We made it to week 15! The second-to-last week of the semester. Any expectations I had for this term went out the window in August but I’m happy to say that I think everyone did the best they could. I moved one of my classes from in-person to remote, because it made sense for the students (my other class is always remote, even pre-pandemic). I offered grace to students who needed extensions and more time; they offered grace to me when grading took a bit longer or I had trouble with technology. As an instructor, I take class community seriously and was happy to see the communities develop in both of my classes, despite the challenging circumstances.
But this week is particularly sad for me because this is the last week of classes (finals are next week). And in the last week, I typically host students for a potluck dinner (well, I provide the main meal and sides–people can bring something to share if they want, but it’s not required). It’s my way of saying thanks for their engagement but also allows us to share a bit of ourselves that we normally don’t share in class. I look forward to it all semester.
This is also the week where I’m wrapping up manuscripts, getting ready for final grading, and sitting in on proposal and dissertation defenses. I am looking forward to those returning to in-person as well.
I am ready for the semester to be over, in the way I am always ready for the semester to be over, but I’ve learned a lot the past four months. So next week I’ll offer some final reflections on the semester–what worked/didn’t work, what I will take with me for spring, what fears I had about the future of research on race and colonialism. Then I plan to take a break from posting until classes resume in January 2021. My Netflix queue is long 🙂
Doing Indian Country Research 