Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Student feedback
From the end-of-semester class comments form filled out by students in Basic Composition, an intro to college writing course:
"I did not find the pier reviews of my essay drafts all that helpful."
"I did not find the pier reviews of my essay drafts all that helpful."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Duck + Horse for America
A duck riding on a horse is once again running for president and this year, I am voting Duck plus Horse for America! They work as a team, for America.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Parents-dissertation "relations" part 1: the nun
My Mom is helping to organize her college reunion and to that end, has been researching in the college archives. The college archives are run by a prof. at the college who, since it's a Catholic women's college, is a PhD and a nun. Mom has become buddies with the archivist/professor/nun and apparently was chatting away, presumably about her kid who is in a history Phd program, one day when the nun* asked what my Phd diss is on.
An e-mail and phone exchange ensued.
Mom: The professor asked some questions and I couldn't respond. What is your dissertation about?
YSA thinking: This is weird. I've been working on the same topic for years...couldn't she at least give a ballpark answer from memory...like, something about Germany (doesn't she remember when I lived in Germany?) And my dissertation even has nuns in it!
YSA: Mom, but you know what my dissertation is about? Remember? Remember the naked dancing nun? And the sex workers and venereal disease legislation!
Mom: Well, can you write that up so that I can send it to the professor?
YSA: Huh? Like a nun-friendly version of my diss?
Mom: Just write something I can send to her.
I wrote a paragraph and sent it to Mom, who sent it to the nun (nuns have e-mail, too). I never heard back from the nun. But all this seemed a little strange. Didn't Mom know what my dissertation was about?
*Mom points out that she's a nun, yes, but also a history professor. But it's hard for me not to think of her as The Nun.
An e-mail and phone exchange ensued.
Mom: The professor asked some questions and I couldn't respond. What is your dissertation about?
YSA thinking: This is weird. I've been working on the same topic for years...couldn't she at least give a ballpark answer from memory...like, something about Germany (doesn't she remember when I lived in Germany?) And my dissertation even has nuns in it!
YSA: Mom, but you know what my dissertation is about? Remember? Remember the naked dancing nun? And the sex workers and venereal disease legislation!
Mom: Well, can you write that up so that I can send it to the professor?
YSA: Huh? Like a nun-friendly version of my diss?
Mom: Just write something I can send to her.
I wrote a paragraph and sent it to Mom, who sent it to the nun (nuns have e-mail, too). I never heard back from the nun. But all this seemed a little strange. Didn't Mom know what my dissertation was about?
*Mom points out that she's a nun, yes, but also a history professor. But it's hard for me not to think of her as The Nun.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Parent-dissertation "relations" prelude
Family, into which one is accidentally born, and dissertation project, which who the hell knows where it came from (in the case of dear K., inspired in a tense moment by a poster that happened to be hanging nearby when she said to herself: "crap, I am meeting my advisor in 20 min., what is my project?") maybe don't think on either side (family, dissertation) that they have much to do with one another.
Oh, but they do.
One story about this that I really like was told me by JAH a few years ago. You know how your family members often identify one thing that you like and then use that as inspiration for holiday/birthday presents for the rest of your life? (As in, my brother-in-law is forever getting golf paraphernalia, as if "golf" were the entirety of his life experience.) JAH's Mom apparently did this with her diss project, which is about Nazi Germany. JAH now, every year, gets Nazi history-themed presents: documentaries about them, books, etc.
One X Mas eve she gazed at the family tree and there, beneath it, was a large package bearing her name and wrapped in white tissue paper through which was visible a giant black swastika. (It turned out to be an enormous encyclopedia or something.)
Merry X Mas!
Oh, but they do.
One story about this that I really like was told me by JAH a few years ago. You know how your family members often identify one thing that you like and then use that as inspiration for holiday/birthday presents for the rest of your life? (As in, my brother-in-law is forever getting golf paraphernalia, as if "golf" were the entirety of his life experience.) JAH's Mom apparently did this with her diss project, which is about Nazi Germany. JAH now, every year, gets Nazi history-themed presents: documentaries about them, books, etc.
One X Mas eve she gazed at the family tree and there, beneath it, was a large package bearing her name and wrapped in white tissue paper through which was visible a giant black swastika. (It turned out to be an enormous encyclopedia or something.)
Merry X Mas!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
End violence against sex workers
December 17 is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.
It's a job, and it shouldn't be such a terribly dangerous job. Making sex work illegal makes it far more dangerous, because sex workers can't call the police for protection.
The murders of 4 women in Atlantic City in 2006 are still unsolved.
It's a job, and it shouldn't be such a terribly dangerous job. Making sex work illegal makes it far more dangerous, because sex workers can't call the police for protection.
The murders of 4 women in Atlantic City in 2006 are still unsolved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)