I did a new thing this semester.
New Policy Regarding Late Work [posted in syllabus and on course website]:
"You do not have to ask permission to submit work late. I expect you to turn in work on time, but also understand emergencies (and non emergencies--just feelings of being overwhelmed and behind) happen.
I expect you to tell me when you will be able to complete the work. You will not receive any penalty for later work as long as you tell me ahead of time AND turn in work before the following assignment is due."
Reasons for this New Policy:
I have noticed that a number of students have additional responsibilities that take priority to classroom work like: parenting; caring for family members (siblings, elders, etc.) ; and /or working to pay for housing and food.
I have had a number of students who were so ashamed of being behind on work, they would eventually stop coming to class. In other cases, some students could not focus on the work because they were stressed out about catching up.
Results:
The quality of late work improved.
Communication between students and myself about late or missing work improved.
Attendance [especially of students who submitted late midterms] has improved.
This type of communication helps build an open, proactive, and professional work environment in the classroom.
Updates....
Click here for the recording [Released On-line This Month]
Saturday February 25, 2023 11:00am to 12:30pm Josiah Henson Museum and Park
"Celebrate Black History Month at Josiah Henson Museum & Park with an educational program exploring the crucial role of the night sky in guiding and empowering freedom seekers on their journeys north along the Underground Railroad. Observe the stars from another point of view with special guest speakers: historian Dr. Sylvea Hollis, astronomer Dr. Lou Strolger, and PhD candidate Sophie Hess.
The family-friendly program will take place at the Josiah Henson Museum and Park visitor center. Free and does not include museum admission. Appropriate for ages 6 and up."
Click here for recording [Released On-line This Month]
MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2023 | 9:00 – 10:00 PM EASTERN | VIRTUAL
Our group of public humanities scholars and practitioners will examine this theme with a care for what it means to leverage recent scholarship, while also doing this work within public history spaces. It considers the social, economic, political, and intellectual worlds of African Americans in their quest to live out the full meaning of freedom. The program pays attention to nuances and various ways that geography and ecology shaped the idea of black freedom. In so doing, presenters also will foreground the important place that shifting methodologies play in this discussion. The second part of the discussion will take place at the NCPH Annual Meeting. Sponsored by the National Park Service.
Facilitator: Sylvea Hollis, Montgomery College Participants: Yveline Alexis, Oberlin College Ista Clarke, Charleston County Parks Department Maya Davis, Riversdale House Museum Marcus Nevius, University of Missouri
This is a free virtual program. Please register to save your spot and receive the Zoom link: https://community.ncph.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1720078&group=.
On March 19th I participated in a post-show talk in Perisphere Theatre's production of Storehouse.
Click here for a review of the show that was published in MD Theatre Guide.
Last year was my first time working with Perisphere. I joined the board shortly after participating in a post-show talk of the Blue Door.
Project with Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
I clicked "send," on the Rhoden article. My essay will be published in a catalog with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts' exhibition on the artist, John W. Rhoden. The show will open in Philadelphia at the end of the year.
My article is entitled, “'I like to say I’m from Birmingham': John W. Rhoden’s Memory(s) of Home."
Montgomery College
This month I received rank advancement [from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor]. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work at MC and look forward to our future.
Forthcoming Events:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2023 | 8:00 – 9:30 PM EASTERN | LOCATION TBA
Join us for the third in a series of five roundtables designed to explore and interrogate the American Revolution ahead of the 250th anniversary. Designed as a three-part suite of programming, a virtual roundtable grounding us in the history and scholarship of slavery, freedom, and the Revolution will be held in March 2023 ahead of the annual meeting. Second, this in-person opening plenary will allow conference attendees to dig deeper into the theme “The Rhetoric of Freedom” with our facilitator and scholars in a more conversational style. We’ll follow up with a concurrent session on Thursday of the conference that is designed to provide support for interpreters and strategies as they engage our publics in these essential conversations. Co-sponsored by the National Park Service and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Facilitator: Sylvea Hollis, Montgomery College Participants: Yveline Alexis, Oberlin College Ista Clarke, Charleston County Parks Department Maya Davis, Riversdale House Museum Marcus Nevius, University of Missouri
This plenary is free and open to conference attendees and non-attendees alike who are in Atlanta, GA, no advance registration required.
Part Three of this series is a session being held Thursday, April 13, at 10:30 am – “Interpreting Slavery and Revolution: Safe Space and Vent Session.” This session is only open to conference attendees. Sponsored by the National Park Service.
Date: Saturday May 6th, 2023 at 2PM
Location: Hispanic Society Museum and Library
No registration required to attend in person. If you would like to attend virtually, please register here.
Chaired by Dr. Jennifer Anderson (Stony Brook University), this panel examines the lives of enslaved people in New York, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. Past scholarship has primarily focused on the seaport of lower Manhattan and the labor routines that developed around an urban environment. This panel casts a larger net, inserting the Hudson Valley plantations and the slaveholders of Long Island into this dialogue of slavery in the North.