I have now been identified as a conservative defender of a conservative canon because I said that: 1) being actively engaged in a field via research was different, and deeper, than being able to pinch-hit in it by covering an undergraduate couse in it; 2) researchers and specialists were resources for the university, not just … More In Which I Am A Conservative Canon-Defender
You are incredibly rude and condescending to women. In fact, your behavior borders on the boorish. I need to remember to explain this you this clearly next time you do it to me, instead of talking back with my usual “Stop it, do not be so silly, listen to what I am saying, we have … More Dear Whiteman
I My intermediate level class, an introduction to literature, is bombing and it is in part because those who can read, do not want to, and those who want to, cannot. I have been using an anthology for this class and it is the one used for such classes nationwide. Up until now it has worked rather well but … More On Being and Not
Once upon a time there existed the Ladies Against Women, a satirical group. Now, as I sweat out tonight’s election results (in which I am not rooting for either a Woman or a Lady, unless Barack Obama is indeed a woman), I am creating the Women Against Ladies. This is because there are far too … More Women Against Ladies
I see ever more clearly what the mechanism of Reeducation was. The a priori assumptions were that one could not know what one felt or what was real, and that one should not do or think anything which could be construed as taking control. The resultant degree of doubt was overwhelming. Since no perception or … More Savagery
In one of my classes all the women are married with children, and their husbands are the ones who work outside the home. They all agree that their husbands should do no housework because they are the only ones bringing in money. They also point out that their brothers are better students than they because … More Gender Roles
So I am very pleased with this semester and with my prospects for the medium term future since I have won a useful prize. Still, for what may be worth to others (for me it is worthwhile as a career analysis exercise), and because I spoke from my space of dedication in the recent meme(s) … More YURPIE™
Obama has won more primaries and my new Obamaholism, as the Field Negro puts it, is waxing. And if teaching for change had ever been my first priority in life, I would have done something like this and not what I do now. I am considering doing it. No, I am not. Because I am … More Becoming a Professor
I have begun reading Dambudzo Marechera’s The Black Insider, a type of novel. My alter ego promised the Paper Chaser to read Thus Spake Zarathustra in 2008, and told A Room of Our Own she would read Bleak House. By reading these three books, I am sure one can learn a great deal. Also on … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Marechera, and Big Plans!
These are my sentiments, exactly. And when I write academically I often feel engulfed by other peoples’ papers, piled on all sides and high above my head. This is a rich feeling for a beginning, if you are interested in what you are working on. It is a discouraging one if you are not. I … More Escritura
