Christopher Tinson Reading and Book Signing

Christopher Tinson, professor of Africana Studies and History, will be reading from his new book, Radical Intellect: Liberator Magazine and Black Activism in the 1960s, this Thursday, February 8th at 7:00PM at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley. You can find more information at the attached link, and can read a description of the book below:

The rise of black radicalism in the 1960s was a result of both the successes and the failures of the civil rights movement.

Its victories were inspirational, but its failures to bring about structural political and economic change pushed many to look elsewhere for new strategies. During this era of intellectual ferment, the writers, editors, and activists behind the monthly magazine Liberator (1960–71) were essential contributors to the debate. In the first full-length history of the organization that produced the magazine, Christopher M. Tinson locates the Liberator as a touchstone of U.S.-based black radical thought and organizing in the 1960s. Combining radical journalism with on-the-ground activism, the magazine was dedicated to the dissemination of a range of cultural criticism aimed at spurring political activism and became the publishing home to many notable radical intellectual-activists of the period.

By mapping the history and intellectual trajectory of the Liberator and its thinkers, Tinson traces black intellectual history beyond Black Power and Black Nationalism into an internationalism that would shape radical thought for decades to come.

Informal “Write On Site” Opportunity

One of our colleagues, Alexis Salas (Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History in HACU), is generously organizing a write on site group. Many of you have participated in Write on Site groups through the CTL. Here are the details Alexis sent:

Write-On-Site Hampshire College

The term “Write on Site” is attributed to Kerry Ann Rockquemore at the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. It describes scholars coming together to work on their individual writing projects. Writing side-by-side at a regularly scheduled time provides accountability around just showing up and starting the work. WriteOn-Site Hampshire College also aims to cultivate a community of scholars.

Just bring your laptop and/or whatever you need for writing each week. Show up, check-in about what you are working on for the session and get to writing—Writing progress guaranteed! We hope you’ll join us. Faculty from all disciplines are welcome.

To limit the email overload, join us on Facebook to keep updated  https://www.facebook.com/groups/926401360839294/

Let’s set up Write on Site meet ups! Take the poll and let us know when you would like to meet. Take this Doodle poll to tell me when you are available this Fall 2016.

(The poll is specific to a given week—but really please treat it as your typical availability for each day of the week.  AKA, if you can’t meet this particular Monday Sept. 5 but normally can meet Mondays, then put in your normally available Monday times.)

Each session needs a sponsor (someone who can reserve a space for 5-10 people to write and open it) – please indicate when you can be that person and where the space would be. Write-On-Site can also take place outside of Hampshire College—please indicate what you are proposing and I will put it in the poll. If you can be the sponsor, email me with these details. Once we have established times (established by the Doodle poll) and sponsors for them (established by your emails to me), I will post the Write-On-Site Hampshire College days and times on Facebook.

Alexis Salas

Interested in a Summer Online Writing Fellowship?

Hampshire College Center for Teaching and Learning is excited to support faculty research through

Summer Online Writing Fellowships


This is a unique writing opportunity designed for Hampshire faculty and facilitated by Cathy Luna, an experienced local writing coach and experienced instructor of higher education. Fellowships are six weeks long (May 6- June 30) with the option to continue through July and August.

As part of this program, Fellows will:

  • Establish concrete summer writing goals
  • Write daily (ideally M-F), tracking progress online
  • Receive online guidance on the writing process from a local writing coach*
  • Interact online with a small community of committed writers
  • Attend an in-person kick-off meeting and optional consultation with the writing coach

*Please note that Cathy Luna will provide assistance with writing strategies and practices rather than read and respond to participants’ writing.

Fellows will be expected to attend the kick off workshop, “Scholarly Writing: What Works for You?” on Wednesday, May 6, 5:30pm.

Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Please contact Kristen Luschen at kluschen@hampshire.edu by Monday, April 20th to apply. Continue reading “Interested in a Summer Online Writing Fellowship?”

Talking about Teaching Session – Tuesday 21st at 3:30 p.m.

Best Practices for Supporting the Success of First Generation College Students

Tuesday, October 21, 3:30pm-5:00pm, FPH Lounge

This year, one in seven of Hampshire’s entering class is a first generation college student. This percentage will continue to climb over the coming years. Students who are the first in their families to attend college have meaningful experiences, knowledge, and skills to contribute to Hampshire and to their own learning. However, first generation college students also have unique challenges navigating the college environment, particularly Hampshire’s learner-centered academic approach. Faculty attending this session will learn about challenges faced by many first generation college students and share advising strategies and teaching practices to support their academic success.

This Talking about Teaching session will be facilitated by:

Kristen Luschen, Dean of Multicultural Education & Inclusion/Assoc. Professor Education Studies

Vivianna Alvarez, First Gen Student Group, Signer/Division II student

Event sponsored by: The Hampshire College Center for Teaching and Learning

Transformative Speaking Program Resources

Faculty HandoutThe Transformative Speaking Program has resources available to you and your students this semester. Please visit the program’s Moodle page at http://hamp.it/tspmoodle for more information about the highlights listed below:

1. You can request that a peer mentor meet with your students to work on developing skills for class discussion or presentations.

2. You can request that a team of peer mentors lead a speaking workshop for your students, during or outside of your class time.

3. Students can self-select to meet one-on-one with a peer speaking mentor to work on their general speaking skills or a particular discussion or presentation.

4. You can nominate students to apply to work as peer mentors for next year (application deadline Oct 17 and rolling thereafter).

5. You can request that a peer mentor be dedicated to work exclusively with you and students in your 100-level spring 2015 course in any discipline.

Questions? Contact Laura Greenfield at lgreenfield@hampshire.edu

Drop-in Sessions Oct. 3rd Cancelled

We are cancelling the Drop-in session in the CTL on Friday October 3rd. We hope you will come to the Kathleen Yancey discussion on reflection and portfolio-building in the Faculty/staff lounge in FPH instead.

The Social and Intellectual Practices Surrounding Electronic Portfolios: A Collaborative Discussion with Dr. Kathleen Yancey

Friday October 3, 2014 from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. FPH Lounge

When people think about electronic portfolios, they often think first of technology, but what’s interesting and promising about portfolios isn’t the technology, but rather the social practices supporting and surrounding them. What’s also promising, and at least as important, are the intellectual practices that are unique to ePortfolios. In this discussion, we’ll focus on both social and intellectual practices, and about how to design portfolios that bring this shared promise to life.

5 College Digital Humanites Event

Join 5 College colleagues at 12pm on Friday, September 26th in Frost Library at Amherst College for lightning talks from current and past project leaders and collaborators, information sessions about our faculty/staff grants and student fellowships, and a catered reception for the Five College community. Learn more about what 5 College faculty have been up to over the past year, and how you can get involved in the year to come.

Additional Session with Kathleen Yancey

In addition to her Thursday October 2nd keynote and discussion at 3:30 in the WLH (described in another post) on Friday October 3rd at 1:30 p.m. in the Faculty/Staff Lounge, Kathleen Yancey will host a discussion on e-portfolios and their uses. You do NOT have to have gone to the Thursday talk to participate.

The Social and Intellectual Practices Surrounding Electronic Portfolios:

A Collaborative Discussion

When people think about electronic portfolios, they often think first of technology, but what’s interesting and promising about portfolios isn’t the technology, but rather the social practices supporting and surrounding them. What’s also promising, and at least as important, are the intellectual practices that are unique to ePortfolios. In this discussion, we’ll focus on both social and intellectual practices, and about how to design portfolios that bring this shared promise to life.

Portfolios, Reflection, and The Unique Features of Electronic Portfolios

Please save the date for the following program this October

The CTL is excited to bring you:

Portfolios, Reflection, and The Unique Features of Electronic Portfolios

With Dr. Kathleen Yancey

Thursday October 2, 2014 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. West Lecture Hall

For those of you who cannot make this date, there will be another opportunity to talk with Kathleen Yancey on Friday October 3rd at 1:30 in the FPH Lounge.

Portfolio building and reflection can support deep learning. At the same time, more than one faculty member has expressed disappointment in the ways that students have engaged with them. Currently, across the country, electronic portfolios are being touted as the next best thing in education. Certainly, they have promise as a sustainable option for supporting learning. Given this context, we’ll consider four unique features of e-Portfolios and ways that those features can engage students and support student learning. First, we’ll consider the artifacts that students collect, the reasons they collect them, and the activities we can build around them so that they are meaningful. Second, we’ll consider the e-Portfolio arrangement: what is the role of portfolio structure in supporting learning, especially learning located in connections across contexts (e.g., courses, experiences)? Third we’ll turn to reflection, defining it and outlining the various functions it can serve, in the process also considering the distinctive contribution that reflection on artifacts and experiences makes to learning. Fourth and not least, we’ll consider the larger context for the portfolio: who are the people who might participate in a portfolio—as peer reviewers, for example, and as external audiences–and how can that participation contribute to both deep learning and sustainability?

KATHLEEN BLAKE YANCEY is Kellogg W. Hunt Professor of English and Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University. She has served in several national leadership roles, including as President of the National Council of Teachers of English; as Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication; as President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators; and as President of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association. She also co-founded and co-directs the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research, which has brought together over 60 institutions from around the world to document the learning represented in electronic portfolios. Yancey has authored or co-authored over 90 articles and book chapters and authored, edited, or co-edited twelve scholarly books—including Portfolios in the Writing Classroom; Reflection in the Writing Classroom; ePortfolios 2.0; and Contexts of Writing: Transfer, Composition, and Sites of Writing—and is the winner of several awards, including the Florida State Graduate Mentor Award and the Donald Murray Writing Prize.