Ah yes…today was a blogging day. I should say it was a good day for blogging. But, alas, I had no time (it’s the last day of the semester here) and now I am to tired to reconstruct. Not to mention the fact that I have a whole lot of papers yet to grade. So, in an attempt to prevent some of my thoughts from vanishing into the void, here are a few snippets of what I wanted to write on today:
The limits of judgment. In particular, judgment as exercised by liberal/progressive folks. Here I am talking about the way that so many folks on the left side of the fence seem to equate “judging” with action. I want to review several episodes of a radio call-in show such as Radio Times out of WHYY in Philly and examine how so many callers who self identify (or demonstrate themselves to be) as “liberal” show a very limited understanding of public argument. This is a similar line of thought that Lakoff
discusses in progressives misguided belief in certain Enlightenment-informed assumptions–such as “the facts speak for themselves.” [taking a break...Rowan is crying] Other points of connection. Public arguments made in university spaces–public forums, organizations, meetings.
Elephant in the room. Limits of “the process” and the ways in which problematic behaviors/practices are systematically reproduced by silence. Or, when an institution looks the other way and the kind of justifications given for not doing the right thing.
Podcasting ideas–Fictions of English departments and state schools. Short takes on writing. Academic literacy narratives.
I can’t believe it’s already November 19th. Wow. Since Rowan was born, my days and weeks have felt like one huge blur–no doubt aided by some serious sleep deprivation. I didn’t realize how far I was off my game until this week when I started to get back into a quasi sleep/work routine. So, here I am…welcoming myself back to CwD.
For all you fans of Rowan, you’ll be happy to know that my little cannonball is breaking the 13 pound barrier this week. Yup. The kid’s doing some serious growing. There are days I come home from work and could swear that he grew while I was gone. Incredible. I was hoping to upload some new photos today, but the batteries in my camera died just as I inserted the cable into the USB port of my computer. So, perhaps later.
Since I’ve been away so long, here’s a little update on what I’ve been up to:
Changing a lot of diapers. Surprise, surprise.
Making up songs to sing to Rowan. There’s the “Me and You,” Juno-inspired song and the latest “Rowan Likes to Walk Around.” I’ve been making my way through Kimya Dawson’s new CD, Alphabutt, which is all the inspiration I need to believe that I too can produce a kids album some day.
Thinking about my next book project. Working title: Barring the Impossible. Since Democracies to Come: Rhetorical Action, Neoliberalism, and Communities of Resistance was published in May, I have focused my conference proposals/papers on moments of rhetorical intervention–vote of no confidence against our university president, union strike preparation, campaign to save the Early Learning Center at KU–and I’ve continued to explore intervening in “micro-negotiations of hegemony” in my teaching. Barring the Impossible will begin there.
Finished reviewing all applications for our tenure-track hire in Composition. Booked flight to San Franscisco for MLA, December 27-30. Interviews will be conducted there.
Finished writing my new course proposal, “Rhetoric, Democracy, Advocacy” It will go to the department for review/approval in December and then on to the college and university curricular committees.
Continue to pray that my Honda Civic with 195,000 miles on it is good for another 50,000.
Have found some amazing sites for toy robots to add to the CRLS robot arm.
Figuring out the best–and easiest–way to develop a comp/rhet podcast for our program–students are being VERY helpful!
Attempting to make my way around the new channel line-up since Sirius merged with XM.
That’s a little window into my world at least. There is so much that I’ve wanted to write lately…here’s hoping that with Rowan sleeping a good 5 hours a night these days that I’ll be able to get back to at least a weekly visit to CwD.
Here’s a message posted to our faculty listserv today by our very own Amy Lynch-Biniek. Given the persistent discussions of cutting “temporary” faculty lines, this seems particularly timely: Dear Colleague: The Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW) http://www.academicworkforce.org/Members.html has released an issue brief calling for improvements in the […]
What are you burning to tell the world? Share it at the KUCC! The sixth annual KU Composition Conference will be held on Thursday, April 8th. This year’s theme is Composing Ourselves. Here are some the themes suggested in our Call for papers: Themes of identity, especially how we compose ourselves in text, image, [...] […]
On January 12, I lead a workshop through the KU Center for the Enhancement of Teaching called “Facing the Challenges of Writing Intensive Courses.” I proposed this workshop in response to the probable inclusion of WI courses across departments that will be ushered in with the upcoming reform of our general education program. What’s [...] […]
On January 29th, our little composition and rhetoric group will be having a full-day retreat. It will be our first official retreat and it couldn’t come at a better time. With several new courses on the books, a program in the final stages of approval, and a load of ideas about where we go from here, [...] […]
Speaking of MLA, I saw this article on Inside Higher Ed about a panel there and thought I’d pass the link on: What direction for Rhet-Comp? http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/30/comp#Comments Seems like a good read as we prepare our courses for next semester, plus there’s a very spirited discussion in the comments section that bears reading as well. […]
Three treatment strategies that doctors had expected would prevent heart attacks among people with Type 2 diabetes have proven to be ineffective or even harmful. […]
Premier Wen Jiabao charged that the developed world seeks to force unfair changes in China’s economic policies “just for the purposes of increasing their own exports.” […]
Israeli forces arrested a senior Hamas figure after a raid in Ramallah, the seat of the West Bank-based Palestinian government, the Israeli military said. […]
, which is all the inspiration I need to believe that I too can produce a kids album some day.
was published in May, I have focused my conference proposals/papers on moments of rhetorical intervention–vote of no confidence against our university president, union strike preparation, campaign to save the Early Learning Center at KU–and I’ve continued to explore intervening in “micro-negotiations of hegemony” in my teaching. Barring the Impossible will begin there.
to Rowan.
