In my freshman writing class, my job is to teach students how to write a researched essay. I encourage students to pick topics that interest them, but I warn them that if they go into their project already convinced that one answer is correct (that euthanasia should/should not be legal, that abortion is murder/healthcare, that…
Similar:"Jewish priests do this. It's where Leonard Nimoy got the Vulcan sign," says the geekling,…CultureFULL BLOOM at Latrobe’s Olde Main, Aug 30-Sep 2.CultureA vacation minibar story from 20 years ago.PersonalInterior Detail of Steampunk Convertible Gazebo Spent much of Tuesday wrestling with co…AestheticsThe Toulmin model for analyzing arguments came up at a faculty pedagogy workshop today.…
Similar:Jerz Nerdcation 2013On a visit to the Washington DC area for…CultureStage Right's "The Secret Garden": Performing with My Talented Daughter This weekend has been magical. Frida…CultureNot bad for a couple hours of work. #blender3d #blender3dart #steampunk #neovictorianNot bad for a couple hours of work. #ble…AestheticsThere are many Star Wars references in Dani Girl, so I…
On this date in 1999, I first dated an entry in the collection of web links I had been curating since at least that January. Similar:In December 2000, I was blogging about typeface snobbery, freedom in video game spaces, th…In December 2000, I was blogging about …AestheticsCarolyn is in PICT Classic Theatre adaptation of Oliver…
Above is my response to a meme that makes some shaky assumptions about the purpose of an English classroom. Exploring the intent of the author is a huge part of the English discipline, but it’s far from the only way to study (or teach) literature. Author intent, new historicism, reader-response, structuralism… the list goes on.…
I can sympathize with the sentiment, but the top part of this meme (the white text on black background) is not how I’d frame the situation. My take (which I’ve added underneath the original) is that when two sources disagree, assuming that one must be right and the other must be wrong is a form…
This fascinating essay, by the grandchild of a Nigerian slave trader, explores a complex cultural legacy. At least as provocative as “Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other?” and the stunning, bitter “Molasses to Rum (to Slaves)” from the otherwise cheery musical 1776. African intellectuals tend to blame the West for the slave…
My wife Leigh received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant towards producing the small-cast drama Full Bloom. She’s found a good space and found the right cast, and so we’re doing the whole crazy “Hey, let’s put on a show” thing again! If you’re within shouting distance, and you think the arts should matter…
This is why journalism matters: The Atlantic offers a good overview of the confusing fact that the official transcripts published by the White House and the Russian government don’t match the video. Compare this transcript, of what actually happened, to the White House’s version. Here is the record of what took place, starting with the…
We’re all still reeling from Trump’s statement yesterday that he “didn’t see any reason why it would be” true that Russia had meddled with the US election. Standing there next to Putin, he publicly rejected the positions of multiple US intelligence authorities. Today, in the face of blistering criticism from foes and friends alike, including…
I have always taken a neutral stance in my journalism classes, modeling the objective nature of reporting the news “without fear or favor.” I shall continue to uphold reporting designed to publish objective truth, and criticize and expose exaggeration, rumor, wishful thinking, and outright lies presented in the guise of truth. This fall, I…
When a Facebook friend asked for tips on teaching a large class, I inventoried what I’ve learned about the flipped classroom. For the classes I teach on a regular basis, sometimes online and sometimes in-person, I’ve had many opportunities to develop stand-alone resources that I reuse. For example, I’ve recorded some stand-alone audio lectures on…
Journalist Sam Husseini, who had been holding a sign that said “Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty,” was forcibly removed from the Trump/Putin press briefing in Helsinki today.
10 points to CNN’s Oliver Darcy for working both “when asked about” and “this reporter” into a news story that was not written by a supporting character in a 1940s gangster flick. When asked by this reporter how the company could claim it was serious about tackling the problem of misinformation online while simultaneously allowing…
Similar:Students whom I haven't met yet… Students whom I haven’t met yet, I’l…AcademiaMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignPoint Park cancels 'The Adding Machine: The Musical' after student objections to offensive…Citing student objections to offensive c…AcademiaVisiting my parents. Admiring their original Hallmark Enterprise Christmas ornament. I ask…AmusingThe Sacramentality of Teaching and LearningFor the one-credit journalism class that…AcademiaActors can't play…
Similar:Let there be light The Irish have a weakness for puns, …AestheticsBrian Williams is Giving NBC an Opportunity to Bravely Break with TraditionNBC has a marketing decision to make, no…BusinessThe girl's entrance as Marley's Ghost.PersonalMy colleague Dr. Cusick bakes Irish soda bread every year to honor Saint Patrick's Day.AcademiaHow The Language Of Special Education Is…
In my lit and writing classes, I regularly encounter STEM students who are frustrated because I won’t deliver a lecture that tells them “what the poem means” and then give them points for spitting back the “correct answer.” Likewise, when I teach a math unit in my journalism class, I regularly encounter word-oriented students who…
I don’t click on headlines that use words like “might be” or “possibly.” Journalists are not in the business of reporting what might happen. Neither do they repeat rumors. A thing is not necessarily true just because a source — such as the neighborhood busybody, a crook caught red-handed, a prankster, or the President of the…
At the Carnegie Museum of Art. Similar:Brand new chairs for PICT draw applause.PersonalThornton Wilder’s Optimistic Catastrophe: “The Skin of Our Teeth”From a review of a 2017 production in Br…CultureDetails on the disappearance of the Utah monolith Mr. Bernards, 34, of Edwards, Colo., w…Art1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell's 1984Long before the Apple ad, and Michael…
This painting was inspired by the scene from Henry VI Part 2 that Carolyn used for her Shakespeare monologue last year. Similar:On the Hatred of LiteratureGoing back to Plato—perhaps the first ha…AcademiaSpotted: the North American tree daughter.NatureHow Star Wars was saved in the editI learned a lot while watching this vide…AestheticsTraditional Reporters and Data-driven Analysts…