Category Archives: Writing

Am I Good at Critical University Studies?

Is activist scholarship like all scholarship: meant to be judged? I’m wondering because, thanks to my CUNY colleagues, more than ever I feel connected to the activist field of Critical University Studies. Critical University Studies aims to intervene in higher … Continue reading

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Tomorrow We Revise: November 2016

Dear Readers, Tomorrow my writing class meets. I can’t wait. I teach literature too and love wrestling with how reading works in our world. But it’s a week into worry for what might happen to this country and to my college and … Continue reading

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Congratulations Award Winners: Now Here’s Your Writing Assignment

On November 10, 2015, I was the guest speaker for the Induction Ceremony of the Golden Key Honors Society at Lehman College, CUNY.  Here’s what I said: Congratulations! Thank you so much or having me here and for giving me … Continue reading

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Teaching is Embarrassing: Manifesto on Higher Education for the Start of 2015

On September 16, for Convocation at Lehman College, I was honored to be awarded Teacher of the Year.  I gave a one minute acceptance speech.  I hope this serves as a welcome back to the blog and to the new … Continue reading

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September: Already Gone, Always to Return

Welcome (back?) after a long hiatus. My first post for the 2014 academic year was published on another site–the AEPL blog: The Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning–thanks for the opportunity. Perpetual September: On Being a Beginner in an Age … Continue reading

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Inventing Critical University Studies

Every time a student sits down to write for us, he has to invent the university for the occasion–invent the university, that is, or a branch of it, like history or anthropology or economics or English. The student has to … Continue reading

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Can Outcomes Matter in Humanities Courses? Two Drafts of a Paper

Assignment: Compose an analytical essay about your experiences in this first semester of college.  What might these courses help you do in your future? Draft One-Nov 8, 2013 I am not taking any class this semester other than this English … Continue reading

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After Sabbatical: Beginning Again and Bob Dylan

Ten months of almost weekly chronicling what was my sabbatical felt like the right thing to do.  It had purpose: writing was to keep me on track. Since I had no place to be—no classroom, no archives in Europe or … Continue reading

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Teaching and a Trip to the Gramsci Monument: August in The Bronx

When August 1st arrives, it’s always a shock.  But this August 1st bring something more than shock. It brings recognition: back to reality. Today marks the first day of my last month before sabbatical ends and I return, after a … Continue reading

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Leaning In and Moving On: A Seat at the Writing Table

Like everyone other woman in a certain place in life, I am reading Lean In by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.  This is Sandberg’s manifesto on why feminism has stalled.  She argues that women don’t assert themselves enough, don’t demand “a … Continue reading

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