I think I mentioned a long time ago that we've got a Gruub Studies Colloquium. The way it works is that every week we invite a professor from a related field - sometimes only tangentially related - to come and present some state of the field stuff. We get to find out what the hot issues are in a whole lot of areas that ordinarily we would have to dig through a heap of 'other' people's journals to get to. So yea! All for the good.
So, I've got a bit of a problem. Those of you who know me already know about this. No, it's not that my hair sticks up all the time. That is a problem but it's not the one I'm thinking of right now. Keep on topic!
I've got a big mouth.
I love talk about all sorts of anything. Especially if it's something someone else is really passionate about. Especially if I know nothing about it. You can see how this colloquium works well for me. Even though I don't always finish all the readings, I'm almost always game to ask questions.
So, since we've got a new clutch of gradfolk this fall, we're trying to get them interested in the colloquium and the whole community that we're trying to nurture. Having a big blabbermouth at the table doesn't really help in getting them involved in the discussion, so last week I decided to sit away from the big table against the wall and force the newer folks to sit up at the adult's table.
I tried so hard to not talk as much, but... but... the topic was really cool! and there were serious problems. Problems that oooonly I could bring up (insert Underdog theme here). Well, obviously that isn't true, but the effect was as one might expect. I talked nearly as much as I always did, but I had to talk over the shoulder of one of the new folks.
Karma bit me in the tuckus, too because they assigned me to lead the discussion this week. Our visiting scholar just happens to be a certifiable gen-i-us (that's better than a regular genius). He's also very exacting. And he's from a field that I know even less than usual about.
I just finished reading all but a couple of pages of the reading.
I've got about maybe 20-30 minutes of questions.
I need to fill two hours.
Here's hoping for a rousing rowdy colloquium! (and a few more questions before we meet tomorrow)
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3 comments:
ha! you could be like me and interrupt all the time. :S
i love it - I'd so enjoy being a fly on the wall of your discussions
I would love to have both of you in some of those conversations. I think you'd like talking about some of the topics. That's my thing too. Unfortunately, I can't really choose to just deal with eh topics that I like :(
Oh, and I bite my tongue a lot. I'm always saying 'let them finish, let them finish' in my head.
There's that saying, "It's better to keep you mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." I often wonder if that was written with me in mind.
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