In the restaurant, sitting among a smattering of Hollywood stars, my father started to question me about my postgraduate studies. A self-made master carpenter who had a practical approach to life, a survivor who lost his entire family and never finished high school, let alone an academic degree, because of the war-my father wanted to know why I had to pursue postgraduate studies when I already had an academic degree (B.Arch) and a profession (architect). Not that he was questioning the importance of education; on the contrary, he pushed my two older sisters and me to study constantly throughout our lives. He just wanted to know the nature of postgraduate studies for architects. In his mind, it was practical studies that advanced an architect’s expertise. Enrolled in a critical studies program at UCLA, I had to explain that I was studying history and theory, which would certainly make me a better architect, should I want to practice in the future and not pursue an academic career.