Blogenspiel: More on the AHA

Sunday, December 30, 2007

More on the AHA

Info on meet-up (Saturday am around 7) to follow. But how is it that pretty much every interesting professional panel is across from one of the very few medieval panels? Again, I'm having to choose between things that could be really useful in terms of teaching and SLAC's focus on being a 'teaching school' and Stuff That I Never Get to Hear in My Own Field, Not to Mention People With Whom I Should Stay In Contact.

Aargh. But, since I am taking 4 undergrads with me, I can send them off to Tony Grafton's Saturday morning panel (one of the really interesting TG ones across from the medieval stuff), and maybe send the two who are getting their secondary ed credentials to one of the others that looks useful. Yay for ~~minions~~ mentoring. I'm really looking forward to that part. I took my two favourite and most promising community college students to AHA a few years back, and we all had a blast going through the program and picking sessions (and them elbowing me when I started to doze in one session), and coming back and reporting on what the others had missed. The 'bring students' lower registration rate is one of the best things AHA has done in ages, I think. The two students I took before both did very good degrees in History, and one is now working on an MA, hoping to move on to a PhD (after she gets her damned languages!); the other did a bunch of study abroad and is now going to med school. This year, my students have broad interests, none in my fields, really, but none of my SLAC colleagues seemed to think taking students was a worthwhile operation. The only thing I regret is that I think I'm having to cough up for this one out of my own pocket ...

So I'll be blogger-breakfasting, going to at least one reception, trying to get to a bunch of the medieval panels -- especially the one on Sunday, and seeing friends, all the while meeting up with the students for updates. Yipes! It's not like I have writing, contract negotiations, and class prep or anything -- but so do you all!

6 comments:

dance said...: All SLACs ought to have a fund for student-teacher engagement outside of class. Sounds like the kind of thing a dean or student affairs might be willing to pay for, though. Especially if you bring back some decent photos and let them do a little feature in whatever publicity magazine they do (surely there is one). That's exactly the type of "research informs teaching" that admin should love, no?; 2:38 PM
Another Damned Medievalist said...: Unfortunately, the deadline was well before this could be planned, due to the vagaries of trying to ask colleagues and students what they thought. Harumph.; 3:59 PM
Belle said...: If you're doing a breakfast meet up, can I come?; 5:42 PM
Another Damned Medievalist said...: It's all bloggers, all the time!; 9:09 AM
Ahistoricality said...: If I ever again get to teach at a school with a J-Term or sufficiently long winter break, I'd love to take a bunch of history major seniors to the AHA, require them to visit a certain number of panels and spend the rest of the semester talking about what they heard and learned and what it means.....; 3:58 PM
Another Damned Medievalist said...: That would be loads of fun!; 4:25 PM