In the last few days, I've seen wonderful things happen to good people I know. One person I know just received news that he'll be attending a fully funded seminar in Thailand at their Peace Conflict Center. He was told the selection process was very competitive. I'm very happy for his success in this endeavor. Dr. Catherine Quick was just told that the National Writing Project will be coming to the Coastal Bend, and she will be the director. We did many high fives when she told me the news.
I was rereading the chapter, where Martin supports Lynn's decision to go to New Mexico and reviewing the photographs of their happy family. They're always smiling and close together. I admire the relationship between Martin and Lynn. They celebrate each other's accomplishments and encourage one another's career choices. I suppose this is why I enjoy the book so much. It is written by a good person who also happens to be an accomplished academic. I know she's a good person not just by her words in this book but because of an act of random kindness that she bestowed on me a few years ago. She read my book, and she wrote me a wonderful note telling me that she enjoyed it. Here was a total stranger e-mailing me to say these kind words about a book that I put my heart and soul into for many years.
What if academia were filled with individuals like Lynn Bloom? We could imagine what would happen to the gang of four that Lynn talks about in her early career days. There would be quite a bit of gang busting going on or may they wouldn't want to form a gang.
What I admire about Lynn is her courage. She's a decent person with a lot of courage, and it took her a long way in her career and a person to admire. She represents what can be good in academia and why we might want to stick around. The ivory tower doesn't have to be ivory or a tower if we have decency and courage--and, maybe, a little of the personal mixed in.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Revisiting Tech Writing
Reading Gian is a bit spooky when it comes to some of his experiences and mine. I already mentioned my first publication on Updike's Rabbit novels and there I see Gian talking about his familiarity with the author as he relates to personal writing. I see many other parallels as well.
One that stuck out was his experiences with technical writing. Maybe, some of you know that I sometimes teach the 3301 course on Professional Report Writing. At the Sigma Tau Delta meeting last night, I sat with two students who had taken the 3301 class with me. They asked what other courses I taught, and their mouths dropped when I told them that I was teaching Autobiography and the Personal Essay this semester. I also told them I was teaching African American literature next semester. They found it hard to believe that this technical writing teacher could switch gears and focus on more "creative" classes. I used to be proud that I could switch gears and put on my technical writing hat after coming straight from a literature or autobiography class. I had a couple of undergrad students who took the 3301 and Latino/a lit class with me the same semester. They said I was almost a different person. Oh, what high praise for such a versatile professor--a professor of all things. I was so full of myself in this regard until I read Gian's chapter on "Telling Work Legends."
Journal writing in tech writing? Uh, oh, the guilt cloud started to descend as I realized that I should have been doing this in tech writing--the personal essay scholar should have known the benefits to 3301 students, yet she tried to play the part of the traditional technical writing professor to fit in. I guess I'm reverting to 3rd person to distance myself from "that" person. I have to admit there has been a lot of serendipity going on this semester. I read Gian again today, my former students remind me of my versatility, I re-examine that "false" sense of versatility that I've created for myself. Reality hits! What a fraud I've been!
Why the heck haven't I introduced what I know and what I believe in my technical writing students? As they're working on their different portfolios "Writing on the Job," "Writing to Get a Job," and "Writing to Fill a Need," what an ideal opportunity it would be for journaling to better understand their career decisions and how they interact with community members to fill their needs. I know the class is jam packed with readings and projects, but we need to carve out a space for this type of daily or weekly journals. "Writing to Fill a Need" is a project where they meet members of our community and must help them fulfill a need. It's a difficult project to say the least--one that requires constant reflection to understand their multiple audiences as is the case for most service learning/community outreach endeavors. I hear many stories of breakthroughs and frustrations, but it would be nice to see it in written form to help them grasp some of these thoughts and work through it.
Gian gave me a good kick in reminding me what I'm supposed to be all about, and I will take this into account the next time I teach this course. Thanks, Gian, for the reminder.
One that stuck out was his experiences with technical writing. Maybe, some of you know that I sometimes teach the 3301 course on Professional Report Writing. At the Sigma Tau Delta meeting last night, I sat with two students who had taken the 3301 class with me. They asked what other courses I taught, and their mouths dropped when I told them that I was teaching Autobiography and the Personal Essay this semester. I also told them I was teaching African American literature next semester. They found it hard to believe that this technical writing teacher could switch gears and focus on more "creative" classes. I used to be proud that I could switch gears and put on my technical writing hat after coming straight from a literature or autobiography class. I had a couple of undergrad students who took the 3301 and Latino/a lit class with me the same semester. They said I was almost a different person. Oh, what high praise for such a versatile professor--a professor of all things. I was so full of myself in this regard until I read Gian's chapter on "Telling Work Legends."
Journal writing in tech writing? Uh, oh, the guilt cloud started to descend as I realized that I should have been doing this in tech writing--the personal essay scholar should have known the benefits to 3301 students, yet she tried to play the part of the traditional technical writing professor to fit in. I guess I'm reverting to 3rd person to distance myself from "that" person. I have to admit there has been a lot of serendipity going on this semester. I read Gian again today, my former students remind me of my versatility, I re-examine that "false" sense of versatility that I've created for myself. Reality hits! What a fraud I've been!
Why the heck haven't I introduced what I know and what I believe in my technical writing students? As they're working on their different portfolios "Writing on the Job," "Writing to Get a Job," and "Writing to Fill a Need," what an ideal opportunity it would be for journaling to better understand their career decisions and how they interact with community members to fill their needs. I know the class is jam packed with readings and projects, but we need to carve out a space for this type of daily or weekly journals. "Writing to Fill a Need" is a project where they meet members of our community and must help them fulfill a need. It's a difficult project to say the least--one that requires constant reflection to understand their multiple audiences as is the case for most service learning/community outreach endeavors. I hear many stories of breakthroughs and frustrations, but it would be nice to see it in written form to help them grasp some of these thoughts and work through it.
Gian gave me a good kick in reminding me what I'm supposed to be all about, and I will take this into account the next time I teach this course. Thanks, Gian, for the reminder.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
talking about the recession through family stories
After reading Living the Narrative Life this week, I thought about how my parents have talked about the recession in their conversations with me. Of course, the recession is in all our thoughts. How can we avoid thinking about it when the topic is an endless conversation in the media and among politicians that permeates into our personal conversations with others? We're studying autobiographies of the depression in the Autobiography class right now (it's coincidentally time to discuss it in our course schedule), and the personal stories abound from students. And why shouldn't it? We don't have to be economic experts or financial analysts to see what is going on around us. If Fortune Magazine during the 30s had a social conscience and sent numerous well known reporters like James Agee and Walker Evans to find the hardship stories and report the stories in narrative style, then I suppose we might bring business issues to an English classroom and tell these issues in stories.
My father, given his research in the stock market for years, tells his stories through various reports or congressional hearings he's heard on C-SPAN. My father's stories are more logical and clinical in explaining what's happening in our economy, but they're still a series of stories told with all these bits of accumulated and synthesized information in his head. My mother's stories are more like what Gian Pagnucci talks about in his book. They're stories about coming together as a community when the going gets tough--stories about her mother's ways of helping others while still giving them this sense of dignity. My grandmother owned a farm in the depression years. Several town members who weren't doing so well financially came to her and asked if they could fish on her property, where a river ran through it. She said this was fine if they gave her half of what they caught. They did so, and then she would make these wonderful dishes using the fish. Everyone then sat down and had a delicious meal. The same was true with the game. So, my mother tells these stories of the past to advise us on how to manage the present. Both my mother's stories and father's stories seem quite helpful and compatible.
I wonder what happens to academic writing during a recession. Do academic writers want to tell more stories? Will this happen? Do English folks have something to contribute through stories during this time that other folks may want to hear? What are our roles as academic storytellers to our colleagues, our students, our families? I shared with you my tribute to my aunt last session. Are there some connections in our responsibility as writers?
My father, given his research in the stock market for years, tells his stories through various reports or congressional hearings he's heard on C-SPAN. My father's stories are more logical and clinical in explaining what's happening in our economy, but they're still a series of stories told with all these bits of accumulated and synthesized information in his head. My mother's stories are more like what Gian Pagnucci talks about in his book. They're stories about coming together as a community when the going gets tough--stories about her mother's ways of helping others while still giving them this sense of dignity. My grandmother owned a farm in the depression years. Several town members who weren't doing so well financially came to her and asked if they could fish on her property, where a river ran through it. She said this was fine if they gave her half of what they caught. They did so, and then she would make these wonderful dishes using the fish. Everyone then sat down and had a delicious meal. The same was true with the game. So, my mother tells these stories of the past to advise us on how to manage the present. Both my mother's stories and father's stories seem quite helpful and compatible.
I wonder what happens to academic writing during a recession. Do academic writers want to tell more stories? Will this happen? Do English folks have something to contribute through stories during this time that other folks may want to hear? What are our roles as academic storytellers to our colleagues, our students, our families? I shared with you my tribute to my aunt last session. Are there some connections in our responsibility as writers?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
autobiography and understanding "Americans"
Like many of us, I’ve been incessantly watching the news these days. I’m sure many of us have been cognizant of this blending, and it impacts our discussions in classes. This is particularly true in classes that address the personal. Some of you may know that I’m teaching an undergraduate Autobiography class this semester.
We study many “American” autobiographical narratives from the 16th century to the present. Some of the autobiographers we’ve covered so far include Mary Rowlandson, Elisabeth Ashbridge, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Burroughs, Jarena Lee, Frederick Douglass, William Goss, P.T. Barnum, Jack London, Mary Antin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and we’re currently studying James Agee. I’m sure that I’ve forgotten a few that we’ve covered in class. We’re also studying autobiographical scholarship on these different time periods that are predominantly situated in historical issues. What I find fascinating is how these narratives are making their way into current political and economic discussions. During past times when I’ve taught this class, the conversations more frequently centered on the readings or sharing cuentos (personal stories) from our lives or other lives. However, this class is consistently drawing connections between what these autobiographical figures say in their narratives that connects with our current state of affairs.
What I see are their interpretations of what we’re experiencing now within the personal historical context of these previous autobiographers. They see the value in understanding “Americans” through the personal. During this critical time when the media and other talking heads are trying to figure out what “Americans” will do or what they’re all about, I sometimes wish we could submerge them in these autobiographical voices from the past. From the outside, certain people make assumptions about the uselessness of studying autobiographies or claim that it is so “nonartistic” and “nonliterary.” However, in these times, maybe we need to pay attention to autobiographies since it offers significant insights on what “Americans” are all about.
We study many “American” autobiographical narratives from the 16th century to the present. Some of the autobiographers we’ve covered so far include Mary Rowlandson, Elisabeth Ashbridge, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Burroughs, Jarena Lee, Frederick Douglass, William Goss, P.T. Barnum, Jack London, Mary Antin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and we’re currently studying James Agee. I’m sure that I’ve forgotten a few that we’ve covered in class. We’re also studying autobiographical scholarship on these different time periods that are predominantly situated in historical issues. What I find fascinating is how these narratives are making their way into current political and economic discussions. During past times when I’ve taught this class, the conversations more frequently centered on the readings or sharing cuentos (personal stories) from our lives or other lives. However, this class is consistently drawing connections between what these autobiographical figures say in their narratives that connects with our current state of affairs.
What I see are their interpretations of what we’re experiencing now within the personal historical context of these previous autobiographers. They see the value in understanding “Americans” through the personal. During this critical time when the media and other talking heads are trying to figure out what “Americans” will do or what they’re all about, I sometimes wish we could submerge them in these autobiographical voices from the past. From the outside, certain people make assumptions about the uselessness of studying autobiographies or claim that it is so “nonartistic” and “nonliterary.” However, in these times, maybe we need to pay attention to autobiographies since it offers significant insights on what “Americans” are all about.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
My first serious blog
Now, I'm getting down to business. I posted in one of my comments to "banana" that I too have had many failed attempts at keeping a diary or journal. I remember receiving journals as presents from others or buying ones and saying "What a waste of money." Yet, what do I do. I go out and buy 9 journals for $9 and distribute it to the class. Gee, what a hypocrite. I currently have a journal by my bed that I've had for two weeks--two measely entries. I usually say that I'm going to write in it right before I go to bed, but then I'm too tired to record any intelligent thoughts. I know that Villanueva talked about feeling like he was an imposter in Bootstraps. At the moment, I feel like a personal essay scholar imposter even though I've written articles about the personal essay and written some for publication. Isn't a personal essayist supposed to keep a journal or diary and write in it practically every day? Why have I failed in this endeavor?
In the next moment, I question whether a personal essayist must keep a journal. When I think about it, I enjoy personal essay writing because I know someone will eventually read it. I'm a relator who enjoys hearing about others' lives and discovering ways I can connect with them. Maybe, blogging is a way for me to do that on a weekly/daily basis. I know that Montaigne was reported to dictate his essays to his secretary, so there was usually someone always listening to him and responding to his thoughts. Maybe, he was participating in an ancient form of blogging. I don't know. If I can claim that I blog, will this legitimate me in the eyes of the personal essay world? Will I continue blogging after this class or will I lose interest. Time will tell.
In the next moment, I question whether a personal essayist must keep a journal. When I think about it, I enjoy personal essay writing because I know someone will eventually read it. I'm a relator who enjoys hearing about others' lives and discovering ways I can connect with them. Maybe, blogging is a way for me to do that on a weekly/daily basis. I know that Montaigne was reported to dictate his essays to his secretary, so there was usually someone always listening to him and responding to his thoughts. Maybe, he was participating in an ancient form of blogging. I don't know. If I can claim that I blog, will this legitimate me in the eyes of the personal essay world? Will I continue blogging after this class or will I lose interest. Time will tell.
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