The Writer's Life
Being a Writer in 2018
For everyone in our circles, 2017 was filled with too much gin, not enough vegetables, and eternal guilt for not doing more: not resisting more,…
2017
The busiest year. Writing as resistance, morning pages, the post-ac question, teaching apartheid in St. Louis and the UNESCO nomination for Fort Negley.
PhD & Post-Ac
The Rearview Mirror and the Road Ahead, One year After my Dissertation
Author’s Note: This week I am out sick with the flu, so in lieu of a regular post, I am re-posting an essay I wrote for the blog, Un/Settled –…
Teaching
Teaching Apartheid
Five months later, I think of South Africa often, but nothing took me back to South Africa like this past week.
The Writer's Life
On Asking For Help
My job with the Slave Societies Digital Archive is probably one of the coolest I’ve ever had, and just to give you context, I’ve worked in a Scottish…
Life & Self-Care
A Post-Ac Parent’s Reflections on Traveling Abroad
The week before Thanksgiving I was in Tokyo, Japan, with my husband and son. My husband had been invited to speak at a conference, and we joined…
Teaching
Creative Control
I learned this during a world history graduate seminar years ago. I hadn’t thought about the challenges of teaching world history until then, but…
Teaching
Writing And Teaching About Difficult Subjects
I replied twice, but soon realized there was so much more to say. I’m a historian of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Life & Self-Care
Balance vs Wholeness
In last week’s blog post , my colleague Tanya reflected on the rush of October – that “month of muchness,” as she keenly calls it.
Teaching
Autumnal Reveries
I’ve felt restless this month, caught between one thing and another, going here and there, completing work, finding new tasks, never quite feeling…
Teaching
Nobody Wants to Change
Generally, people don’t like it when you tell them they need to change. They might grudgingly do it when they recognize you are right, but the…
Life & Self-Care
Tired
Last Monday, I was scheduled to post my regular contribution to the Smart Women Write blog but then I woke up to the news of Las Vegas, and I…
The Writer's Life
St. Louis Protests 2017: Resource Round-Up
I’ve been thinking of Mandela’s words a lot in the last few days. It’s a reflection that resonates quite a lotfor me, standing on the sidelines as…
Art & Public History
Drafting the First US Nomination to the UNESCO Slave Route Project: Nashville’s Fort Negley
A Nashville historian on researching and drafting the nomination of Fort Negley, the Union fort built by enslaved and free Black laborers, to…
The Writer's Life
Revisiting those New Year’s Resolutions
Now that we are three-fourths of the way through the year, I thought it might be a good time to revisit my resolutions for 2017 – or rather, as I…
The Writer's Life
Flirting with Equality, Flirting with Rejections
It’s been awhile, but earlier this year I mentioned my book project in passing – and it turns out I’ve never said much more about it than that.
The Writer's Life
We Create the Disasters, Not Nature
I have a million things I have to write, but I can’t stop thinking about a photo from Houston I saw on social media over the weekend.
Teaching
Glimpsing the Rainbow Nation
A year ago, my school asked if I would be interested in chaperoning a trip to South Africa this summer.
PhD & Post-Ac
Lost and Found: A Post-ac’s Book List
In this week’s blog post I want to share some of the books that have helped me through the 2-year transition between receiving my PhD in art…
The Writer's Life
Writing a Trade History Book, Part 1: The Introduction
Click here to see Writing a Trade History Book, Part 2: The Proposal I’m the kind of person who writes introductions last for pretty much everything.
Teaching
Summer Living, Teacher-Style
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a teacher approaching the end of the school year must be in dire need of summer break.
Books, Film & Reading
Reading and Re-Reading Harry Potter
I still remember the first time I had learned about Harry Potter and the magical world that has been available to us for 20 years this week.
PhD & Post-Ac
On Professional Generosity: a How-To Networking Guide for Writers, Educators, and Academics
I have just returned from Charleston, juiced up from one of the most thoughtfully constructed conferences I’ve attended in a long while.
Books, Film & Reading
Waiting for Wonder Woman
I don’t remember the first time I met Wonder Woman. I remember her presence in my childhood as a sense of wanting to be her (or Princess Leia, or…
Life & Self-Care
Nature as Self-Care
We have a tradition of going on an outdoor adventure every Mother’s Day weekend. This year we ended up at the plateau known as Rowena Crest ,…
Life & Self-Care
Writing Structure in the Summer
So many of us smart women writers tend to have more unstructured time in the summers. I work at a University, so while the undergrads are gone,…
Teaching
The Research Connection
You know, that process of going to the library sometime in your elementary or secondary or college education to learn about some topic so you…
Life & Self-Care
Thoughts on Being a “Mama PhD”
Yesterday morning, Facebook reminded me this week marks the 2-year anniversary of my doctoral hooding ceremony. That’s right, I’ve been a PhD for…
The Writer's Life
Thought Distortion and Writing: On Showing Your Work
Do you remember being in math class when you were little, and getting points taken off your homework because you didn’t show your work?
The Writer's Life
To Chapters, New and Old
One of the nice things about social media is that you never forget an important date, like the one when you defended your dissertation.
The Writer's Life
There’s No Wrong Way to Do the Morning Pages
Several months back I wrote a blog post about using Julia Cameron’s concept of the Morning Pages (from her book The Artist’s Way ) as a form of…
Teaching
To Write, or Not To Write that Encyclopedia Article?
Picture the scene: I am eight years old. I have a mullet (I have a German mother, and it was the early 90s, so I refuse to be ashamed of this).
The Writer's Life
Meeting yourself where you are
Eighteen years later, I still remember the moment I first told someone I wanted to be a writer.
PhD & Post-Ac
Emotional Juggling Act
For the last week, I have been busy working on a new business project with my husband called Super Nature Adventures that I plan to launch this month.
PhD & Post-Ac
Too Many PhDs?
We don’t have any right admitting PhD candidates when there aren’t any jobs for them. In the past month, I’ve been in this conversation at least…
Teaching
The History of Us All
“I became more of a feminist than I ever imagined.” – Eleanor Roosevelt The more I learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, the more I like her.
Art & Public History
The #5womenartists Campaign for Women’s History Month
It’s March, and along with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, this month also marks the second year for the feminist art history…
Teaching
The Art of Recommendation
I’ve just finished writing college letters of recommendation for former students of mine, and that got me thinking of the mechanics of writing…
Teaching
Facing the Fake
In the last six months, I’ve had frequent flashbacks to my early college years. Those were the days when the university still had computer labs…
PhD & Post-Ac
From PhD to Here: Towards a Life outside of Academia
This May will mark my second #withaphd anniversary, and with it, the second year since I began to move away from academia and towards some kind of…
The Writer's Life
A New Goal Emerges: Writing and Resistance in 2017
This morning, I drew a tarot card to give my day some shape, and it was Death. It was the card I’ve needed to see for a while.
Teaching
Endings|Beginnings
Last month, we were all a little obsessed with beginnings. New year, new presidency – it’s all been a little crazy. It still is.
Life & Self-Care
Some thoughts on Joy, Resilience, and Practicing Gratitude
A few weeks ago in early January, I was having a conversation on twitter with fellow PhD Lisa Munro and others about the importance of practicing…
The Writer's Life
A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance
All 3 members of Smart Women Write participated in #WomensMarch across the U.S. We’ve joined together to recap our experiences here to tell the…
Teaching
Handle with Care
I am not good at being kind to myself. For more than two decades, I have been a self-starter, a highly motivated individual with often singular…
The Writer's Life
2017: The Year of Writerly Resistance
After our 2016 Holiday Hiatus, we are back with a bang! For new followers and old, welcome to our blog. We’re so glad you’re here.