Details from the author’s life are not the magic ticket to “correct” interpretations in literature class

Students who are new to college literature classes often value literary biography very highly, expecting that one of their tasks is to spot one-to-one relationships between the literary texts and the personal lives of the authors. For instance, from the two Sylvia Plath poems that use Nazi imagery to describe troubled relationships with paternal figures,…

My schedule every Friday this term. (Payback for teaching a course over Christmas break.)

  Similar:Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice is my literary crush.)PersonalIt's a thing to do.PersonalIf you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.AcademiaTeaching myself the #Unity3D game engine. Each step requires a lot of focused attention. I… Teaching myself the #Unity3D game engi…AestheticsKeeping things in the proper perspective at 4Cs: Praise…

AmLit Rescue — Scratch Game

A student in my “American Literature: 1915-Present” class used the medium of a 2D graphic adventure game to deliver her multimodal final project. (Students also wrote a traditional term paper.) You are the cameraman of a new TV show based on Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.” But things quickly go downhill when a…

Updating a handout I originally wrote in 1998. #tech #writing

A mechanism description analyzes (that is, subdivides into components for further scrutiny) an object in space. When you try to organize your major subsections, if no other obvious pattern seems appropriate, you can always fall back on the more-important-to-less-important strategy. Don’t sell the object. A technical writer is not required to persuade the reader that the object is wonderful,…

Getting to the Point in Academic Writing

Don’t spend three pages establishing that some people burn to death, some people freeze to death, and some people drown. Start by saying what we need to do now that the iceberg we are stranded on has caught fire.   Similar:Highlighters and Intellectual Growth in CollegeTucked away in this article on how to av…AcademiaCarnegie Science…

Playing a well-dressed bad guy.

  Similar:Look at the unusual colors chosen by the three Russian cosmonauts who just arrived at the …PersonalToday's 10 sq cm of a #steampunk control panel (background greebles for a personal project…AestheticsMy college writing students are out making short videos responding to a prompt.While my students are out of the room ma…AcademiaCarolyn, Easter 2017 PersonalPrime Stage…

Father-daughter bonding between takes.

That’s a prop knife in my right hand. Similar:Advising incoming majors.AcademiaImpact of One-size-fits-all Web DesignI don’t particularly miss the splash lan…BusinessMerchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytimeDramaChess again with my son.GamesWhen you see a show alone often you can get really good seats. Idaspe @quantumtheatreCultureTop deck of a #neovictorian #steampunk cruiser needs an airlock…

Younger friends, can you write or read cursive? I’m curious.

Similar:Faculty/staff orientation begins @setonhilluniversity PersonalHow to Deal With 2016 DespairDon’t let a TV screen make you live a li…CultureDax (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 7) Jadzia Dax faces the legal consequences …Rewatching ST:DS9 Dax is apprehended …CultureLog Off, You Losers! Electronic Flatulence Must Cease!”Put your hands in your laps. Close your…AcademiaHelvetica Bold Oblique Sweeps FontysHelvetica…

When we play Star Trek Monopoly, I am the Captain’s chair.

  Similar:This image of Mark Zuckerberg says so much about our futureA billionaire superman with a rictus gri…BusinessNo, Kirk and Uhura didn't share the first interracial kiss on televisionSee Also: Star Trek: The Next Gener…CultureThe boy wins once again. #chessGamesDown with Fake Politics! Down with Fake Government! Long Live the Free Press!You can’t get much…

Tonight’s Supermoon.

Similar:Today's 10 sq cm of retro #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsSoldiers and Sailors Memorial and Museum Another visit to Pittsburgh with my his…CultureRelics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 4) When a huge hollow sphere traps a Sco…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D tr…AmusingAnd now that June’s almost over, it’s time to start prepping for the fall…

My parents doing their daily crossword.

I’m spending a few days visiting my parents in Northern Virginia. Similar:How do you know when your #steampunk fantasy cruiser has enough lamps? #blender3d #unity3dhttps://youtube.com/shorts/YF3z91jL7Pc …AestheticsParadise Blue (so glad to be seeing more live theater lately)PersonalThat’s water under the bridge! Crowds of NPCs charge across, sweeping the player along. G…That’s water under the bridge! Crowds…

Consciousness: Where Are Words?

Words, words, words. With the advent of the stream of consciousness in twentieth-century literature, it has come to seem that the self is very much a thing made of words, a verbal construction forever narrating itself and reconstituting itself in language. In line with the dominant, internalist view of consciousness, it is assumed that this…

Merry Christmas 2017

  Similar:Okay, freshly downloaded app…Okay, freshly downloaded app, If you are…CybercultureThe girl will be dancing as the Gold Fairy in Laurel Ballet's Sleeping Beauty tonight… PersonalTransfigurations (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 25) Injured Humanoid Charm…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….MediaFanciful Fun in Theatre Factory’s “The Fantasticks”A great review from Pittsburgh in the Ro…CultureI'm not showing you…