How The Alphabet Was Made, by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories — How The Alphabet Was Made
Good news about stress!
Good news from a real-life Professor McGonigal, but this one lectures at Stanford about the positive effects of stress. In her book, The Upside of Stress, McGonigal argues that approaching stress as something positive that we can learn from can change the way it affects us physically and mentally. She says that the “three most protective beliefs about stress are”: to view your body’s stress response as helpful, not debilitating – for… Read More
Immerse Yourself in Digital Stories
Check out the “50 best” digital articles compiled by the New York Times. I may not get anything done this break, because I want to read them all! This image is from the article on Hurricane Sandy:
Stand-up Comedian on Free-writing & Finding Your Voice
Read this Medium story by a stand-up comedian, describing what he learned about free-writing and finding his own voice from another comedian, Mitch Hedberg. Then enjoy some laughs direct from Hedberg himself:
Clint Smith on Writing, Commitment & Hurricane Katrina
Read this blog post by Davidson’s own Clint Smith, reflecting on the power and limitations of language to come to terms with catastrophic loss and psychic violence.
Ta-Nehisi Coates on Writing, Failure & Perseverance
Watch this short gem of a video, in which Davidson’s 2015 Reynold’s Lecturer Ta-Nehisi Coates offers good, candid advice about writing. We’ll be reading his work later in the semester. Make sure you get a ticket to his lecture. Tickets are free, and they are likely to sell out quickly.
Everything You Need to Know About Sex
I bet that headline got your attention! Sandy Keenan’s article on “Affirmative Consent” may not contain everything you need to know about sex, but it does provide important information about new rules about consent for sexual encounters, as well as helpful strategies for getting comfortable with those awkward conversations. Works Cited: Sandy Keenan. “Affirmative Consent: Are Students Really Asking?” The New York Times 28 July 2015. NYTimes.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
College Survival Tips
In this recent New York Times article, experienced students share their “been-there/done-that” advice for making the most out of college. The first tip is one of my favorites: As an incoming freshman I wish I’d known I didn’t need to know everything! I was so wrapped up in the idea that I had to know my major, how to navigate campus and the social scene, even how to do laundry. Sometimes the… Read More