12 Reading, Hiking, and Backpacking Resolutions for 2012
Reading nourishes the soul, and hiking and backpacking benefit the body. Looking back on 2011, I didn’t backpack or hike as much as I would have liked. And certainly, I always can make room for more...
View ArticleFast Food Nation and the Horatio Alger Story
This year, I’m a discussion leader and grader for a 100-level American Studies course on citizenship and identity called “What is America?” This semester, we read Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, and...
View ArticleThe “Backpacking Ethos” in Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley?
John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row is one of my favorite novels to read and teach. I always mean to read more Steinbeck, so I decided to let my interests in memoir and travel writing guide my first selection...
View ArticleThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
There are three types of books: Those you buy and read right away. Those you buy and put on the shelf for some other time. Then there are those you put on the shelf to read some other time—and...
View ArticleTeaching Creative Non-Fiction with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
I’m teaching a creative non-fiction course this fall, and students will be reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, among other texts. If you aren’t familiar with the book, read my summary first....
View ArticleFraming a Professional, Medical Identity in Fighting for Life
I’m starting a new research project, one that I hope will lead to a published paper on Fighting for Life, a 1939 autobiography by physician and vanguard public health official Sara Josephine Baker. My...
View ArticleMy Year in (Pleasure) Reading
Last year, I made the commitment to read more for pleasure — to read more widely and without maybe a critical agenda. This was a lofty goal. I gave birth to my first child in January and two weeks...
View ArticlePresenting at CCCC 2015 in Tampa: My Abstract and Bibliography
This year, I’m presenting at the annual Conference on College Composition and Communication. Held annually since 1949, the conference “has provided a forum for all those responsible for teaching...
View ArticleA Year in Books – A (Partial) 2015 Reading List
I had less time for pleasure reading in 2015 as compared to years past. Ironically, this is because my daughter is no longer an infant and is more independent. She was a catnapper as a young baby, so...
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