Thinking about the relevance of the work that I do is an ongoing endeavor. At today's American university, we feel that literature and culture somehow have to justify themselves, and in today's economy, students (and their parents) worry about the applicability of their major. Recently a student who had been abroad needed my signature for his transfer credits. We started talking. Turns out that last year he studied in Moscow for a semester, but then scored an internship with a global company and worked all summer with Russian co-workers, and was going back again this summer. "You should be a Russian major," I told him. "Nah," he replied. "I am a business major, and I don't have time for more Russian courses." So he is learning the language, and learning the country through hands-on experience, but he won't be a double major. Not practical. In my student days people also said "A Russian major? What are you going to do with that?&qu
A blog about travel and staying put, reading and writing, food and food for thought.