DISCLAIMER: If the writing that follows in this and subsequent blogs sometimes sounds as if it came from the 19th century, deal with it. Either you will find it off-putting and never read one of my posts again, or you will find something familiar in the rhythms and cadences and appreciate the complexities and beauties of the English language and the fact that I absolutely revel in it (as I do in French, by the way). Here's hoping you'll come along for the ride.
For many years, I was deeply contented with the direction my life had taken. Holding a Ph.D. in comparative literature, I studied French, German, American, Russian, English, and African literature; published articles from feminist, deconstructive, and ecocritical perspectives; and taught a wide variety of courses that included French language, literature, conversation, and composition; women's studies; comparative literature; and humanities. I adored my students and my colleagues; I was considered to be a fine teacher and scholar. In short, I was totally content and seriously happy with the path I (thought I ) had chosen--a path that allowed me to give free reign to my restless and (recently named) synaesthetic intellect.
But then came my sabbatical year. I was supposed to be working on a book, but my proposed project soon morphed into something else--something that I was very excited about. And if I were to return to the world of academia today, this is the book I would be working on (more details later)....but then--as I was on the verge of finding my definitive subject--something very curious began to happen. One day, I found myself almost inadvertently in an art store buying various and sundry art supplies. ????????
Now, you must understand that in my early youth, art and music ruled my life. My mother and her father were both very artistically inclined, and my mother was a wonderful torch singer under whose tutelage all her girls--and some of her grandchildren--grew up. I won a city-wide art contest at the age of 10, by NOT following the rules, and was an enthusiastic student of violin, piano, organ, and voice. As I progressed in school, academics became a more prominent and important factor in my life. My art studies were abandoned, although some of my musical pursuits continued. I eventually fully embraced an academic life but continued to sing from time to time.
Enter technology in the mid-'90s. My university, Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio, was very keen on professors incorporating all aspects of the newly emerging technologies in their courses. Since one of my goals in life is to learn something new each day, I embraced this idea and learned everything I had time to learn about technology in the next few years. We were encouraged first to develop a web site for our courses; later we were entreated to make our courses partially or completely accessible on-line. I loved this idea, and set myself to the task of mastering course delivery software and applying what I'd learned. One day I stepped back from what I was doing to survey and assess: I was partially delivering ALL my courses on the web--and I had become more interested in the design of my course sites than in the content itself. In short, something of my early life in art was reasserting itself, and I was struggling against this tendency in vain.....
.....TO BE CONTINUED....
For many years, I was deeply contented with the direction my life had taken. Holding a Ph.D. in comparative literature, I studied French, German, American, Russian, English, and African literature; published articles from feminist, deconstructive, and ecocritical perspectives; and taught a wide variety of courses that included French language, literature, conversation, and composition; women's studies; comparative literature; and humanities. I adored my students and my colleagues; I was considered to be a fine teacher and scholar. In short, I was totally content and seriously happy with the path I (thought I ) had chosen--a path that allowed me to give free reign to my restless and (recently named) synaesthetic intellect.
But then came my sabbatical year. I was supposed to be working on a book, but my proposed project soon morphed into something else--something that I was very excited about. And if I were to return to the world of academia today, this is the book I would be working on (more details later)....but then--as I was on the verge of finding my definitive subject--something very curious began to happen. One day, I found myself almost inadvertently in an art store buying various and sundry art supplies. ????????
Now, you must understand that in my early youth, art and music ruled my life. My mother and her father were both very artistically inclined, and my mother was a wonderful torch singer under whose tutelage all her girls--and some of her grandchildren--grew up. I won a city-wide art contest at the age of 10, by NOT following the rules, and was an enthusiastic student of violin, piano, organ, and voice. As I progressed in school, academics became a more prominent and important factor in my life. My art studies were abandoned, although some of my musical pursuits continued. I eventually fully embraced an academic life but continued to sing from time to time.
Enter technology in the mid-'90s. My university, Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio, was very keen on professors incorporating all aspects of the newly emerging technologies in their courses. Since one of my goals in life is to learn something new each day, I embraced this idea and learned everything I had time to learn about technology in the next few years. We were encouraged first to develop a web site for our courses; later we were entreated to make our courses partially or completely accessible on-line. I loved this idea, and set myself to the task of mastering course delivery software and applying what I'd learned. One day I stepped back from what I was doing to survey and assess: I was partially delivering ALL my courses on the web--and I had become more interested in the design of my course sites than in the content itself. In short, something of my early life in art was reasserting itself, and I was struggling against this tendency in vain.....
.....TO BE CONTINUED....
