a tiny problem

a problem teaching a tiny grad seminar is that when even one person is sick or otherwise absent, the whole dynamic is thrown into disarray. this afternoon, after a flurry of email, i wound having exactly one woman show for class. i worried for her because of the pressure to perform. most would have cancelled class, i guess, but dang, i just didn't know. i should have rang ebb before ducking into class. we are closing in on the end of the term; i leave tomorrow for germany so no chance to regroup later this week. what to do?

she and held forth on the readings on preservation, public history, public art, and storytelling. it was a lengthy, spirited and stimulating exchange. perhaps one of the better ones this term? i missed the contributions of the others and so did she. we kept referring to and imagining what the others might say or have said. at any rate, it was not nearly as onerous as one might imagine -- at least from my point of view. who knows what on earth she thought? but we carried on.

it reminded me of my tutorials in the late 1980s when i was at oxford. my tutor, the formidable, val dodd would arrive at st. julie hall, throw open every window in the JCR and chain smoke her way through the morning's essays and discussions. we sat there, unblinking, while our tutor smoked cigarettes and drank coffee and held forth on chaucer et. al. i can barely even believe that this actually happened.

to smoke indoors?

jeez. those were the days.