forms of Politics 59 The Pathological Pursuit of Power 65 The Lonely Planet 70 False Edens & Magic Pills 73 Have You Been to You Yet? 75 Ham Sandwiches & Pig Farms 78 CHAPTER FOUR 85 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION MONTREAL (1980-88) 85 Wishes (Mexico, Christmas Holidays 1980) 85 Others (Evie's Story, Montreal 1982-88; 92 Dishrag (About Evie's Aunt Vita) 95 Another Brick in the Wall (Back to Evie's Story) 98 Against 100 Habit 101 Belonging 103 Meeting John Lennon in a Lucid Dream 106 CHAPTER FIVE 110 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION ISRAEL (1967/1989) 110 Knights (About Adam's Dad, Tom) 110 Evie Rose by Any Other Name (Evie and Adam meet again, Israel 1989) 113 Palindromes 115 Nazis 118 Golden 120 Love & War 122 vii The Hope 123 Fortresses & Wandering Minstrels 127 CHAPTER SIX 132 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION HIGHER EDUCATION-GOING TO UNIVERSITY (1989-92) 132 Flags (los, Greece 1989) 132 Isn't This Where We Came In? (Montreal 1989) 134 Necessary Holocausts 136 Feminist (Spain, summer 1990) 137 Accidents (Holland, summer 1991) 138 Angels 140 Remembering Lost Love (Montreal, winter 1992) 141 What Now? (McGill University, Montreal 1992) 142 CHAPTER SEVEN 145 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION MEXICO (1968-1969/1997-1998) 145 Protest - Mexico 1968 (About Uncle Lee's friends Steve and Laura) 145 Flowers and Songs (Mexico 1969) 146 Survival Strategies (£We arrives in Mexico 1997) 148 Warriors 151 Teachers Meeting (Axoxuca, indigenous village near Tlapa) 155 Faith 157 A Beaten Path - Christmas Trip to the Land of the Maya (South of Mexico-Chiapas, Guatemala) 160 The Chicken Man 163 CHAPTER EIGHT 166 Vlll EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION SOUTH AFRICA (1967/1998-1999) 166 The Struggle, Durban 1967 (About Uncle Lee's friend Nicky) 166 Singing (Evie connects with Nicky, Durban 1998) 172 Dodging 174 Adrenaline 175 Music 178 Legacies 179 Values 181 What Lies Within (Cape Town 1999) 182 Road Kill 185 Namaqualand 187 Fix You 189 CHAPTER NINE 191 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION THAILAND (2001) 191 Khao San Road (Bangkok 2001) 191 Synchronicity 193 Strangeness 196 Men are from Venus 198 Transfer 199 Other Worlds 201 CHAPTER TEN 204 EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION INDIA (2004) 204 Bollywood (Rajasthan 2004) 204 Enjoy! 207 ix Reality 210 Life as Theatre 214 CHAPTER ELEVEN 217 PEDAGOGIES OF LOVE 217 Healing Trauma Culture 218 Embodiment 219 Knowledge, Power & Disconnection 221 Loving Others (Re-Connecting I) 224 The Search for Nature (Re-Connecting II) 225 Pedagogy of Love 228 Human Nature & Utopia 230 Layers of False Identity (More than a Woman) 232 Speaking & Vocal Training 235 Learning, Growth & Creativity 237 EPILOGUE by Evie Rose CODA: AN ARIA ON LIFE, LEARNING & HEALING 239 Survival in the Wilderness & Life in the Garden 240 The Light Always Gets in (Nature, Purpose & Sunshine) 243 Sensing the World (Cellular Memory) 246 Renewal (Healing Myself) 249 Support Systems 251 Princes on White Horses (Autonomy) 252 Transformation 254 The Art of Listening 255 YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION - THE SOUNDTRACK 258 REFERENCES 259 x CHAPTER ONE YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: AN OVERTURE I said I wanted a revolution. But how do you change the world? Revolution implies the turning of something around an axis until it returns to its original position. Although the term has been used to refer to significant political and social changes, many historical revolutions have come round full circle back to the place they started. History notoriously repeats itself. Fifty years after the French Revolution, Alphonse Karr, a writer and editor for the newspaper, Le Figaro wrote these famous words in the January 1849 issue of a satirical monthly review he founded, Les Guepes: "plus ga change, plus c'est la meme chose" (The more things change, the more they remain the same). Was he right? In face of current social and environmental crises on a global scale, the need for change is increasingly apparent—from personal projects of self- development and health, to political activism and environmental advocacy, people everywhere are trying to address the ills of the world. But in the light of Karr's epigram, is it possible to break out of the cycles of historical reproduction? How can the past be used to create a healthier future instead of merely being repeated? Is it at all possible to create something new? Or did King Solomon have a point about three thousand years ago when he lamented that there was nothing new under the sun? The question of how to change things for the better is not only central to this thesis, it has been the driving impetus of my life.