back from denton

Music: XTC: English Settlement (1982)

Sunday I returned from a student conference at the University of North Texas in Denton, but have only this morning had time enough to report on my travels. I still feel a tinge of exhaustion after the Central States conference, then hosting RLS here, and then turning around and prepping and leaving off again. To top it all off, I'm hosting a Walpurgisnacht party this Saturday (so we can get our witchy dances on!). Perhaps because I'm an only child, I'm feeling a bit over-socialized. I recall reading Debbie was doing non-stop rock star gigs for months; I have no idea how she does all that traveling and stays sane.

The conference in Denton was put on by the Department of Communication Studies, and is intended for both graduates and undergraduates. They drew in folks from around Texas, and had a variety of panels focused in a number of different areas of communication (e.g., not just rhetoric, but comm. theory, performance studies, and curriculum and pedagogy). Brain Lain's students in his "Rhetoric of War" seminar blew me away with their papers (and I hope some of them will apply here at Texas). The department is an impressively smart and friendly bunch, and I really enjoyed hanging out with everyone---and the most important hanging-out was with Shaun, who just landed a tenure track job there! Shaun is the host with the most (a good supply of Shiner, comfy bed, thirsty towels, Guitar Hero for PS2, etc.).

I delivered my first keynote address, although I probably didn't follow directions. Apparently a keynote address sets the "tone" of a meeting or conference. My talk, the full title of which was "For the Love of Communication, or, Love is Shit, with Continual Reference to Kenny and Dolly," didn't overlap much with the papers I heard there. Regardless, this was my first time ever using PowerPoint, and I think I did a fairly decent job of that (it's pretty intuitive to use, even if you want sound clips). I think I prefer the look of Apple's Keynote software, but few universities support macs these days . . . .

Normally I'd post my talk in this blog space, however, I have hopes to give it a few more times over the course of a year, so don't want to blow my speech. I will, however, disclose a highlight: I've had students walk out of class before; I've had panel-goers leave the room; but I've never had people angrily walk out of a talk I was giving! In the middle of my hour-long talk a young woman and (apparently) her mother stood up---getting me to lose my concentration---and noisily left the room. The mother was apparently so offended that she slammed her soft-drink in a waste basket right outside the door. "Well, it's a good thing they left, because the talk is going to get really shitty," I said (or something like that).

After the talk Shaun patted me on the back, telling me I should be really proud of myself for scaring off the easily offended. "It's a good thing they left before you got to the kitsch of Jesus part," said Lori Byers. Another faculty, Jenny Warren, seemed excited that I offended someone and was especially pleased with my kitschy Jesus. At one part of the talk I show a series of pictures as examples of kitsch; Jenny said she kept saying to herself, "he better show Jesus, he better show Jesus." "Of course I was going to show Jesus," I said. "Every talk needs a money shot."

Later that evening a bunch of us went out for a nice (steak!) dinner, and then good times on Frye Street (a gallery of the evening is here). We attempted to determine what it was about my presentation that the mother and daughter team were upset about. It must have been the assless chaps photo, we concluded. Although the chair of the department was quick to correct me: "All chaps are assless," he said, "and crotchless too." Alright, "assless chaps" is redundant. But it's fun to say.