Three for Thursday

[lunabee34]

1. I only have one outstanding task to complete as Senate Chair, and it will take me less than an hour to complete (just compiling a list of things). Then I will be well and truly done with the position, and I am so relieved.

My transition document for the next chair was 9 pages single-spaced (divided into bullets and with white space between categories for readability). It broke everything down step-by-step, including time frames and boilerplate for emails he'll need to send. We were supposed to meet to discuss the handover, and it lasted less than five minutes because the document was so thorough. LOL

2. Approaches to Teaching Harriet Jacobs (MLA) is finally in fucking print after only 5 years since the submission process. Really looking forward to seeing my chapter in print.

3. A Carolina wren is nesting in the mailbox, and the babies are cheeping! I also saw a raccoon in the side yard nosing around all the trees, standing up on its hind legs and then digging through the straw. So, so cute.

Comments

[author_by_night]

This is off topic, but your MLA mention made me think of a question I'd had for a while. Ever since college, actually, but I couldn't ask then because it sounded snarky. So I'm genuinely curious: Why is there a strict adherence to MLA format (and specialized formats in general)? Is it for authenticity purposes in a given field?

Congratulations on getting published!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! <3

MLA is the most prestigious professional organization for academics who teach and research languages and literature. They host an annual conference and regional branches host additional annual conferences; they publish a journal, and they publish scholarly books. They also provide forums for discussion of issues relevant to our profession and other stuff.

All style guides exist for a couple reasons: uniformity in publications so that each chapter in a collection of articles or each article in a journal is formatted and cited in the same way; so that readers can find what is being cited. MLA consists of parenthetical citations (generally the page number being quoted or paraphrased from that goes in parentheses along with author's last name right after the quote or paraphrase) and a Works Cited page that lists more information about each source used. So the WC page allows a reader to find all the sources, and the parenthetical citation allows the reader to find the exact quote or part of the text being referred to.

I find APA maddening because it doesn't use parenthetical citations with page numbers, and I don't understand how anyone is supposed to find the parts of a source text being referred to.

[author_by_night]

Okay, citation is actually a very good point. Now that I'm thinking about it, that probably made my own research (way back when) a lot easier, versus doing non-MLA research where it was a little harder to find exactly what I needed. Huh. I never put that together before. Maybe google needs to adopt MLA. ;)

[lunabee34]

:)

I think that a lot of instructors don't do a good job of explaining to students why we require them to do, well, anything LOL, so the foundation of my pedagogy is something called Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TiLT) where I explain the purpose of all assignments and readings, including their real world and career purposes.

[princessofgeeks]

Congratulations on wrapping up your time as Senate chair!

Also, publication! Woo hoo!

[lunabee34]

I have now exceeded expectations for scholarship for the year. LOL

<3

[timespirt]

Congratulations hon on jobs well done all around.

[lunabee34]

Thank you thank you!! <3

[spikedluv]

Congrats on being done! And being so thorough!

Yay for publication finally coming through!

Aww, babies!

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

I love the birds so much. They give me a lot of joy.

[anagrrl]

1. Yay! I'm glad you're almost free! And yay for the transition document, those things are invaluable.

2. Congrats! That's exciting (books take soooooooo long to go through the process!).

3. I love wrens! Lucky you that you have one nesting. A few years ago a house wren decided to nest in my yard, it was freaking delightful.

[lunabee34]

The pandemic messed this book up big time; plus, apparently MLA books take an abnormally long time to go through the publication process anyway.

I love all the tiny birds! The black-capped chickadees are so cute.

[cathexys]

Yeah for the chapter finally going to print and being done as Senate chair!!!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! I'm hoping I can finally relax.

[umadoshi]

We were supposed to meet to discuss the handover, and it lasted less than five minutes because the document was so thorough. LOL

Hee! ^_^ Well done! And yay for impending freedom!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to trying to relax. LOL

[sheafrotherdon]

1) Hive five on the single-spaced handover doc! The one I made to give to the next chair was 13 pages. Has he read it and used it? Not at all.

2) Did you see the news about Harriet's brother's book? It looks amazing!

[lunabee34]

I'm very happy that I am handing over to someone who will do a good and thorough job.

No! I did not see that at all. I must go find it.

[sheafrotherdon]

Here's the NYTimes story I saw about it last weekend: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/arts/john-jacobs-slavery-discovery.html

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

[executrix]

Good stuff!

[lunabee34]

*beams*

<3

[lyr]

All the yay! I'm happy for you on all counts.

[lunabee34]

Thank you! <3

[corvidology]

Here's to freedom AND publication finally! \o/

[lunabee34]

I'm looking forward to trying to relax. LOL

[independence1776]

Congrats!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! <3

[torachan]

Oh no, baby birds in the mailbox sounds too cute!

[lunabee34]

It really is. LOL We have to wait for the wren to fly out so we can open the top and get our mail without getting dive bombed.

[scintilla10]

Congrats on completing your Senate Chair obligations! And amazing to set up your successor so thoroughly. And yay for your book chapter publication (at last!).

Such cute animal sightings! I spotted a raccoon casually sauntering across the road in my neighbourhood the other day too.

[lunabee34]

Thank you thank you!

We are out in the woods so we get lots of animal sightings, but for some reason, I had never seen a raccoon out in the wild. It was really neat.

[kore]

"Approaches to Teaching Harriet Jacobs (MLA) is finally in fucking print after only 5 years since the submission process"

!! Nice!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! <3

[amejisuto]

Lookit you! Being all professional and adulting! Good job!

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

Twirls

[stormehowl]

Congratulations!!! And ohhhh, love when birds nest nearby! How are you receiving mail currently? I saw a meme the other day of a bird who nests in the side view mirror of someone's vehicle and they couldn't drive the car for a couple weeks or so. LOL.

[lunabee34]

It's one of those mailboxes that has the top part that opens to put letters in and an open part underneath for a newspaper; they're nesting in that open part.

Oh that's too funny re: the car!

[hermionesviolin]

> My transition document for the next chair was 9 pages single-spaced (divided into bullets and with white space between categories for readability). It broke everything down step-by-step, including time frames and boilerplate for emails he'll need to send. We were supposed to meet to discuss the handover, and it lasted less than five minutes because the document was so thorough. LOL

Good for you!

We have someone starting July 8 who will be doing most of the Unit support stuff I've been doing, and today I started to put together transition documents and ugh, it feels so overwhelming.

[lunabee34]

Thank you! <3

Does this mean you're leaving or just transitioning into a different role?

[hermionesviolin]

> Does this mean you're leaving or just transitioning into a different role?

Neither?

I've been doing Unit support for a number of years in addition to my official faculty support role, and management has finally decided to make a separate Unit Coordinator role that would take over that Unit support (as well as some other stuff).

I applied for the UC role and didn't get it -- which I have some thoughts and feelings about, but my initial (and probably still primary?) reaction was relief, given that the way that my manager talked about why I didn't get the role suggested that they want someone who has more passion and energy than I really have for the job at this time in my life.

[lunabee34]

Gotcha. I can understand having a variety of feelings about not getting the job, but I'm glad you're mostly relieved about it. *hugs*