Even way back before classes started, I had ideas about how teaching in China was going to be different than teaching in America. I planned to do a lot of cultural translation, and indeed, I have had to do quite a bit. What I didn’t expect, however, not even when […]
teaching
руÑÑкий Ñзык Ð´Ð»Ñ Ð²Ñех Many years ago, at Phillips Academy, I decided to study Russian. It was my 3rd year in High School and the academic year 1992-1993. The Soviet Union had fallen. Gorbachev was gone. I had seen the Hunt for Red October, but I was not studying Russian […]
The Slowly Liberalizing Arts
3 I have great respect for teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). I’m not one of them, in the sense that I don’t have that training. I do have some training, as an undergraduate, in second language instruction (in fact, among the proudest moments of my life was […]
Teaching and not teaching ESOL
Or, Why I’m going to be 300% nicer to international students and faculty for the Rest of my Life So, yesterday was the first day of teaching at Shanghai International Studies University. I teach only on Wednesdays, which is something of a blessing, in that the campus where I teach […]
Settling In
1 “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” from Sister Outsider I do promise up front that I will not blog with this much specificity about every lesson I plan. But I found this process fascinating, so I hope you will too! When I am being the teacher I dream […]
Transnational Lesson Planning: Audre Lorde
It’s getting down to the wire now. I have moved out of my house, in favor of subletters who are hopefully (A) very happy and (B) not breaking anything I like too much. I am down in the city of my birth visiting family, which is nice. My bags are […]
Shanghai Approaches, or I approach Shanghai
When I first submitted my first draft of my first dissertation proposal (not one that would in any way resemble what my dissertation came to be), my then-advisor said something that has stuck with me. He said (and I paraphrase, it’s been a few years), you’ve really set yourself a […]
New Deviations
Arts and Crafts in my American Literature Classroom Note: I don’t post about teaching much, not because I don’t want to, but because the privacy issues are complex. Today, a fun exception! This week my American Novel class worked on “Bartleby, the Scrivener” (I know, it’s a stretch to call […]
Teaching American Literature with Arts and Crafts!
I’m giving a talk at Suffolk University on Thursday. 1PM. I hope to see you there! They made a lovely flyer. Click here to see or download it (pdf). For the quick facts: “My Dreams is Censoredâ€: Poverty & Women in Black Artemis’ Picture Me Rollin’ Thursday, December 2nd at […]
I have a flyer!
We’ve all had it. The blank page. The blank screen. Not so long ago, for me, it was a blank unlined sheet of white paper with a fast-growing trellis of little leaves  and flowers scrolling around the edge. More recently, it has been a blank Scrivener page  or Mellel  document. […]