For nearly two months (since January 18th), Representative John Barker – the chair of the Kansas House’s Federal and State Affairs Committee – has refused to bring House Bill 2074 to the full Kansas House so that the entire chamber can vote on it. The bill extends universities’ and hospital’s exemption for campus carry, and
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! To celebrate the 113th anniversary of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s birth, here are two things Seussian. 1. The True Story of Horton Hatches the Egg When asked how he came up with the idea of Horton Hatches the Egg (1940), Seuss would often give an answer like this (from a September 1972
Books can encourage children to question rather than accept the world as it is. Literature for young people can invite them to imagine a world where black lives matter, women’s rights are human rights, poverty does not limit one’s life choices, LGBTQ youth know they are loved, indigenous peoples’ rights are respected, the disabled have
Yesterday, in response to overwhelming support for rolling back Kansas’ insane campus carry law, Senator Jacob LaTurner‘s Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee decided instead to prevent the full senate from voting on Senate Bill 53 – a bill which would have exempted college campuses from their imminent weaponization. Would the full senate have supported
Today, supporters of Senate Bill 53 arrived in Topeka (Kansas’ capital), offering reasons for why firearms should not be invited onto our campus and into KU’s medical center. If you’re from a more rational U.S. state or from outside of the U.S., you may be wondering why bringing guns into classrooms is even being debated.
The holidays! When people sing – and expect you to sing. Except, perhaps, you don’t want to sing. Maybe you are shy. Or self-conscious about your voice. Or you imagine that everyone else sings better than you do. Well, worry no more! I am here to cure your self-consciousness, and to prove that many people are much,
Here is the cover for my next book, Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books, forthcoming from Oxford University Press in July 2017. Since it (the cover) is now on some websites (notably Oxford UP & Amazon.com), I thought I’d share it here. THANKS
In January, before the kleptocracy, In Philly, mourning an ailing democracy, Find comfort, anxiety, knowledge, and despair! (When academics gather, these tend to be there.) January fifth through eighth, at the MLA, We’ll meet and think. We’ll eat and drink. What do you say? Ahem. Here are all the sessions on children’s literature and/or comics/graphic novels at the 2017
Brief remarks on the university in an age of misinformation, delivered today when I received a Higuchi Award. It’s a great honor to be joining Professors Christer Aakeröy, Judith Carta, and Randolph Nudo in receiving recognition for our research. It’s especially meaningful to be receiving this recognition right now, at a moment when facts and
Just in time for the holidays, it’s another edition of Emily’s Library – in which I display the books I’ve given to my now 5-year-old niece, and answer the frequently asked question, “What children’s books would you recommend?” A few of these will be Christmas presents for Emily, who does not (yet?) read my blog. So,
