Demo Day!

My day really started on Sunday night, as I finished my final preparations for Monday's demo. (I must admit that while I was excited to "teach" again, I was not thrilled to be prepping for a lesson during the summer.) The demo seemed to go well; everyone participated and laughed - always a good sign! But the most significant conversation/reflection started on Skype after my demo. Lacy was struggling to put her question into words. She was worried about restricting purpose and audience to a simple statement; she wanted to challenge S.O.A.P.S. as boxes on a rubric, to think about the "why" and "how" and "so what" behind the writer's purpose and audience. This led her to share an article with me (which I still need to read in its entirety). As I was reading, I noticed that Derrida and his deconstruction-circle theory were prevalent - suddenly, my mind was racing with connections! I started to think about Spivak and postcolonial theory, one of my true passions, and to apply Lacy's thoughts to my background in cultural and ethnic studies. We both began to rant in tandem! I loved the feeling of bouncing ideas and random thoughts off of each other. Our energies seemed to join together, and our tiny Skype pencils were moving constantly, as we tripped over each other to share our frustrations and views. What an amazing conversation! One of the things that I love most about SI is being reminded that writing and thinking sometimes occur best in the presence of other minds. (Riffing, anyone?!) Thanks, Lacy!