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Student Engagement on Campus: http://www.youtube.com/user/UVicLipDub

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This is worth sharing again! I am still quite proud of the campus community and what took place. This is community building!

I teach at the University of Victoria and a few weeks back students, university community members, and members of the larger community participate in the UVIC LipDubVid and it is now live at: http://www.youtube.com/user/UVicLipDub I was there with my family and we all supported the event. My youngest daughter even learned the dance. There are two clips where I can see her little mug or her head bobbing around during the video. But, this post isn’t really about her.

I want to reflect on how the video illustrates what happens when students are engaged on a university campus and pull together to get something done. The energy on the video day was exciting and it was great to see so many people on campus for several hours (if not days for the organizers). I know that we were there to support the campus community and ultimately help see the video go “viral.” This is positive for the university–good for the students and frankly good for marketing the campus. Check out the video and please share it with others.

What single word defines you?

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When I was at Social Media Camp earlier this month, one of the keynotes talked about what single word defines you. I think this was part of Erica Ehm’s presentation. It took me a few minutes, but then the word appeared in my head. Passionate. I am passionate about things I do and thing that I support. It was funny that I actually pictured some student evaluations or thank you cards that noted my passion for the material was infectious or kept them awake during the early morning class. This passion has allowed me to have great conversations with people, but also offers me moments of frustration. Passionate people don’t always understand why others don’t have a similar passion for their interests, work, and politics.

What is your single word? I’m sure that the word will vary.

Here I include a photo of me looking at a book. Books and reading are one of my passions. What is your single word for today, tomorrow, or that you live by?

11 Months Later: Revisiting the Life List

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I decided to revisit this great exercise from one of the BlogHer 2011 pre-sessions.What do I think differently after this last year. I was reappointed unanimously by my colleagues, applied for an Associate Deanship and was shortlisted, didn’t get the job, had surgery, and then had a pretty rough term. The second term caused me to re-evaluate my priorities. Numbers 16-19 are new and I used a / to add to an original thought.

Life List exercise at the afternoon session for “My Blog as a Life Changer” was hard to do. Here is my first stab and again, unedited.  Try out the exercise. It’s fun.

  1. Go to Hawaii with Jason and both girls / See my family more. More quality time with them at home.
  2. See my family of origin more than one time per year. / Yes, see them more.
  3. Publish my books / I’m working on this and progress has been made.
  4. Get tenure / I was re-appointed, so step one is confirmed.
  5. Continue to Mentor / Ongoing
  6. Continue to Teach / Ongoing
  7. Learn French / I’ve heard more and have attempted to speak some. Does that count?
  8. Start a Women and Politics Center on campus / Oh, long term goal.
  9. Take kids to Grand Canyon and DC / Long term
  10. Work on either a Congressional , Senatorial or Presidential campaign / Long term
  11. Learn how to golf / Started learning in May!
  12. Spend time with friends in the US and elsewhere / Did some in March–ongoing want.
  13. Take kids to Europe / Long term goal
  14. Go to Harry Potter Theme Park / Long term goal
  15. Use sabbatical to attend conferences / To write book and to visit teen in university
  16. New to the list–take better care to relax. I am powering off my phone more and trying to not work for an hour or more every night. Balance
  17. Remember to schedule time for me and Jason
  18. Exercise as part of my daily routine
  19. Return to the life list once a year!

Post-Conference Thoughts

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Last week I attended a national conference and had a great conference experience. This post will speak to things that we junior to mid-career faculty can do better. And, I’ll also have some advice for the advanced graduate students.

1. Walk around ready to engage in small talk with people you don’t know or want to meet. Try to avoid only chatting with your friends and colleagues. While picking up with them is important, you also can serve as a bridge to someone new at that meeting or new to the discipline.

2. Smile and say hello. It sounds simple, but it doesn’t come naturally for everyone. Ask people about their project. Try to be friendly. When Rita Mae Kelly died some years ago, I was quite upset. I didn’t know her well, but I recalled on numerous occasions she approached me and chatted with me for 5-15 minutes asking me about my grad school experience. She went out of her way to make me feel comfortable at the Political Science Meetings. When a session was held for her, I was in the audience crying. I looked forward to her chats. We never exchanged an email, but I was familiar with her work and I have all those memories of our chats that can’t count up to more than 5.

3. Go to the receptions and some of the dinners. It’s good be seen, but also it’s another opportunity for you to meet new people or strengthen old networks. When I walked into the banquet room with 270+ people I made the immediate decision to not look for friends. Instead I walked up to a half filled table and sat down there. As luck would have it, sitting across from me was someone I “met” via Twitter! I ended up having interesting conversations with a retired colleague and an advanced grad student from a UK program.

4. I was glad that I was active on the Twitter tag for the conference. The first morning I had breakfast with an undergrad from another province. We chatted and walked back to the conference site. I was also able to meet some others in real life, who I had previously known on Twitter. Social Media can be useful for the conference. I took notes at the Women’s’ Caucus Luncheon’s Mentoring Session and posted them immediately on Tumbler.

5. I attended lots of wonderful sessions and made a point to speak to one of the presenters. And, I also thanked the chair or discussant for their helpful comments. I paid attention. The panelists in some cases were senior people across the discipline, and in other instances are future colleagues. One of these conversations once led to a publication opportunity.

6. Take business cards. You might meet new people who want to contact you or vice versa. It’s good to have the cards at the ready. I find that I am apt to pass them out more so to advanced graduate students and let them know that I’m just an email or tweet away!

Overall, the conference was a success and from my comments you can glean: be out there!

Before You Send an Email to Your Professor

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I haven’t taken a Netiquette 101 course recently, so I think it’s time to give some tips about sending emails to your instructors.

1. Always assume that you should be more formal.

2. Address the person in the email with a hello or even a “dear.” Avoid, “hey. And, use your full name, as your instructor might have many students who share your first name.

Sample~

Dear Instructor: I am emailing to find out information about your Fall class. Do you suggest any prerequisites for the class? I’d also like to talk with you about a paper topic that I have. Do you have any time to meet this Summer?

Thank you,

Student X

Avoid:

Hey, I’m going to enroll in you class. Should I be worried about your feminist bias?

Smitty

3. Never send an email that is incoherent. This is email and not a text to your best-friend. Type out all words, use punctuation, and proper spelling.

4. Never send an email when you are mad. This goes for all emails. Send yourself the email and then wait a few hours or overnight, and then send the email that you won’t later regret.

5. Be honest. Understand that your instructor might say that this conversation needs to take place face to face. Some conversations really need that human interaction.

6. Do not be offended if the instructor corrects your use of their first name or some policy. Most of us will be kind and say–we have a 24 hour policy with emails after work is handed back and it’s in the syllabus or I expect students to call me Prof. Schmitdkins.

7. Read the syllabus before sending the email. Perhaps the syll answers your question or notes that you should take the time to write a coherent email noting who you are and why you are emailing.

Overall, treat email with the same integrity that you would treat an office hour visit. And, yes, I do get lots of emails that start off with “hey” and have been asked about my feminist bias…

Tips for the #CPSA

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These tips are good for most academic conferences and probably even for non-academic conferences. I know that I’ve used these tips at Social Media Conferences, women’s conferences, and other work related conferences. The Canadian Political Science Conference begins tomorrow night at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. And, these comments are good for graduate students, people on the market, and probably for some junior faculty.

My major point of advice is to first ascertain what sort of conference participation do you want. Do you want to attend, see your friends, and leave? Perhaps you are on the job market and you want to network and help raise your profile. If you’re on the job market, I suggest that you focus on your presentation or attending the presentations of people in your sub-field, and prepare for networking. What does this mean? Have conversations with people–communicate. Ask them if they are enjoying the conference, and which panels did they like best. Yes, this is small talk, but you might be getting to know someone for the first time and then the conversation can hopefully continue.

How do you do this? Smile. Be ready to have conversation with people at the conference meetings. Ask questions during the question and answer period after a presentation. When you’re at a reception (yes, attend some of them), walk around and talk to people. This might be small talk about the food or notice their name tag. You might know someone at their institution. Do you have business cards? If so, prepare to pass them out, when you’ve chatted with someone. You might want more comments from them on a chapter of your thesis or an article that you’re working on.

Likewise, if you’re giving a presentation, talk to the people on the panel and in the room afterward. You might find that someone there wants to chat more with you. Be bold and encourage the group to continue the conversation over coffee, drinks later or to meet at a reception. The only way that you’ll meet new people is if you make an effort. If you really want to meet a particular person, see if any of your mentors know this person and can introduce you.

Go to receptions! Be seen. Talk to people. Wear your name tag. Plan your conference itinerary. Spend pockets doing the networking thing and others attending the conference or seeing the conference city.The organization will help you avoid exhaustion of being “on” during the entire conference. This means that you need to take time to recharge, but be careful to not drink too much at any official conference events. It doesn’t look too professional and you don’t need a hangover. If you’re looking for work and there are certain people you want to meet–attend their talks or attend their campus reception. This is easier if the host site is the department in question. Overall, enjoy the conference and go there with an open mind and positive attitude.

Revisiting Being a Feminist

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This was the first post in a series where I ruminated on what it means to me to be a feminist. And, for re-reading the post not much has changed in the past two years or so. First things first, I have no problem self-identifying as a feminist. Just as some of my colleagues live by their Marxist or Socialist tendencies, I live by my feminist beliefs. I advocate feminism and I am an advocate of feminism, but I do not shirk the label.

I do get frustrated though when assumptions are made about feminisms–as if there is this  monster of sorts. There is so much variety among feminist theories and feminists themselves. I am a strong believer of the fact that there are different types of feminisms. There is not a monolithic feminism or feminist club that I have to earn a card to be a member of and act and speak a certain way in order to keep my membership. Feminism is not Costco. Feminisms provides a philosophy of life, love, education, politics and so much more. My feminist politics includes an understanding of the importance of intersectionaliy. My feminism includes an understanding that politics and life are influenced by race, class, education, sexuality and many other indicators.

To be honest, I find it quite amusing when a student or other person outside of academe accuses me of having feminist politics. The student might as well accuse me of breathing and thinking. We are all guided by a philosophy of sorts–mine just happens to be feminism. And, some many decades later this term seems to scare, enrage or confuse people. I recall being in grad school and a professor asking me if I was a Chicana or Feminist first. I felt the question was a ridiculous question. Shall you take my right arm off or my left? My identification of my ethnic background is inextricably connected to my feminism.

Feminism informs the way I read pop culture, articles, people’s actions and I will not apologize for thinking. If my feminism intimidates you–you need to think about why is this the case? Do you understand feminism? Do you want to? Years ago I recall telling a friend that I was going to be a cultural critic when I grew up. I don’t think either of us understood this, but when she later told me that her mother thought that was a terrible idea, I knew I was on to something. I tell my students that my vocation is thinking, reading, writing, and more thinking. This thinking is informed by feminism.

The typology of feminism that best explains my own would be Women of Color feminisms circa This Bridge Called My Back  added with Third Wave feminisms. I was lucky enough to earn a BA in Women’s Studies (Go Aztecs! ) at SDSU, so most of my mentors were of the Second Wave persuasion. I feel well versed in different types of feminisms.

How does this feminism inform my daily life? Well, that is for a different post or two. One about my teaching, and another about relationships (parenting and love). Femnisms informs my life.

The above screen shot is from the Feminist Ryan Gosling Tumblr. What a great gift and I add here to make make you smile.

Snow White: #SWATH

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Snow White and the Hunstman (Spoilers)

The new re-telling of the Snow White fairy tale moves away from the typical story: Girl needs saving and then gets married. In this version, Snow White played by Kristen Stewart has agency and can fight. She defends herself repeatedly. Due to her innocence and goodness, she has a connection to nature and animals and this helps her throughout the movie. To be blunt, Snow White kicks ass repeatedly. The best part of the story is that the movie does not end with her marrying. Well, the second best part is that the kiss that wakes her is not from another noble or a prince, instead the kiss that brings her back is from the brawny and handsome huntsman played by Chris Hemsworth.

Is this a feminist re-telling? Why, yes. The Evil Queen, Charlize Theron, is conniving and  obsessed with beauty and staying young. Her extreme lengths includes sucking the life out of women—especially young, attractive women. One group of women have gone so far to mar their faces and their daughters’ faces, so that they are no longer pretty. This protects them from the Queen. Thus, beauty is really ugly here. We see that the Queen’s obsession has made her evil incarnate. This should not be read that feminists do not appreciate beauty, but rather that the shallow want is not enough and that beauty alone does not make someone strong, virtuous or worthy of leading people. If anything, this re-imagined Snow White demonstrates that beauty is ugly and that strengths is found in other ways.

I want to see this movie again, so that I can see Kristen Stewart lead a call to arms and then get dressed in her fighting gear. She the proceeds to fight like a warrior and looks down at the Queen and says, “You can’t have my heart.” The movie ends on a strong note with Snow White proudly at the throne—alone. The camera does pan to the Huntsman who is smitten, but no priest is nearby!

Interactions with Students~

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I’m taking a break from the Fri Fun Facts. Instead, Friday will offer short posts about something that is on  my mind.

Working with young people there are many different opportunities to mentor or coach undergraduates. I find that some of these moments present themselves when you aren’t really expecting it. Each year I get cards or emails from students who have taken one class from me or have seen me in office hours and are graduating or transferring to another university closer to home. And, I’m always a little bit surprised to get the note or email that thanks me for a good class or for some help.

The reason why I’m surprised is that these particular students did not see me lots and only took one class from me. Given that I teach several classes most are apt to have had at least one class with me. My point here is that at times you can make a difference in a student’s experience in a class or in the office and not realize it. I always follow up the contact with an email or face to face chat if I can.

After I started the post, I cleaned up my home office and found a stack of emails or notes from students from 2002-2009! I read each one and remembered the students. I’m thankful that they took the time to contact me. What all of this reminds me is that we have moments in our offices or classroom, when we make a connection with a student. And, sometimes we are not even aware of it.

I Broke Up with Four Square: Don’t Judge

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I was an avid FourSquare user. The platform or app is a location based and you would “check in” to different places. The goal was to become the Mayor and get free coffee, discounts, and the like.  I had free coffee at certain places, free appies or my bill was discounted. Likewise, during the holidays I would get badges for saying, “Happy Fourth of July” when I checked in somewhere. I know to those unfamiliar with FourSquare or people who hate location-based apps/games, this might seem like an utter waste of time. I began to peel the band-aid off a few weeks ago deleting certain contacts from my account. I went from some 200 to just around 130 or perhaps under. I also wondered–what was I benefiting from this? Bragging Rights to the Munchie Bar as its esteemed Mayor?! But, the app had lots of my data.

My goal then became to get to 5, 000 points and I did. Then, I thought 10,000 points and I did. I was used to the check in and frankly a part of me hoped that more establishments would use FourSquare and offer deals. That really never happened to the extent that I hoped for, but some places do offer customer benefits. I just am not at those hotels or coffee shops enough. I cracked 12,000 points and thought that maybe it was time to stop. So, on Saturday, May 26th around 2pm I deleted my account. FourSquare wanted me to really think about this, though.

Well, FourSquare, it’s you. I think I might save a few minutes or possibly 20 minutes each day from here on out. And, you won’t get to document that I’m on 12 weeks running going to libraries or on fire with my 17 days in a row at coffee shops. I will admit that some of the badges were hilarious and maybe I should have taken some screen shots, but you know it was time to say bye. I also think that my girls and partner will smile when they hear that I deleted you. I guess I can be a little obsessive…

It’s been 24 hours and I am embarrassed to say that several times since I wrote this post I grabbed for my phone to check in. I definitely was power user. Now, I’ll do better things with my time. Bye Bye FourSquare–it’s me. It’s definitely me.