Professor Beej

Tomorrow, my world literature survey begins studying Modernism.  Luckily, I have what may be considered an unhealthy attraction to this literary movement. I just get all giddy when talking about it how depressive and fragmented (yet brilliant!) modern literature is.

One of my favorite things to teach in my literature surveys is Confucius’ Analects. The text never ceases to amaze me because of just how relevant it still is.  Despite being somewhat archaic in style and diction by today’s standards, Confucius really hit on some ideas that most of us would do well to meditate [...]

The college I teach at is fairly small.  We broke 1,000 students last year, and should break 1,100 next year.  We offer a number of four-year degrees, and many of our students head off to graduate studies after commencement. And yet, there is a disconnect between the local population and the school, not to mention [...]

Every so often, I get into my head that I need a Ph.D.  Right now, I not only think that I need one, but that I actively want it as well. Not having a Ph.D. in this profession is like going to a Star Trek convention without a clearly outlined Kirk vs. Picard argument.  It’s [...]

These past few weeks have been crazy.  Things are finally settling back down, and I hope to be able to get back to a regular blogging schedule sometime soon.  One of the last details that needs to be finalized within a few days are the reading lists on my syllabi.  For the most part, they’re [...]