Friday, September 17, 2004
Teaching dreams
I've been struggling with writer's insomnia lately. I lie down in bed, and my head keeps swimming with phrases and footnotes that I need to put in my dissertation. Visions of abolitionists dance through my brain. Then, when I finally do fall asleep a few hours later, I have "teaching dreams." My wife warned me about these before the semester started.
Last night I dreamed that I had, for reasons I could not remember, assigned Clifford Geertz's The Interpretation of Cultures to my class without specifying any particular pages or essays. Disaster, of course, ensued. Plus, in the dream, my dissertation advisor happened to be observing the class. Go ahead and "thickly describe" that. (Greg, I blame you for putting Geertz back in my subconscious since I've noticed that he's on your "Recently Read" list.)
Last night I dreamed that I had, for reasons I could not remember, assigned Clifford Geertz's The Interpretation of Cultures to my class without specifying any particular pages or essays. Disaster, of course, ensued. Plus, in the dream, my dissertation advisor happened to be observing the class. Go ahead and "thickly describe" that. (Greg, I blame you for putting Geertz back in my subconscious since I've noticed that he's on your "Recently Read" list.)
Improvised @ 10:15 AM 
