For more reasons than I could adequately explain here, I’ve been thinking even more often than usual about the value of a liberal arts education in our understanding of the world and the ways we ought to engage with it. As Jeremy Hunsinger has written, Coming to know, as the primary process of knowledge, is […]
[Continue reading...]A full deck
April 19, 2014 By
Usually when Fang‘s birthday rolls around, we’re ready to duck and cover, as April 19 and 20 are two of those days when crazy people are wont to do and say stupid and dangerous things. Strangely, though, this year Fang is doing the opposite of ducking and covering—he’s been doing amazing work, running around Boise […]
[Continue reading...]Things I’m thinking about these days
April 2, 2014 By
As, of course, a random bulleted list: My fellowship research on how Idahoans have understood health and wellness, as represented by (sometimes very weird) artifacts in a museum’s collection. Found thus far: various fraudulent “cures” for gynecological ills, countless jars containing Chinese apothecary treatments (including shriveled animal testicles, starfish, sea horses, and paper wasps’ nests), […]
[Continue reading...]Concealed carry culture is antithetical to higher education’s mission
February 25, 2014 By
(written in response to Idaho Senate Bill 1254, which would allow concealed weapons on campus) Idaho has long nurtured what some have termed “a gun culture.” Hunters and ranchers reasonably see rifles as necessary tools. Families pass treasured rifles from grandparent to parent to child and educate the youngest members of the family about gun […]
[Continue reading...]DIY College Metrics
January 7, 2014 By
The headline at the NPR site says it all: “Idaho Universities Must Decide Which Programs Matter Most.” Not surprisingly, then, at this year’s welcome address, Boise State President Bob Kustra emphasized the role of analytics in the process of program prioritization. My college’s dean also emphasized metrics and analytics in the college-wide meeting that week. […]
[Continue reading...]Idaho is waiting. . .
January 6, 2014 By
The Boise Convention and Visitors’ Bureau recently commissioned a video about Boise: When I first saw it posted by a friend on Facebook, I commented, “This has not been my experience of Boise.” The response was basically, “You should get out more.” Ah, I would. . . if only I could afford skiing, snowboarding, horseback […]
[Continue reading...]Still too many guppies
January 6, 2014 By
During the holiday season last year, two things were proving particularly worrisome: pneumonia, which was also in my lungs, and guppies, of which there were far too many in the tank. Once again, I start the new year with too many guppies and crud in my lungs (but hey, not yet pneumonia). I need to […]
[Continue reading...]On Calling, again
December 17, 2013 By
As I wrote earlier this year, I’m participating in Marci Glass’s STARward project, in which participants reflect on a word given to them by Marci (who not only writes a thoughtful blog, but also happens to be the pastor of a church a few blocks from where I live). I drew the word calling. It’s been […]
[Continue reading...]Catching up
November 26, 2013 By
Long time, no post. I’ve been processing a lot of mostly unbloggable stuff about the boy. For now, I’ll share our little Halloween triumph: The boy wanted to be Calvin. We painted stripes on a t-shirt and sprayed his hair yellow. But of course he also needed a Hobbes, and you can’t just buy a Hobbes […]
[Continue reading...]Theodosia Burr Shepherd
October 14, 2013 By
For Ada Lovelace Day It’s been ten years since I first visited an archive and flipped through the papers of a woman who practiced science, and since then I’ve had the pleasure of “meeting” many women who inhabited the margins of professional scientific practice, including some who expanded the boundaries of their fields. One such […]
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