Liz Coleman's call to reinvent liberal arts education

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Student Feedback on the State of the Public Sphere in Harris County, Texas and Houston

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I asked my students (my teachers) today what they've learned so far in this summer course on public sphere rhetoric. Some held their heads down -- because they've learned nothing? -- because they've not yet learned to speak up? -- because they don't believe in public rhetoric? -- because of their own insecurities? I don't know. Most of the responses below came from five students. Their authorities take no responsibility for communicating with the stakeholders  Authoritative texts too difficult to locate; language often inappropriately difficult for public to use  Lack of sufficient documentation and literature reflects authorities' apathy towards public engagement   Our own lack of knowledge about the power structures increases both our and their apathy  Public fails to recognize problems because we have been habituated to "learned helplessness"  Public notices but feel powerless because we've been taught we can't change anything  A...
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Cosmos Day 2014

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Cosmos Day -- A Day of Exploration In celebration of Cosmos Day, I decided to slow down and explore some near-wilderness area near me, starting from Pundt Park and hiking along the Spring Creek Greenway . I usually bike this route for a round trip of about 20 miles and try to keep my speed up, so I don't stop to look at the flora or take the horse trails or the hiking trails. Today, though, I decided to take it slow. The temperature was about 90 ° , about 70% humidity, and sunny. It should be noted that the Spring Creek eventually meets Cypress Creek and then flows into the San Jacinto River. Cypress Creek was once known as Cypress Bayou, but the good people of Spring and Klein and Champions didn't want to be known as living along a bayou, so they had the name officially change to a creek, which is less cajun or Louisianan or something. Some of the older towns and railway stops still refer to Cypress Bayou, but the creek name is stuck now and FM Road (Farm to Market ...
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A Conversation with the Community College Addressing Our Responsibilities to Undocumented Students

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A version of this is published in the current issue of the LSCS Advocate . Part 2 is here. Our Undocumented Students and the Union’s Responsibilities Politics exists because those who have no right to be counted as speaking beings make themselves of some account. (Jacques Rancière) On 5 September 2017, Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III announced that DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) will be rescinded in six months. We’re going to address this issue to clarify what DACA is (and what it isn’t), why this should matter to us as members of a labor union, and what we can do. In his announcement , Sessions repeated multiple specious claims and “alternative facts” about DACA, migrants, jobs, and public safety: Sessions repeatedly uses the terminology “illegal aliens,” which, although we may hear it frequently, is not a legal term in the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it conflates the act of crossing the border illegally with an ongoing le...
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