Unlike Simone Biles, who stuck the landing on physics-defying aerial brilliance, leading the women’s gymnastics team to a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, J.D. Vance…
professors
For Patty Zimmermann, with Revolutionary Love
These words were written for a late-April weekend memorializing Patty Zimmermann, who was Editor-at-Large for The Edge, Director of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Professor of Screen Studies at Ithaca College, and a fierce friend and ally. ...
Resets, Rethinkings, Rewirings: Reflections on a Roundtable Discussion about AI
I found myself seated at the front of a lecture hall on the campus of Ithaca College in New York. It was March 30, 2023. Philosopher Craig Duncan of Ithaca College and Raza Rumi, Director of the Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM), were there with me to...
The End of the Latin American Migrant Trope
Myriad films across the history of Latin American cinema explore the trope of the migrant. These films document the trek from Latin America to the U.S. and migrants’ lives afterwards. Classic films such as “Espaldas mojadas” (Alejandro Galindo, 1995) and “El Norte”...
AI and the Fears of Being Thrown Away: Reflections on a Classroom Incident in Dallas
The day: Monday, February 27, 2023. The place: A large lecture class in the new Engineering and Computer Science West building at the University of Texas-Dallas. It’s a wide space, accommodating 300 students. Great windows and elegant wood window treatments allow for...
Teaching the War in Ukraine
It wasn’t long after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, that I knew I would need to teach a course on it. Six months later, with the war in full force, I launched a semester-long course titled “The Global Politics of the War in Ukraine.” I am an...
Academic Austerity Survival Kit: 15 Ways to Make It Through
It’s bad, really bad, in higher education these days. Whether the pandemic is over or ongoing, its continuing impact has catapulted colleges and universities into a maelstrom of student disengagement, faculty quiet quitting, outright resignations, and draconian budget...
No Laptops: How to Escape Screens for a Few Hours Each Week
As I walked through an academic building on the Ithaca College campus a few weeks ago, I peeked into a class and saw something that surprised me. This image is now so pervasive, I should not have been at all surprised. The professor stood at the head of the room...
Is Artificial Intelligence Poised to Disrupt College Teaching?
Many challenges, from enrollment declines to disengaged students to pandemic-induced recalibrations, confront higher education at the moment. But one disruption needs to occupy more space in our conversations: artificial intelligence. It's difficult to predict how...
A Pledge for Surviving Difficult Times in Higher Education
We are living in polarized times. Everyone I know stands firmly on one side or the other on issues of the day like “Don’t say gay,” reproductive rights, the pandemic, and the causes and consequences of climate change. These debates can negatively impact us as...