Archive for March, 2008
new course at OSU: LGBT Studies
I haven’t written about this yet, despite being very excited for it for the last few weeks: My friend Heather, in Women Studies, and I will be co-teaching a new course at OSU, Women Studies 399: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. The course, which starts on Monday(!), is capped at 60, and sometime over [...]
what is a public?
Gregory asked at WQGTDWI What is public?, and I answered. He prompted me to post it as a new post, so I did here, but I thought I’d go ahead and post it here as well, before I get on a bus for Seattle.
Are you familiar with the work of Nancy Fraser? She discusses the [...]
what a finals week!
I just finished grading an hour or so ago and got my grades all in about 15 minutes ago. This is a refreshing feeling!
Especially after working with a student who didn’t know how to properly paraphrase and asking him to re-do his section of his final report, and having to deal with a student who [...]
LiveJournal Content Strike
LiveJournal, a popular blogging and social networking tool, came under new ownership a few months ago (in December, if I remember correctly). I read today that many users are announcing a Content Strike based on some decisions made by the managers. Many users are writing posts announcing that they will not write a post or [...]
childhood’s end
I learned today that Arthur C. Clarke has passed away. The only book I’ve read by him was Childhood’s End, in one of my worst undergraduate literature courses: Science Fiction. I went into this class excited and eager to read some cool stuff. Instead, we had an awkward teacher with strange quirks and had to [...]
yahoo! fantasy sports
I haven’t watched an entire game of basketball all year. Seen a few portions of games, but haven’t really watched a game. But, like last year, I’ve joined Derek’s Yahoo! NCAA Tournament pool. It seems hopeless. Last year I finished 17th out 17. Someone’s got to be the bottom feeder, I suppose.
an ark(?) on the moon?
My friend Nick writes for Universe Today. He wrote a recent article on Plans for a Doomsday Ark on the moon:
If a major catastrophic event like nuclear war or an asteroid strike wipes out most of the humans on the planet, it would be helpful for the survivors to have a record of all the [...]
blackboard survey
I filled out a survey for my Blackboard use for Oregon State today. There wasn’t a single question about alternatives to Blackboard. Not one. The survey pretty much naturalized Blackboard. So I mentioned open source alternatives in each and every open ended question the survey asked. I don’t understand why a university that pours so [...]
notes from the interblags
• Metaspencer links to this master’s thesis on blogging in classrooms. I’ll have to read it sometime soon.
• Steven Krause links to Cory Doctorow’s 17 Tips For Getting Bloggers To Write About You. Good tips for people with websites who want the attention of bloggers.
• Ira Socol discusses the benefits of online information delivery over [...]
Michael Bugeja would have you believe that higher ed costs so much because of technology
Michael Bugeja’s recent article at IHE, “Harsh Realities About Virtual Ones”, attempts to find fault in current uses of technologies at universities, laying the blame on our drive for “engagement” for various problems: rising tuition, a new digital divide, corporate sponsorship, and an increasing interpersonal divide. I think Begeja raises some very valid points, especially [...]
