My news and the absurdity of modern industrial medicine. Or, how I got diagnosed with pneumonia for the third time in less than a month. This is a long one. I realize that being a cancer patient is a weirdly privileged position. Of course, fuck cancer, but the infrastructure and level of care is a …
Category Archives: Disability
Translation of McGill’s Return to School Announcement into English
For most years since 1997, I have taught a first year university intro to communication studies course. While I don’t often focus on interpretation of media messages or public relations–there are lots of other things to cover–sometimes it’s a good exercise. To keep myself in shape, I thought I would practice on McGill’s latest announcement …
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On proceduralism and disability
Last week Collegeland had a podcast on universities denying accommodations to faculty, staff and students that featured guests Bess Williamson, Aimi Hamraie, and me. It’s recommended listening if you are interested in higher education and the politics of disability. While I was away in the forest, I finally got an email from McGill’s HR acknowledging …
Here’s what our (and probably your) university should do about disability during the pandemic
Proposed immediate solutions for faculty and staff: Allow people to decide for themselves how to teach or do their jobs while the pandemic continues. This may include online or hybrid solutions. This disburdens multiple levels of administration. It places a slightly greater burden on Teaching and Learning Services, but only to support the level of blended …
What is a sick day?
The first rule of everything: never get cocky. Within a few days of my announcement that everything was stable with The Drugs and The Cancer, I developed an upset stomach. Like very upset, like I couldn’t digest much of anything. Also very painful cramps. And it kept going. I’m used to that happening every so …
A Simple Guide to Hybrid Classes for Teachers
This is a guide to setting up audio and video for hybrid courses, especially seminars. This based on some research I did this summer: I asked friends who have genuine expertise in the area, and with my partner Carrie Rentschler and our friend and colleague Darin Barney, we ran some audio experiments with Darin on …
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Academic advice from cancer for the COVID-19 epidemic: let it go
Compared to the massive life and death issues people are facing, this is a tiny thing, for a tiny segment of the world. But with that caveat, it is still worth saying. In 2009, I was diagnosed with a very aggressive version of papillary thyroid cancer. I had to bail on my courses, and lost …
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