I have been many kinds of tourist. I dutifully read David Foster Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" before embarking on my own week-long Caribbean cruise, though my cynicism at the mass marketed tourist experience could, in the end, not match Wallace's. I have been the thrill seeker who pays a pretty … Continue reading Triana
Why impeachment now?
There is a lot of noise about impeachment in the news and the among the commentariat and pundit class, and suddenly everyone in the US is scrambling to recall what they learned in 7th grade civics class about the branches of government. I have mostly followed this, though I have found it far too easy … Continue reading Why impeachment now?
Loretto (a poem)
I've spent a lot of time in my senior seminar course in the early part of this semester talking about writing, and specifically about the limits and foibles of academic social science writing. I encouraged the students to read widely and write write write, including reading and writing things that challenge their normal interests and … Continue reading Loretto (a poem)
AAG Denver 2020 with kids
As I discussed in a post from back in April following the last meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in Washington, DC, attending a large academic conference with family can present many challenges. I suggested at the time that a fun and useful project might be to create an open map of the … Continue reading AAG Denver 2020 with kids
Research update
So far this summer I have spent a lot of time traveling, as well as many, many hours dealing with technical and bureaucratic headaches associated with a new IT system at my university. It has been challenging not just to find time to write meaningful and interesting blog posts here, but also to get research … Continue reading Research update
On becoming Canadian
We arrive 10 minutes before the appointed 1:00 pm deadline on my invitation letter. It reads less as an invitation and more as a list of instructions, but represents the final step on my road to Canadian citizenship. The large waiting room is already packed, families in nice clothes, children laughing and running around, those … Continue reading On becoming Canadian
How (not) to conference
In early April, I once again attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), this time in Washington, DC. While there, I presented, along with my research assistant/co-author, a paper on the geographies of rotationality in the US and Canadian foreign services. Rotationality is a basic condition of work in almost all … Continue reading How (not) to conference
