[The Spring 2022 semester was in some ways more “normal” than the last few have been, but in many other ways just as difficult, if not indeed more so. But y’all know me well enough to know that I’m not going to focus on the challenges in this week’s series, but rather on individual discussions in each of my classes that reminded me of why we do what we do!]
Not that I remember
the Fall
2013 semester very well in any case, but it was nonetheless quite stunning
how different I felt teaching my Major
Author: W.E.B. Du Bois seminar this semester than I had that
first time 9 years ago. Partly that’s because I’m a lot better of a teacher
than I was then, to be sure. But mostly it’s because this last decade of
American conversations and conflicts has made Du Bois so, so much more relevant
than even I previously would have argued. My favorite discussions this time
around were precisely those which connected to our current moment while still
dwelling deeply in the specifics of Du Bois’ works, and by far the best was a
class-long conversation about his magisterial column, from the first
issue of The Crisis, “Agitation.” We
talked Du Bois’ metaphors, we talked #BlackLivesMatter, we talked the roles of
journalism and writing—we modeled the best of a classroom community. I think Du
Bois himself would have been proud to be among us.
Next reflection
tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Spring semester reflections (in all tones) you’d share?
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