The weeks are quickly ticking by, and I’ve been focusing mostly on my teaching workload, though trying to transition myself to get some more research, writing, and editing time. Javi’s fever last night meant I lost most of today, though I think I managed to hold some solid ground (K8 let me work this morning; I took him in the afternoon, which is mostly nap time).
My first semester at Ole Miss is slowly winding down. I hope to post a long reflection on that later, as I start to deconstruct what worked & what didn’t in this new context. Particularly regarding my first-year seminar (LIBA 102), which I’m redesigning for next semester to both more useful for students & hold more “realistic” expectations (I’m regularly surprised by the kinds of skills my students need that I take for granted). I’m also applying some classroom experience as I redesign my populism course, which I’m teaching for Croft in the spring.
Meanwhile, you can check out two pieces of my recent handiwork. The first is book review that just came out in America’s Quarterly. I wrote a brief review of a collection of interviews w/ Alvaro Garcia Linera (Bolivia’s vp). To access the review, click here. Despite the book’s many flaws, I think it’s one worth picking up, especially if you want to better understand AGL (sometimes referred to as “Evo’s brain”).
The other is just a little slideshow I’ve prepared for tomorrow’s class, which kicks off a 5-week series on Latin America’s “left turn.” It’s become clear that my students prefer lectures, and need them in order to make sense of information. I also suspect that students may want to know that can use technology & give a “canned” lecture (an important thing if I want to strategically think about teaching evals). I’ll see if incorporating more audio/visual materials will kick-start better class discussions. Although I am pleasantly surprised by how well students are doing on exams, considering the low level of in-class discussion.
The students are (supposed to be) reading through Leftovers: Tales of the Latin American Left (Castañeda & Morales, 2008), and so this is meant to give them some essential background. I also wanted to put Latin America’s various lefts in comparative perspective, so the last slide shows the logos of various European social democratic parties. See if you can identify them!
