Even with an early night, I needed (and took) a nap this morning after John and Linda left for the lectures. On Mountain Daylight Time we’re going to bed around 4pm and getting up for the day at midnight. I can’t tell if I’m tired from jetlag or tired from running around all day long. I must say, however, that trips with just John are much less tiring and stressful than trips with students. Maybe part of it is staying in one place for more than three days.
John gave his presentation today,
on his students’ reactions to walking through Hardy country. The other presenter in his session was a Polish doctoral student from Yale, who discussed the imprinted emotional image in Hardy’s prose and poetry--it was a small group and even I made a comment (on “flashbulb memory,” e.g., where were you when you heard Kennedy had been shot. Oh right, none of you were born yet--well, I was five and in kindergarten, and all the teachers were crying and when I went home and told my mom she didn‘t believe me, and then she started crying too. I don‘t know what the equivalent would be now--the Challenger accident?)
Anyway, John
discussed what happens in our groups of students with the mix of landscape, literature, group dynamics and personal stuff. It is a very potent mix. One question from the audience was, “ethically, how do you let students know ahead of time what they’re in for?” and the answer is that he can’t. Something different happens each time that is very hard to predict. We did discover the importance of frequent debriefing, even if people get sort of bored by it, and this last trip--UK07--had considerably less emotional drama (which was good, or at least safer). Anyway, it was an interesting talk and interesting discussion afterward. I decided I have a crush on Michael Irwin (I won‘t tell him that).
John gave his presentation today,
on his students’ reactions to walking through Hardy country. The other presenter in his session was a Polish doctoral student from Yale, who discussed the imprinted emotional image in Hardy’s prose and poetry--it was a small group and even I made a comment (on “flashbulb memory,” e.g., where were you when you heard Kennedy had been shot. Oh right, none of you were born yet--well, I was five and in kindergarten, and all the teachers were crying and when I went home and told my mom she didn‘t believe me, and then she started crying too. I don‘t know what the equivalent would be now--the Challenger accident?)Anyway, John
discussed what happens in our groups of students with the mix of landscape, literature, group dynamics and personal stuff. It is a very potent mix. One question from the audience was, “ethically, how do you let students know ahead of time what they’re in for?” and the answer is that he can’t. Something different happens each time that is very hard to predict. We did discover the importance of frequent debriefing, even if people get sort of bored by it, and this last trip--UK07--had considerably less emotional drama (which was good, or at least safer). Anyway, it was an interesting talk and interesting discussion afterward. I decided I have a crush on Michael Irwin (I won‘t tell him that).
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