Lyndsey > Recent Status Updates

I can't get these lines from Ghalib's first couplet out of my mind this week:

...it's no use
forcing your way with love:
it's a form of fire
that doesn't catch when lit
and doesn't die when doused.

Up to Dickinson this week:

As lightning to the Children eased
with explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind --

Reading for some discussion sessions at work. So far, these sentences have stood out to me:

"People can never get better without knowing what they know and feeling what they feel."

"You can be fully in charge of your life only if you acknowledge the reality of your body, in all its visceral dimensions."

Into the "Age of Revolutions" with a discussion about a short excerpt of Rousseau's "Confessions." The students had an interesting discussion about the tension between his claims of authenticity and self-justification.

Students (and me!) really enjoyed our discussion of Aphra Behn, the first woman who was a professional writer, and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a Mexican nun celebrated for "her spirited defense of women's intellectual rights," and who wrote "my desire to learn was stronger than my desire to eat."

Finishing early modern east Asia with my students by discussing haikus and kabuki from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

We ended our class discussion of this text with Don Quixote and this question: is it better to see the world as it is or how you wish it could be?

Today, we began our unit on the Renaissance. Students are excited to discuss the great ideas that came out of a time of exploration and innovation.

Today, we had a great discussion about the medieval Chinese poets, Li Bo and Du Fu. We talked about how Li Bo used fantastical descriptions to communicate the plight of the common person during a time of war and Du Fu, known as a poet-historian, used more realistic descriptions to record the events and experiences of the time. I'm always impressed by my students' observations and connections. What a joy they are.

Discussed Beowulf today: "They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame."

Students asked great questions about what makes a hero: Are the monsters the only villains? When is seeking victory selfless and not self-serving?

Today, Confucius!

First time reading selections from the Ramayana of Valmiki, the oldest recorded Sanskrit poem.

Excited to discuss Sappho this upcoming week: "Some say an army of horsemen, other a host of infantry, others a fleet of ships is the most beautiful thing on the black earth. But I say
It's whatever you love." (382)

Last half of Gilgamesh! There's more than one way to live forever.

Completing tablets I through V of Gilgamesh today. RIP Humbaba.

Headed into Gilgamesh with my students. They are into it!

Re-reading to prepare for a professional development session I'm developing with this book.

Re-reading via audiobook since it's been more than a decade and I'm planning to read the sequel soon.

Finished the first half, The Pursuit of Love. It was wickedly funny.

once you're past the first year or two of higher education, success isn't about being the best test taker...Our colleges and universities have to take pride not in compiling an individualistic group of very-high-scoring students but in nurturing a diverse group of thinkers and facilitating how they solve complex problems creatively ---because complex problems seems to be all the world has in store for us these days.