An academic reference for Kimberle Crenshaw's article on intersectionality with the following note: 'It is important to note, considering recent educational debates in the Unite States, that critical race theory ('CRT') is a particular branch of legal theory which addresses how race affects legal processes. 'CRT' is not synonymous with Intersectionality, nor with any critical mention of race, just as 'the New Perspective on Paul' is not synonymous with biblical studies nor any mention of the Bible.

It's Spicy Footnote Season™️ over here in thesis editing-land

Enid Wexler from the film “Legally Blonde” saying “That’s why I’m petitioning to have next term be referred to as the winter ovester”

Words I have used instead of ‘seminal’ in my dissertation:

-foundational
-landmark
-critical
-crucial
-important
-influential
-groundbreaking
-innovative
-fundamental

Big ‘Enid Wexler advocating for next semester to be called the “winter ov-ester”’ vibes over here

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Not to brag but at the Christmas Eve service, I got to take communion next to (a very serious looking) Santa Claus, in full costume, sans hat.

This is the beginning of some sort of high church hallmark Christmas movie. I’m sure of it.

This is the most Catholic thing he’s done in office

A selfie of the author wearing a navy blue shirt that says “‘Meh, good enough’ -Mediocrates”. There is a Classical looking sculpture in the middle of the shirt

The vibe I’m bringing to end-of-semester grading

In my house they have to at least try it, and if they won’t eat it then they can have dry cereal

This is the best thing I’ve seen all week

I’m still congratulating myself for not immediately running to help a student with a spill during our final session yesterday and just letting them clean it up bc they were very capable of it. The ingrained “I’m supposed to be the helper” mindset is SO hard to unlearn!

That’s very kind of you! We’ve been on the PTSD train since that kid was born, so we have many, many books and about a billion hours of therapy under our belts at this point. But I appreciate the offer! I’ll keep it in mind for when my PhD is done and I have more brain room.

I’m all for supporting thinking over form, but honestly the grammar and spelling and punctuation drive me nuts and I do grade it. I’m so tired of getting essays written in text speak with no capitalization. They need to know that you have to write differently for college than you do for convos

TLDR: I’m still a mess but that’s okay and I appreciate you all. And books soothe the soul.

/End

I’m also grateful for the incredibly compassionate people in this field—every single person who knows what’s up offered hugs, sad eyes, prayers, and honest “How are you”s throughout the weekend.

No callous academics, no “but what about your career?” questions. Just compassion and support. /5

So instead of looking for new course readings or research books in the book hall, this year I dug through the trauma and disability sections to try and find something that would help make sense of the incomprehensible. I’m grateful for the way our field is growing into this important area of study/4

All this is to say: I did a LOT more crying at SBL than anyone knew. I was even hit by a massive wave of grief right before my paper, which wasn’t ideal. I’ve learned that it shows up when it wants whether I like it or not, so I toughed it out and then burst into sobs when I got back to my room /3

In the course of about 10 days, we went from “Wait what?!” to she and I moving to California for months of treatment.

It was…….a lot.

And it’s continued to be a lot since we came home in May. There’s no cure, no medication, only intensive treatment.

And so, so many forms and meetings 🫠 /2

A short pile of books sitting on a wooden countertop. Titles include “Post-Traumatic Jesus”, “Resurrecting Wounds”, “After the Worst Day Ever”, and “Crippled Grace”

A belated photo of my small #SBLAAR24 book haul, all on trauma and disability. If you follow me elsewhere, you may remember that I posted early in the year about my daughter.

Early in 2024, we suddenly discovered that she has a rare disorder connected to the severe birth trauma we both endured 🧵/

Such a great book!

trans rights are human rights

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Petition to volun-tell Jen for this! I’d offer but my life is, uh, a little ridiculous right now

The author poses in front of a bookshelf wearing a forest green jumper, a cream turtleneck, and dark green sweater tights.

It’s my last teaching day of the semester, so obvs I’m wearing a 90s-era corduroy jumper like I did on my first day of school in 1992

How is the end of the semester going, you ask? Well this is my department head on the floor of my office so

#academicbluesky

A #Greek glass amphora, 2nd half of the 2nd century BC, from Olbia, now in the Altes Museum
#ancient #artwork #art #History #galss
🏺AncientBlueSky

Accurate

Honestly I like LA better! If it were held there I’d happily pay $25 for a smoothie. Not sure about the scooters—I think they cause some havoc in other cities but it really is a huge mobility aid for ppl like me. Even if I could have just scooted between venues, it would have made a huge difference!

Ugh right?! The beverage costs at receptions was unbelievable!

That being said, the hotels were great and I enjoyed the proximity to the water. That, and the best chai latte I’ve ever had, courtesy of the coffee place behind the Hyatt. The people will always be worth it!

3/3

As someone with chronic pain, the size of the conference venue was just too much, and tbh the lack of e-scooter access played a big part in my fatigue. At least in Denver, I could scoot between venues—but they’re banned in SD. I brought only comfy shoes and even they couldn’t prevent big pain

2/3