Within the span of a few days, my plans for the middle of March changed dramatically, as they did for many people all over the world. I went from anticipating a trip to Atlanta, GA, to attend one of my favorite conferences, rooming with a good friend from another state, and attending at least one…… Continue reading A few thoughts regarding online conferences
Category: General
Community History and Public Memory
Yesterday afternoon I stood outside my parish church (ECUSA) with other residents of our town to witness the dedication of a plaque. The text of the plaque reads: With gratitude and repentance we honor the Enslaved People whose skills and labor helped build the Falls Church. It sits next to the plaque honoring the architect, James…… Continue reading Community History and Public Memory
Writing Warm Ups
One of the challenges of working on a PhD while also working a full time job is the (self imposed) pressure to maximize your productivity during the time you have to write. In the last few days, I’ve been thinking about why it’s so hard for me to just sit down and write, and I realized…… Continue reading Writing Warm Ups
Reading Fiction in Grad School
During my first year in my PhD program, my mother bought me the first five books in a mystery series as a birthday gift. I was both pleased and frustrated. Pleased because it was a series I wanted to read and annoyed because I knew the books would sit on a shelf, unread, as I worked…… Continue reading Reading Fiction in Grad School
Legacies
I like to say that I am a second-generation digital humanist. My father, George H. Brett II, became interested in computers in the late 1970s, helped the University of North Carolina system evaluate computers/operating systems, was the first sysadmin of the Humanities listserv, and worked for decades in what was then humanities computing. It was…… Continue reading Legacies
More than 140 characters
I tweeted earlier tonight “The further I get in my PhD program, the riskier it feels to publish a blog post.” This is entirely true. When I was writing for class, I not only had readily provided topics to blog about, but I had a deadline and the illusion of a limited audience. Before September…… Continue reading More than 140 characters
Reunion
Last weekend I attended my 10th college reunion. In addition to seeing people I haven’t seen since our 5 year, enjoying the annual alumnae parade (headed by a woman from the class of 1934!), and generally indulging in nostalgia, I had a chance to reconnect with two aspects of my undergraduate experience which helped shape…… Continue reading Reunion
I (might) need a New Camera
I have two digital cameras, both of which came into my possession six years ago. I have a handy little Canon PowerShot SD700, a little thing which I bought before leaving for Scotland because it was the best camera in the store when it came to taking pictures of things through glass and I wanted…… Continue reading I (might) need a New Camera
Open Source Cookies
(Alternate title: and now for something completely different) A common stress-relief activity among grad students is baking, apparently. I’m not much of a baker, but I do have one or two recipes I enjoy making. I am particularly fond of Will Shetterly’s Finest-Kind Cookies, which he describes as “an open source recipe.” (Shetterly is a…… Continue reading Open Source Cookies
Old Haunts, New Views
This summer I’m working on a project which has to do with the history of the National Mall. It has been fun to learn more about a part of town with which I’m so familiar. Although I’m not a DC/Northern VA native, members of my family have lived in and around DC since the 1960s and…… Continue reading Old Haunts, New Views