On Conferences, or Thank You To Sigma Tau/Sigma Kappa Delta for "In Flux"

I initially resisted some of the best advice I got in graduate school: go to conferences.

I was a mess at the time. I didn't understand the value of the insights I wrote down and about. Nor did I understand the value of the audience I had. What I was studying was really cool–e.g. how ideas furthering modern democracy took shape in authors such as Machiavelli and Shakespeare–but I didn't know how to revel in that.

Now I'm a firm believer that conferences are incredible experiences for students in general, not just those aiming to be scholars. People have to see what it is like for those dedicated to ideas to present to each other and talk about what matters. This isn't actually optional in a country which consistently gets more hostile to education because of an addiction to cable news and endless memes.

In that spirit, I'd like to talk a bit more about the experience of "In Flux," the Sigma Tau Delta/Sigma Kappa Delta National Convention. I teach government. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to see students build confidence, step into their words, and take not only what they have to say seriously but reflect at length on the implications. What struck me most at the very first panel I attended, "Storytelling, Monsters, and Pop Culture," was how committed everyone was to every line in their papers. Sure, I learned about fairy tales as potentially revolutionary mass media (e.g. "The Emperor's New Clothes" provoked a response from the Danish king). I was invited to think, re: Frankenstein, about how changes in technology change the definition of life. But leadership starts with owning your words, and that's what was truly displayed.

Throughout the conference, I saw examples of what it means to commit to what you say. Some of those examples were heartbreaking. English and Humanities majors get told from a variety of directions that what they're doing is useless. They get told it not only by random trolls, but also fellow students and relatives. They get told this by those who mean well: parents, friends, even advisors and teachers. I saw the best students in America talk about taking on leadership roles, volunteering, working at internships, workshopping their resumes, getting published, and still being treated with no respect despite doing all these things. The thing is, the humanities and social sciences are in dire straits. The need for teachers of these subjects and researchers in them is acute. I came out of the panels convinced that young people were fighting the good fight despite massive amounts of capital mobilized in the service of sheer ignorance. A lot of people don't want to hear that reading a book–or, you could say, learning from those who have taken the time to document and reflect on their experience–might be critical to making a better world.

As all of you are aware, I'm very proud of what we're achieving at the Odessa College Sigma Kappa Delta chapter. We don't just promote literacy and self-expression. We promote a positive atmosphere and aim to serve others. I would like to make more use of the next conference. Not just have more representatives from this college, but also more literary, academic, and artistic submissions. I would like to more fully share our enthusiasm with other chapters. One of the most impressive things I encountered were the "pop up shops," where Sigma Tau and Sigma Kappa chapters from around the country sold things to promote the chapters to each other. There weren't just poems and bookmarks on display, but a ton of people talking about words which mean so much to them.

I can't say for sure why I didn't understand the value of what I was doing in graduate school. I can say that conferences helped change that. I met people who enjoyed hearing me present, helped me publish, and encouraged me to get more involved in my field. I made friends. I'd like more students and colleagues to have those sorts of experiences.