West of the Moon

strawberry creek.

When I started graduate school at Berkeley, I’d actually never visited the campus, at least not that I can remember. (My parents think we may have driven through it on a vacation trip to California when I was seven or eight years old, but I don’t remember.) I arrived in California in August [...]

Tags: berkeley

the ending is also the beginning.

I read a book recently where one of the characters kept having a very specific kind of premonition. Every once in a while, he would do something, and then suddenly know that he would never do that thing again. “This is the last time I will ever pet a dog,” that kind of [...]

Tags: berkeley, new york

oh dear.

Things that do not inspire confidence, number one: All of the lights on my hallway are off. I don’t think it’s an electrical problem, since the lights in my office work. It does, however, create the vague impression that I’m working in some kind of horror movie set.
Things that do not inspire confidence, [...]

Tags: berkeley, technical difficulties

constructive criticism.

I’ve had a string of days full of tiny irritations–each little thing is insignificant on its own, but as they accumulate I start to feel like I’m being nibbled to death by cats. I’ve locked myself out of my campus office five times in two days, locked myself out of the house once, and [...]

Tags: berkeley, comedy of errors, powerpoint, teaching, teaching evaluations

Ishi Courtyard.

Ishi Courtyard.
Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: berkeley, photos, picture-a-day

good fences.

When I was growing up, I knew all of our neighbors, and we all knew each others’ business. I don’t want this to sound all halcyon-days rural-utopia; I grew up deep in the heart of suburbia, and I think that the local culture on our street was an exception rather than the rule, even [...]

Tags: berkeley, neighborhood, new jersey, personal history

Autumn in Berkeley.

Autumn in Berkeley.
Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: autumn, berkeley, photos, picture-a-day, trees

Outside Tolman Hall.

Outside Tolman Hall.
Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: berkeley, photos, picture-a-day

Fall 2007 Courses

I’ve mentioned my courses already, but in case anyone’s interested, the course websites are up and running.

History 30A: The History of Premodern Science
History 103S/103D: Science and Fiction in Twentieth Century America

If any Berkeley students are reading and are interested in taking either of these classes, welcome! History 30A is currently full, but we expect [...]

Tags: berkeley, teaching

upcoming courses.

Somehow, it’s August already, and the start of the semester is rushing towards us. I have two courses at Berkeley this fall: a lecture course on the history of premodern science (the same course from last fall) and an undergraduate seminar. The seminar should be interesting–last fall, I taught a seminar on Darwin [...]

Tags: berkeley, teaching