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The Classroom as a Battleground for Meaning and Difference
Education, at its best, is an act of rebellion. It dares to disrupt the comfort of certainty, to dismantle the walls we build around ourselves, and to replace them with windows. Yet, in a world that fears change, education often finds itself tamed—reduced to sterile instruction manuals, neatly packaged outcomes, and metrics that measure everything…
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The Graph of a Cry
My dissertation is available as a book for academics, libraries, and those who are interested to read more about the phenomenal journey of the American ghazal. This dissertation analyzes the journey of the ancient Arabic poetic form of the ghazal to America to provide insights into transnational poetry and cultural mobility. While the movement of…
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Intersectionality and Film at the Filmacademie
Almost every year I get to work with the vibrant students of the Filmacademie. An opportunity that I greatly look forward to as it always leads to powerful conversations in which I get to learn just as much as the students. The diversity and inclusion workshop involves the theory of Intersectionality and unpacking films and…
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Come Join Us: English Pronunciation in a Global World
Hello everyone, We sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are doing okay. With the current mandate on social distancing, these are indeed challenging times, especially for the most vulnerable amongst us. Please know that you are not alone, we are in this together. There is no opportune moment, but we wanted to share…
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They hand you a box
They hand you a boxFour neat lines joined at supremely perfect right anglesYour body, rounded at the edges, pliable, more flesh than muscleSqueezing yourself into shape you triumph, look you say, I fitSkin compacted into nothingnessCells harnessed to behave One day, unexpectedly you spill outOver the edges, across the linesMass dictating it’s ruleslook they say,…
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When a poem is written like a telegram addressing a painting…
I am putting it on my agenda to feed the mind everyday with things of beauty, insightful words, and objects that inspire thought. It is an informal resolution for 2020, which so far has gone reasonably well. Recently, I read Sharon Olds’ Poem in the Form of a Telegram to Someone Looking at Henri Rousseau’s…
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English Pronunciation in a Global World MOOC Great Success
I had posted earlier that our MOOC had completed its second run. We had such an amazing time organizing and running it. It presented us with such great learning opportunities. It gives me immense pleasure that our MOOC – this wonderful, empowering, educational miracle created by Dr. Laura Rupp has created an outstanding record by…
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When the Mixed Classroom is Online
A Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC as they are called, is a powerful tool to make education accessible to everyone, especially those restricted by borders. Here, I write borders mindfully, being aware that there are artificial ones to demarcate the limits of a country, and then there are those governed by economic status, physical…
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Pictorial Ode to Twente
We spent October break in Twente. Pictures featured here include Oldenzaal, where we stopped for lunch, De Lutte, and Enschede. Our stay was at a hotel in De Lutte called Landgoed de Wilmersberg. It is a quaint and cosy property full of old world charm. They have beautiful pathways to either walk or bike. Bikes…
