How to Read a Book in Less than an Hour

Chris Kelty’s advice. I haven’t tried his method though I have my own “plowing” methods which I may detail at a later date if I decide there’s something original in it. I tend to real slowly and obsessively when I teach. Leaving aside dull and moralistic arguments about how much effort should be expended in …

Flashback — the Bad Kind

My first year teaching — ever — was in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. The course was SpCom 111-112, a year long speaking and writing course. One of those “skills” courses with no official content, though students had to read a minimal amount of stuff. I still remember the first …

The Week of “I Can’t Believe I Get to Work Here”

That was the week inbetween my trip to Chicago and my trip to New York. John Durham Peters was in residence was in residence here and I had much fun with him. Georgina Born came and gave a talk on a Thursday afternoon. I had a great time with my grad students. My undergrad class …

And now, a short post about course planning

One of my major activities for the week was nailing down the details for my big lecture undergrad course in the winter. It’s a complete reworking of the department’s largest course (200 students), which has moved from a “telegraph to the internet” sort of history of communication course to “introduction to communication studies.” I always …

A Few Other Things I Forgot to Blog About

1. I participated in “No Music Day” on the 21st of November. I didn’t listen to music all day and tried to reflect on the role of music in my life. Unfortunately, the evening before I had watched Monday Night Football. Viagra ads are common during football games, Viagra’s current ad features a song called …