In a year that’s cracked me open (like this cracked tree trunk), the week of the winter solstice feels full of possibility: renewing of light, changing of seasons, warming of spirits. I’ve found that sense of possibility most profound in the winter woods, where the natural world has so much to teach—and I have so much to learn—again and again and again. Too often, I focus on disliking winter and the cold, dark, and snow that go along with it. But this year, in the midst ... Read more ...
Clarifying Your Purpose in Grad School: Workshop Handouts and Resources
Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the workshop “Rediscover Your Why: Clarifying Your Purpose in Grad School”: coming up on Monday, December 14 at 12pm Central time. This workshop is part of the “Grad Gather & Grow Speaker Series” at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A collaboration among the Graduate School, Graduate Student Organization, and Student Government Association, this virtual speaker series is “an opportunity to reset after a ... Read more ...
Interrupting Thanksgiving: Three Responses to Disrupt What’s Normalized on This National Holiday
Each month, I write a Q&A newsletter for Patreon subscribers based on questions I receive, and this month, it felt important to share these responses as a blog post. Update as of 2024: Since writing this post, I've moved subscriptions from Patreon to Momence. I hope you'll join me there. Learn more via the subscribe page linked here. It felt important because I received three questions all related to the upcoming holiday: How do you interrupt the Thanksgiving ... Read more ...
Flourless Mushroom Gravy (Vegan and Gluten-Free)
Dedication: This recipe is for you, Mom. For years, my mom has been asking me to share this mushroom gravy recipe: a version of gravy goodness that I came to after trying to simplify and veganize various recipes. It’s been tricky to write up this recipe because I rarely measure ingredients. And this flourless gravy is very forgiving, which rewards me for not taking notes. Whether I add more or less seasoning, more or less broth, more or less additions (like gluten-free ... Read more ...
Q&A with Tamika Carey: “Gestures Are Easy. Reckoning Is Hard.” On Prioritizing Wellness and Liberation
I’m particularly excited about this Q&A blog post with Tamika Carey, Ph.D., an interdisciplinary scholar whose work is not only shaping the fields of cultural rhetorics, African American rhetorics, and feminist rhetorics but also deeply impactful for literacy studies, cultural studies, and women’s and gender studies. Tamika Carey is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Virginia, an award-winning author, and a committed educator. I came to know ... Read more ...
Invitation to Join Upcoming Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops
This fall, as part of the 40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Stamina to Counter White Fragility, I’m facilitating two workshops using theatre of the oppressed. I invite you to join one or both of these workshops, if you’d like to experience Augusto Boal’s powerful approach, rehearse interventions into everyday racism, and connect with others engaged in this work. Here are the workshop dates and description: Friday, October 16th 2-5pm EasternFriday, November 6th ... Read more ...
What Is White Fragility?
How can those of us who identify as white, who are conditioned into whiteness, and who have internalized white supremacy recognize and respond to emotions before they do harm? How can we take accountability when they do? And how can we recognize complicity with the long-standing harm and systems that prevent taking accountability? These questions motivate the “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Stamina to Counter White Fragility”: a daily practice of ... Read more ...
Career Discernment for a Purposeful Career Path
Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the workshop “What Matters to You Most? Career Discernment for a Purposeful Career Path”: coming up on Thursday, September 17th 3-5pm Eastern. Thanks to Emory University’s LGS Office of Professional Development and Career Planning for hosting this workshop, which offers tools for ongoing career discernment. Workshop Description This workshop offers graduate students tools for ongoing career discernment—engaging in ... Read more ...
How Do We Build More Accountable Lives?
This week’s processing group asked the question: “How do we build more accountable lives?” In the past few months, I’ve been inspired by and drawn into this question, using it to reflect on how I act on (and fall short of acting on) my commitments. I’m greatly influenced by community organizer Mia Mingus whose work focuses on transformative justice and disability justice. During Wednesday’s group, I read aloud a recent Instagram post by Mia Mingus, and I want to share ... Read more ...
Q&A with Rasha Diab: Pursuing Peace as Everyday Practice
Since starting this series of interviews, I’ve wanted to highlight Rasha Diab, because she’s one of the most important people in my life. More than a co-author and friend, Rasha is truly an accountability partner: the first person I turn to process experiences, to understand emotions, to grow into new understandings, to repair harm I’ve done, and much more, including to laugh and cry and rage. Rasha has a way of holding potential—visualizing the best self—while staying ... Read more ...
