Sunday, June 3, 2007

Three Beautiful Things 06/03/07: Research, Contact Zone, Jazz

1. I've spent a large portion of today reading student research essay drafts, emailing them back with comments, and then reading Shakespeare and Literature of Comedy essays and emailing them back with comments. Oh! And grades. I've read some beautiful work today. It's been inspiring to see the variety of ways my students come at different questions about labor, poverty, poetry, anarchism, suffering, reconciliation, and a variety of other matters they write about. I think they are learning.

2. K-Doe had some questions about her research and it led me into an online discussion with her about Mary Louise Pratt's lecture/essay "The Arts of the Contact Zone". I haven't assigned this essay for nearly ten years, but our conversation brought so much of it back and I enjoyed finding out I still had my "Contact Zone" chops.

3. XM Satellite Radio's Real Jazz (Channel 70) has become the soundtrack to my life in the study lately and it just quietly sinks into me while I work and I enjoy it deeply.

1 comment:

Dubya said...

Man, I could write loads of literature 'bout comedy. Fact, I'll bet you'd never guess what happens when Uncle Dick asks ya ta pull his finger.