Welcome to My Blog

Personal photo--and not from home (I don't live near any ocean, unfortunately)

I've been writing my blog for enough years now that it has become both rich with topics and potentially hard to find what you're most interested in. So I've pinned this post to the top of my blog (well, through a fake future date workaround since Weebly doesn't yet let me pin a post). I hope it gives you some guidance to what I write about, what you might be interested in, and where you might find it. Of course, you can always start by using the Search box in the sidebar on a topic you're interested in. Check out syllabus! Apologies! Hallmark Christmas movies! Even searching a large topic like "rhetoric" will generate a good list of posts about things that matter.
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I thought I’d give an orientation to what has become a full archive of posts and highlight a few that other readers have let me know they especially liked. If you’re a long-time reader, thank you! And feel free to add suggestions of what you think others might enjoy reading.
 
What's Here
I write about rhetoric, language and genre—the kinds of everyday reading and writing we all do and how they shape us and our worlds. A few posts explain the idea of genre, for those of you who want some overview of the idea. Check out the Psychology of Genre, one of my first posts, or Genre in two pictures, or Genre Matters (aka Using Genres to Make Hatred Normal)

I’ve been writing this blog seriously since May 2016, and I wrote weekly for two years (more sporadically after that), so there’s a lot to sort through. Here are a few ways:

• If you have a topic you’d like to search for, there is a search box that should let you know whether I’ve ever written about Mother’s Day cards (I have) or annual reports (I have not--yet). 
• If you are somehow sturdy (or foolhardy) enough to want to watch me learn how to shift from academic writing to writing for broader audiences, you could read through the archives chronologically. Warning: I’ve posted nearly 100 essays, some over 750 words. Or you can read my post on An Academic Learns to Blog
• If you’d like to browse, I’d suggest glancing at the “Previous Posts” list, where I’ve tried to tag each post with a transparent title (that’s something I improved as I went along). Curious about what I had to say on Acceptance Speeches or Children’s Genres or Can Words Kill? Click the title and you’ll find out.

 
I’ve written more than one article on some topics, and some have told me they’ve liked those. Here are a couple of ideas.
 
Apologies
I’ve written 4 posts on good and bad apologies, starting with Harriet Lerner’s great work on what makes a good apology. It’s much easier to find examples of bad apologies, as I learned at my dentist’s office and watching public figures and businesses mess up saying “I’m sorry.” (Remember the United Airlines CEO after dragging a man off their plane? Now that was a bad apology.)

I wrote on what makes a good “thank you,” too, but that turns out to be much easier for people to do. Less humiliating, I imagine, to thank someone than to admit you screwed up.

Holidays
I’ve written about lots of holidays over the years, from New Year’s to Christmas and all in between, including Veterans Day, Labor Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and even April Fools’ Day (where the genre requires us to lie!). I tried an audio blog for Halloween one year, if you want to hear my voice. My most recent holiday post, I think, and one I'm proud of is my post on Armistice Day

And Other Matters
As a teacher, I’ve written about the syllabus in a few ways, and you who are teachers or scholars might find other topics of interest (on the word "essay," "commencement"--or is it "graduation"?). 
 
Since I also write about language and why genres matter, the blog has hit on lots of ways we live in our worlds through language and communication, especially how words matter. Some serious political and social topics following current events, but also laughing with Amy Schumer's sitcom parody or playing with Super Bowl ads.

But Wait, There’s More!
Since it is KU's story that prompted this post and it is March Madness time, I have to highlight my post on how I watch KU men’s basketball games through both my fanaticism and my genre-colored glasses. I ran through over 20 genres that make up my own watch party crowd’s way of watching KU play in 2018.


So that’s enough for now. If you'd like me to email you whenever I post something new, please feel free to sign up for my newsletter (see it in the sidebar).

I hope you can find something to spark your interest or show you old habits in new ways. Thank you for reading today