Our dynamic conversation this week was a deeper dive into the consideration of the human nature of writing. Thanks to Jenny and Maya’s excellent and truly interactive pathfinding session, we were able to consider the significance of meaning in writing. In foregrounding this elusive yet critical component of our very “humanness,” we contend with the plain truth that a chatbot is never a human (even if it trained to replicate our human qualities). What we discovered in authoring some poems […]

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This week is Spring Break, and I am glad you are all able to take a bit of time to recharge and renew. I imagine you are all catching up on much needed rest. As we discussed, resting is a critical part of being human, and cannot be ignored. Thanks to Jasmine Dixon for further opening up our questioning regarding the question of ChatGPT (as either friend or foe). Of course the issue of natural language processing and it’s impact […]

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It was great to resume our rhythm together this week, kicking off our “Pathfinding Series” with thoughts about trauma and care in the classroom from both Bianca and Edna. I am glad we thought about the concept of flow – a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. The hallmark of […]

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It was great to resume our rhythm together this week, kicking off our “Pathfinding Series” with thoughts about trauma and care in the classroom from both Bianca and Edna. I am glad we thought about the concept of flow – a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. The hallmark of […]

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I missed you last week, but I am glad to have the recuperation time, and I am now looking forward to our re-engagement with our course and our on-going discussion regarding “the Human Nature of Writing”. Catching up now…. We will pick up where we left off (2/23). I will start our next class with some announcements, some warm ups, and address the Course Calendar which is now complete (with only some minor details remaining). Afterward, we will kick off […]

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It was a pleasant evening spent with American writer and musician James McBride – recipient of the 2013 National Book Award. President Barack Obama awarded McBride the 2015 National Humanities Medal “for humanizing the complexities of discussing race in America. Through writings about his own uniquely American story, and his works of fiction informed by our shared history, his moving stories of love display the character of the American family.” I appreciated McBride’s warmth, his candor, his unscripted way of reflecting with us, and […]

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We have momentum Thanks for another enjoyable class with you this week! In building a sense of connection together, we began by sharing some stories regarding our names, and had a good time exploring a bit more of who we are. Trust is such a key part of the learning experience (something that only builds after some time with each other). I am glad to invite some of our time in getting to know a bit more about everyone in […]

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 I was so happy to welcome all of you to #netnarr on Thursday evening (1/19) as we took a bit of time together to acclimate to this learning journey. I am excited about getting “Networked Narratives” up and running with all of you, and I am feeling energized by connecting in person. Some check in and warm up with you: A review of some of the things we have accomplished so far: We have connected in person and established a […]

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Welcome to a new semester! I really look forward to connecting with all of you soon. In many ways, this course has been “brewing” in my mind for a while. It attempts to ask some bold questions about the state of the world, the state of democracy, the state of education.  In short, we will will ask many hard questions together. At the root of our shared inquiry will be the significance of writing. But we will try to connect that […]

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