Published October 8, 2015 at Sacred Matters. the demonic returned to me…but Harry Potter wasn’t my only encounter. A member of my mother’s former church feared that my study of religions would lead me to participate in “satanic religions” like Hinduism or Buddhism; my mom, thankfully, ignored her. In high school, a fellow trumpet player spoke of […]
Published at Women in Higher Education on October 5, 2015. Men explain my areas of research, the job market, career options, my essays and even my approaches to parenting, with little knowledge about the topics or any consideration of what I might already know. They act as if I fundamentally lack knowledge. My PhD cannot trump […]
Published at The Chronicle Review on October 5, 2015. Training for the doctorate changes your goals because “part of you drinks the Kool-Aid while earning a Ph.D.” Yes, yet another reference to the poison that members of the Peoples Temple drank to commit suicide at Jonestown. I flinch any time I hear someone use the distasteful, […]
Published at Chronicle Vitae on September 30, 2015. “Do what you love” (DWYL) is a command under the guise of inspiration and affect. Seek professions. Train for them. Love them. Work, DWYL whispers, is only valuable if you love it. Work, it insists, is about emotion, feeling, and meaning. Shouldn’t we love what we do? How can […]
Published at Chronicle Vitae on September 30, 2015. Passion becomes the main motivator for one’s work. This happens in academia. Pick a topic that interests you. Dedicate 6, 7, or even 10 years of your life to this topic of inquiry. Value your work above all else. Your job is more than a job; it is […]
Published at Killing the Buddha on September 3, 2014. Mapleton’s Heroes Day ceremony is an attempt to limit grief and pain to a day on the calendar. If only we could dwell in our grief for a moment and abandon it just as quickly. If only grief would cooperate with our attempts to box it […]