One of my favorite things about life at Dickinson has been the collegial atmosphere. It’s really quite remarkable. And last night I had yet another opportunity to engage in “cross-disciplinary” activities.
The evening started w/ dinner at Piatto (which, btw, is one of the best restaurants in Carlisle). It’s a lovely little Italian restaurant tucked into an old Victorian era house just two blocks from campus.
The occasion was the end-of-semester get-together of those of us in the Works in Progress group. Three of us (myself, an art historian, and an East Asian history specialist) met once a month w/ the Provost. Our task was to present a draft of our recent scholarship (I took my MPSPA paper on Bolivia’s constituent assembly) to the group for critique. I won’t lie & say that the prospect of having the Provost read a draft of my recent (not-yet-fully-polished) work was a little scary. But he’s a wonderful, charming, and genuinely helpful soul. Plus, I got to learn about Japanese historiography and “collective imaginary” of the Japan’s 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, as well as getting introduced to Edward S. Curtis, a photographer/filmmaker & early ethnographer of Native Americans.
Last night the four of us shared two (or was it three?) bottles of wine, some excellent food (at the college’s expense), and talked about our first year at Dickinson (the Provost originally came under a one year contract as a young prof years ago), our summer plans, reminiscences of Italy, and more. I had a great time.
From there, it was off to Market Cross Pub (which, btw, is the best pub in town) to meet up w/ members of Alarm Will Sound (the artists in residence whose three-year gig ended this semester) & other colleagues from various departments. The occasion was karaoke—and the end (almost) of the semester. It’s also nice not to have to worry, since I live around the corner (on the same block, actually). And, really, you haven’t had the full “Dickinson experience” until you’ve seen tipsy profs singing showtunes & Toby Keith—yeah, we know how to “engage the world.”
But it was a great way to start winding down my first (academic) year here. Hopefully, I’ll have more time (and remember) to bring my camera out to take pictures. Spring is in the air, it’s sunny but not yet burning hot, and the nights are still breezy enough for light sweaters. In a word: nice.
It’s hard to believe that in three weeks I’ll be back in Bolivia.
