In December 2016, Wisconsin State Assemblyman David Murphy lodged a public complaint about the University of Wisconsin’s decision to allow a course entitled “Problem with Whiteness.” According to the Washington Post, the goals of the course are to “understand how whiteness is socially constructed and experienced in order to help dismantle white supremacy” and to explore… Read More Free to Teach What I Want
Almost every time I tell a stranger that I’m an English professor they get this look… A look I am fairly certain that preachers also get when they share their occupation. People feel judged about the way they communicate, and the English teacher epitomizes this experience. However, I would argue that most people I know… Read More Ain’t No Grammar Judge
The professional communications major at my university requires that every senior complete a capstone internship in which the gain experience in the kinds of jobs they may find after graduation. I’ve been thinking a lot about the value of an internship – both as a commodity, as a cost-savings for companies, and as a cost… Read More The Value of Internships
We tend to think of writing as a solitary activity. We have this vision of the angsty poet, the shy novelist, or the anarchist academic sitting alone in a tiny dormered apartment or alone in the English country side struggling through their latest opus – utterly alone. We have this silly notion that writing happens… Read More Supporting Faculty Writing
I just spent four days in Menomonie, WI at the 2015 Computers & Writing Conference. As I do with every academic conference, I dread going but I always have a better time than I expect. In fact, I think the longer I’m in this discipline, the better they get. Now, I have friends who go,… Read More Reflections on Computers and Writing 2015
Today’s Atlantic ran a story about University of Marquette professor John McAdams who being stripped of tenure because of a story he posted on his blog. While I am unwilling to weigh in on the validity of this decision or the opinions expressed, I think the medium and genre that sparked this debate has ramifications for… Read More Public/Private Blog
Alison A. Lukowski 