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Diane K. Jakacki Posts

May 6, 2012
Diane Jakacki
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Under Pressure

Posted in Conferences, Digital Humanities, Research, and Social Media

I’m finishing two essays at the moment – both concerning digital editions (two separate projects). One is due tomorrow and the other is … well, overdue is a polite way of phrasing that. Working on these simultaneously has made me hyper-conscious of the dangers of repetition and tripping over one’s self when writing about research. Until now I’d take on one writing project at a time. I’d be interested to know how other scholars (digital or otherwise) juggle their work in multiple formats/multiple outlets.

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April 29, 2012
Diane Jakacki
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On Finding – and Refining – One’s Voice

Posted in Reflections, and Writing

My to-do list was overwhelmingly long, and so yesterday I found myself procrastinating in every possible way. I decided, for no clear reason, that I needed to consolidate my working bibliography to incorporate all of my research sources from graduate school onward. I don’t know;  someday that might come in handy. I decided to go back and pull the works cited lists from my Master’s courses. In a further act of procrastination, I read some of my early attempts at scholarly writing. I quickly noticed two things: my bibliographical skills were horrendous (never-ending apologies, Jill Levenson! Your valiant efforts were clearly in vain), and my writing style was cringingly bad. 

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April 26, 2012
Diane Jakacki
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Reflections on Rejection

Posted in Job search

There must be a way to improve the rhetorical appeal of rejection. Should authors consider the response of their readers? I think they should In the courses on Writing and Communication that I teach to first-year Georgia Tech students, I spend a lot of time talking with them about how to phrase criticism in a constructive way. It is important, I tell them, to remember their audience and reception as they write. I work with them on framing observations in ways that will produce results. It is not a question of coddling, or being hyper-sensitive to feelings. It is a question of moving forward.

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April 22, 2012
Diane Jakacki
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Wrestling Titus – The Final Takedown

Posted in Digital Humanities, and Digital Pedagogy

Tomorrow my students are presenting their final group projects on Titus Andronicus. They pitched the projects to me in class last week, and some of them sound fantastic. Most of the students came up with some really interesting – and sometimes unexpected – takes on themes and characters, and how they should be considered in light of current issues and trends.

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