Dear world–
The proposal below was approved in April 14th, 2016. It is for a hybrid/blended edition of the course Humanities 3112, thematically organized as The Humanities from the Point of View of Love.
Two sections of H-Humanities 3112 have been opened for the August 2016, offering. They filled up quickly. A third section was opened later, and it filled out as well. This makes me feel they respond to a need and I’m very happy.
The Fall 2016 semester just started and I feel very happy that students in my courses can actively choose a hybrid/blended modality. They are very excited to study the Humanities from the Point of View of Love. My intent for the semester is that in the context of the new modality, the theme and the experience of being in the course align in more effective ways.
It is great to have one’s academic freedom returned. It makes me love my job again.
I am also very happy about the new administrative stability the department has found under the directorship of Hector Huyke and Jeffrey Herlihy. This happy resolution and new homeostatic balance was the work of a considerate and tactful colleague, Roberta Orlandini. I am very grateful to her as well.
Proposal’s Documents–
My Proposal for a Hybrid Edition of an Existing Humanities Course at UPRM is coming up for evaluation.
It required the preparation of a Proposal Package composed of documents and online course materials.
It is the first time that a proposal like this is on the table. Therefore I am making the whole package accessible here.
Proposal for a Hybrid Edition of Humanities 3112 at this link.
Hybrid Humanities 3112 – Template Syllabus at this link.
Conventional Humanities 3112 – Template Syllabus at this link.
Narrative Comparing Hybrid and Conventional Editions at this link.
Letter of Collaboration from CREAD at this link.
Online Course Content: Nine One-Hour Lectures on Early Modern and Modern History at this link.
Enjoy!
A Final Comment–Let’s Stop Discrimination against Bisexual People
This process started three years ago. I believe it took so long to get this approval because my department and university are aware of my bisexual orientation (from my research) but not aware of how bisexual people are discriminated in the workplace. So inadvertently they treated me differently from non-bisexual people.
An article I published in BiTopia (2011) indicates very clearly how bisexual people are typically treated in the workplace. This type of discrimination is very different from that experienced by most monosexual people, for example, gays and lesbians, who are often oblivious to it, if not inadvertently complicitous.
In most workplaces where awareness of this kind of discrimination is not present, bisexual people are typically considered both “unpromotable” and “unreliable” because they are interpreted as people in-transition, confused, and unstable. No matter how inconsistent that interpretation may be with reality, bisexual people are discriminated accordingly. Bisexual people are the largest group in the LGBT spectrum. We are a large group made to suffer in silence a lot.
I wish this kind of discrimination to stop, for all those it might affect, including myself. Therefore I am making this article accessible in its pdf form here.
The research was conducted by Heidi Bruins Greens, Nicholas Payne, and Jamison Green. Blessings to their efforts!
If you’re not aware of discrimination patterns against bisexual people, here’s a great opportunity to educate yourself.
Thank you.
Enjoy!
Revised August 22, 2016
