What with floating, disembodied heads, mouths moving but making no sound, classes and meetings attended in fuzzy slippers, and assorted species of animal crossing our screens at random intervals, there is a “through the looking glass” quality to the online world. A bit like Alice, we pass through the glass and find ourselves in a wondrous place…called Moodleland.

Lions and Unicorns: It’s nomination season! Please consider nominating a worthy colleague for the brand-new Faculty of Arts Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Awards. Nominations close on January 31, 2021; the link is here.  As well, we invite nominations for the prestigious Dean of Arts Teaching Award, linked here, for Feb. 8.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to talk of many academic integrity violations:” The Arts Academic Integrity Symposium, featuring experts from the Teaching and Learning Commons, runs on Monday, January 18, 10:00-11:30 on MS Teams. Click here to join the meeting. The session will be recorded.  

A Caucus Race: The call for candidate nominations for Senate vacancies will open on February 1 and close on February 19. The Faculty of Arts has two vacant seats, so we encourage folks to consider putting their names forward to represent our Faculty in this crucial site of university governance. For more, see the Senate Elections page here.

Gyre and Gimble in the Wabe: As per Diane’s email of earlier this week, BCcampus is inviting research proposals from B.C. post-secondary educators and students who are committed to exploring and improving student learning and eager to conduct and share research with others. For this call, only projects with Indigenous-led researchers and/or projects that are equitably and reciprocally partnered with Indigenous peoples and communities will be considered. Deadline for submissions is Sunday, February 14, 2021. Awards are typically up to $6,000. For more information, visit the BCcampus Research Fellows 2021–2022 page. 

The Garden of Live Flowers: Rachel Chong, KPU’s Indigenous Engagement and Subject Liaison Librarian, will be giving a talk on the Indigenous Information Literacy Project on January 22 10:00-11:00 on MS Teams. For more information, and to register, please click here.  And note that Rachel has assembled an impressive list of resources on indigenous knowledges and information literacy which may prove invaluable to both faculty and students. Access it via this link.

Wool and Water: An increasing engagement with Indigenous and 2Spirit/Queer stories and perspectives presents important opportunities for learning and deepening relationships, but it also carries the potential for appropriation, tokenizing, and harm. The Task Force on Anti- Racism will present “Treating Stories with Care: A Workshop for Students on Appropriation, Ethics, and Telling Your Own Stories.” This 90-minute workshop and discussion will focus on how participants can engage Indigenous narratives with ethical care and draw on their own personal stories to act in solidarity, address systems of oppression, and foster social change. The event will be facilitated by Shane Sable, a 2spirit Gitxsan artist, activist, and facilitator whose work focuses primarily on rematriating Indigenous sexuality through burlesque and community-engaged art and cultural activities . The workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, January 26, 4:00-5:30 on MS Teams. Please consider encouraging your students to attend! Here is the link: Click here to join the meeting 

An Un-Birthday Present: The President’s Diversity and Equity Committee (PDEC) has renewed KPU’s subscription to the Multicultural Calendar, which is a helpful resource for raising awareness of important cultural, religious, national, and international holidays, festivals, and observance days. Click here to access the Calendar.

Who It Was That Dreamed It All: Creative Writing is hosting a virtual Book Launch for Aislinn Hunter’s acclaimed novel The Certainties. Aislinn will be joined guests Chelsea Franz and Jordan Roper. Please see the attached PDF for more information. 

“’Oh, I’ve had such a curious dream!’ said Alice. And she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and, when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, ‘It was a curious dream, certainly; but now run in to your tea: it’s getting late.’ So Alice got up and ran off, thinking, while she ran, what a wonderful dream it had been.” 

Well, we’re not out of MOODLELAND yet by any means – but we eagerly await the day when we can look back on these dreamlike (nightmare-like?) months, and share our “curious” stories with the future. Preferably while taking tea together…and in person.

All our best,

Diane, Wade, Shelley, and Greg

Sir John Tenniel illustrations public domain – taken from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/114/114-h/114-h.htm#alice21 and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:John_Tenniel%27s_illustrations_of_Through_the_Looking-Glass_and_What_Alice_Found_There