Alex Reid’s blog

olympics and politics

2008-04-27T16:01:06Z

When is something not a political issue? I find it a little odd all this protestation about protests, all these proclamations by politicians, sports pundits, and athletes that the Olympics are about "amateur" competition. Well, of course, the Olym...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

strategic reorganization

2008-04-25T23:29:11Z

I've been working on our department's strategic plan. It's really difficult to be "strategic" in a department as divided as ours. It's not that we are hostile to one another. Nothing like that. It's more like the amicable divorce where exes get al...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

the brass tacks of public online pedagogy

2008-04-24T17:54:13Z

I'm in the midst of writing an article on this subject. It's been one of the main focuses of my work this sabbatical. I presented at NEMLA on it and will do a related, more academic presentation at Computers and Writing next month. But I'm at the ...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em

2008-04-21T14:01:25Z

Reading Richard Florida's Who's your city? it's only natural to think about one's own situation: should I move? where to? For me moving begins with a few caveats. First, in academia the job search is a little unique. I'd need to create a list of...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Junot Diaz wins Pulitzer

2008-04-20T18:50:15Z

I was very happy to hear Junot Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I had the good fortune of meeting and befriending Junot when we were both undergrads at Rutgers. I've watched his career and enjoyed his...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

not a technophile

2008-04-20T18:47:53Z

It's understandable that people mistake me for a technophile. After all, I teach with technology, have a blog, make videos, etc. I research new media. However, to me, the idea of being a technology-lover would go far broader. I think that few peop...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

my grandmother died today or was it Thursday?

2008-04-19T18:00:02Z

It's sad to say, but she died on Thursday, though I only found out this morning. She was in her nineties and had suffered from senile dementia for at least a decade. She was able to recognize me at my wedding, twelve years ago, which is about the ...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

composition networks

2008-04-19T17:53:45Z

New post on my other blog on "product orientation in the age of networked composition."

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

learn and serve America grant program

2008-04-18T23:58:25Z

Some of my colleagues are putting together an application for the Learn and Serve America Higher Education College Student Social Media Initiative. Basically the idea as I understand it is to use social media to facilitate and increase student pa...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

invisible colleges, emergent colleges

2008-04-18T02:06:40Z

A few weeks back at the C's, Collin's presentation mentioned the "invisible college," a reference to the precursor to the Royal Society as a predisciplinary network of academics. As Collin suggested, such invisible colleges continue to exist, part...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend