Kelly Baker

My Teaching Philosophy

I’ve received a few emails asking about my approach to pedagogy. These are mostly in response to my “Dear Liberal Professor” essay published at Vitae, in which I call for empathy in the classroom and take down the silly suggestion that students are the center of all that ails higher ed. I haven’t written about pedagogy […]

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To Muse

To muse is to consider something thoughtfully. A muse is a person, usually a woman, who is the source of inspiration. In May of 2013, I hastily decided that I need a new name for my blog, something that would signal the break I was taking from academia. I wanted a name that evoked transition

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Writing Motherhood

While finishing an essay on the Tooth Fairy and childhood beliefs earlier this week, I realized that I’ve been writing more about motherhood than I have before. At first, I was unnerved. Why was I suddenly writing more about my life as a mother? What was to be gained, or lost, by presenting my understandings

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Catalog of Wounds

Fever Sore Throat Rash covers his face, arms, legs, and tummy. Tears “Nah” on repeat as he swings his arms wildly More tears Flinging himself on the ground in protest To the doctor “Rock baby,” he says, “rock baby” He cuddles close. “Mama, up! Up, Mama!” Strep throat. Fever Sore Throat “My tummy hurts,” she

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Running In The Rain

Today, I ran (and walked) in the rain. A whole 5K with Chris, who is training me up to a full run. We are on week three of a nine-week plan. I have tried to start running many times before. I always quit. Week three is usually the point where I mumble “screw it” while

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The Elusive I

I’ve been thinking about academic writing and the absence of the I, the signifier of the first person. Some disciplines find the I useful as a method to that places you, the author in the text. The scholarship marked explicitly by your person, as if it could be any other way. Religious studies, however, is not

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