Idea Warehouse

Academic Work

What with publishing my new professional page (http://www.wendywarrenaustin.com), finishing up two manuscript reviews, serving as Editor-at-Large this week for Digital Humanities Now, submitting various applications, and working on my confidential project, I certainly have my work cut out for me, even though I'm not teaching this semester! Whew! Makes me tired just thinking of my TO-DO list!

Gearing Up for Heavy-Duty Writing Times

I have an unusual oppportunity to catch up on my scholarship this semester, so I've been making lists and reading a lot of background material. Having gotten my Ph.D. in the year 2000, I didn't know of any schools that offered a Ph.D. in new media or digital culture. I had long been interested in that area, and I created my own individualized instruction class that I called "Writing for Multimedia" that Dr. Mike Williamson taught, or rather served as instructor of record. I read Landow's book then, before it was revised and updated, I read Jane Yellowlees Douglas's early work, and Colin Brooke's and many others who have continued working in this field. Twice I taught to writing majors at Edinboro an undergraduate version of "Writing for Multimedia," again which I created from the ground up. I taught "Science Writing" as an individualized instruction, and developed a plan for a "New Media Minor" at Edinboro, and received the blessing of the Dean of Liberal Arts to work on it as a multi-disciplinary minor, particularly with the Communication Department, Art Department, and Computer Department. At that time, I did not know (no one outside the department did) that the "Speech and Communciation Dept." was changing its name to the "Dept. of Communication and Media Studies," so I ended up stepping on a few toes as I called the first meeting to explore the possibility of this minor. After smoothing the few ruffled feathers of a few and reassuring everyone that I was hoping this to be an Interdisciplinary Minor, we had our meeting, at which time I suggested that the Communication and Media Studies Dept. take the lead on this. Nothing happened, so the minor when nowhere, but I kept up my contacts with the supporter of this idea.

I was excited to be able to review a new book in this field that was published in Composition Forum, and I made plans to attend the two-week DMAC (Digital Media something something) that started being held at Ohio State right about this time. However, even though I put down my $100 deposit, I couldn't attend that year, hoping to the next one. But, as things worked out, Dan got a job at Northeastern University's School of Law, and we began the difficult process of moving eastward. That's taken quite a long time, but we're here, now, finally (I say this after being here a complete year), and had a lot of weird setbacks along the way, some health-related, some family-related, and many simply hard. The hardest, I think, was leaving Edinboro after being there for 24 years. The last time I shut and locked the door of my office was one of the hardest and saddest moments I had in a long time. Yet, I know I'm not the only one in the world who is part of an academic couple who has to deal with this kind of thing. My way of coping with things like this--as Dan often jokes about/which is true also-- is to go find a book (or 2) on it! But there are none, really, for each situation is different.

So, here we go. New adventures await.

 

BRAWN get-together

Went to a delightful gathering this evening in Cambridge! The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (BRAWN) had a One-Last-Gathering-Before-We-Grade set up at a local bar & grill. I met some very nice people there from a variety of schools with an equally wide variety of interests, but all with a rhetoric/composition/writing degree or job or major. 

Of semesters, American Idol, and resume makeovers

I have taught for so long and have gone to school for so long that I feel time as measured by semesters, rather than months. Dan's quarter system makes me a little confused. I have to ask him all the time when is it over or when does it start, etc., because I don't have that instinctive feel for the educational time measures in quarters. Should be easier but it's not. It's all what we've become used to. I had a special treat today--getting my CV critiqued by someone very young. It was a humbling experience to me and made me realize how much we CAN'T see in our own writing or work. When I received it, I had to agree, and now am pondering what to do next.

Well, what to do NEXT, as in the next few hours? Well, I'm going to watch American Idol! I think they should ax Phillip Phillips this week. He's just doing the same thing every time. I get really sick of seeing him squinch up his neck and face and lift up his leg a certain way and I don't think he's as good of a musician as the rest. Hollie did much better this week. I sure hope she stays, although last week I would said--Boo! Let her go!

Okay, now, I better get off of here and do some exercising. Tomorrow I go to Healthworks.

 

Germs Catching Up with Me

Unfortunately, I've been sick most of this week, battling an upper respiratory infection that leaves me super exhausted, if possible even more so than usual. Good health is something a lot of people take for granted until it leaves them. Nevertheless, besides resting, I am using this time to communicate with my students and colleagues via email, and catch up with grading, along with adjusting the two course calendars so they are back to being up-to-date after these small glitches.

Even so, I'm pleased to be asked to be a reviewer for a First Monday publication, which coincidentally is where I have planned to send my most recent article early this summer.

If you are a cat lover or a fan of Tiger (he has his own "Catbook" page!), please say a prayer for him! He is losing weight too much and seems to be more depressed and inactive than usual. He is 14 years old, but shouldn't be declining this fast. We are worried. He used to be so fat, and now you can feel every little bone in his skeleton. His backbone feels more raised than normal or knobby, so I wonder if he has cat arthritis. Poor Tiger. I sure love that cat. He is in Boston now, so he can't catch any of his favorite critters, like voles. He used to get one for us (like a present--ewww!) practically every day! He'd leave it right outside the back sliding door so you couldn't miss it when you tried to step out. I may bring him back here next week to see if that helps any. Nicer whether always makes him happier.

 Meanwhile, here's one of my latest favorite songs: "King of Anything" 

Writing my "example paper" on "public intellectuals"

Just as I do each semester I teach ENGL 102, I choose a topic and stay a few steps ahead of the students in the assignments that I make them do. Right now, I'm creating the Annotated Bibliography of 10 sources on the topic of "public intellectuals" and previously posted and talked about the Research Paper Proposal which I've posted online at http://users.edinboro.edu/warren/researchpropexample.pdf . Astute readers may or may not notice that I made a few mistakes in that example, enough to drop me down to a 92 or 91 --yikes! For example, I left out an entire book's information, because I was getting lazy and in another case, I left out 3 pertinent pieces of information about another book. That and I didn't capitalize the main word in one of the titles. I am THAT picky, even with my own work.

Now that I'm choosing the 10 sources I will annotate, I realize that I have all of their bibliographical information EXCEPT the database where I found the source(s). So I had to go back in and locate each one, but it wasn't hard, just took an extra half hour.  Then, of course, I need to annotate each one before Tuesday's class to have the example to show them. 

On a personal note: I am going to lose 27 lbs. at least--as soon as I can. If I lost 2 lbs. a week, it would take 14 weeks. Oh, that seems sooo long! I suppose I could do it by the end of  June, if I cut myself some slack and didn't demand 2 every SINGLE week.That would give me 4 times when I wouldn't have to meet that quota. Okay, I'm checking in today--you don't get to know the starting weight (unless you know me), but I will tell  you the pounds gained or lost each week on here.

Keeping Up with Intelligent Blog Posts

It's not so hard to just write ANYTHING every day or every once in a while. It IS, however, a little challenging to write more intelligent blog posts every day, like a newspaper column, almost. You want a single message to come through. So this post will be about creating significantly-thought-proking posts  frequently. It may take me all day to write this, but probably not.

Well, since today is FEB 2nd, we must defer to the venerable groundhog for our weather predictions: Punxatawney Phil predicted that we would have an EARLY SPRING, and his handlers predicted that the Steelers would win the SuperBowl! Of course, that last prediction is their own preference, but I'm sure everybody in attendance (for the most part), would have agreed with him. Steeler Fever is growing here every day, as game day gets closer. It'll be weird to see the SuperBowl in Boston rather than in the heart of Steeler Nation.

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Apparently, the origins of Groundhog Day lie in its connection to the celebration of Candlemas. Since German settlers came to that region of Pennsylvania, they brought with them their traditions and religious beliefs, one of which was Candlemas. On that day, churchgoers lit candles  for the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, the end of Epiphany, frequently holding a procession with the candles. When Jewish women had children, they were considered unclean for 7 days, and then after 33 days is supposed to wait until the end of that time (40 days altogether) when they  underwent a purification ceremony involving a ritual bath and the lighting of candles. Mary was also expected to bring Jesus to the temple where the priests could dedicate him. After this time, the mothers, including Mary, were allowed to have relations with their husbands.

On a non-Christian level, this was also a time of weather predictions. One site states:

"Farmers believed that the remainder of winter would be the opposite of whatever the weather was like on Candlemas Day. An old English song goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,
Go winter, and come not again."

(from http://www.churchyear.net/candlemas.html)

As many Christian and Pagan customs do, we often get a secular "holiday" (if this can be called a holiday), corresonding with the time of a Christian holiday, whether still practiced or not.

Book Push

After that ridiculously long delay and carrot-dangling Pearson put me through, I am hoping my book will have a new home soon.  Renamed slightly as Due Credit: Avoiding Plagiarism in a Remix Culture, this 7-chapter text should be heading out the door today again. Every time I work on it, I like it all over again. 

Getting interested in a related topic as well: ghostwriting. After reading up on it, I am beginning to realize how muddled the authorship is within medical research journal ranks.

Podcasting in Education

Ever since I accidentally put a Podcast link on this site, I've been trying to figure out --WHAT is podcasting? Why would anybody want to podcast? Why would people listen? How does it work? I think I've successfully taken off the link to have this blog (or the single blog entry) podcast, but I've been surfing around a lot, finding some interesting links on podcasting in Education:

• Educational Podcasting
• Knowledge Media Labs
• Podcast channel Shakespeare, otherwise known as Shakespeare-upon-ipod
• Podcasts for Educators weblog

Teens and Content Creation

A Nov. 2 report from Pew Internet & American Life reports that more than half of all teens have created content online. Nineteen percent have their own blogs, while 38 percent of all teens read blogs.  Another report mentions how not very Americans know what podcasting or phishing is. Count me in.