2017 was a very productive year for me (thank you, dear Productivity and ThisIsMyEra planners). This is what I have done:

1. Wrote 3 new articles. Each of them was on a new topic for me (Transition, immigrants and theater/film). I believe that 3 articles a year is perfect because you can do one each semester and one in the summer, which is a stride I find very doable, even while teaching 3 classes per semester.
2. Finished all of the editing, translation, indexing, copyright clearances, etc. for the book and had it published.
3. Spoke at 2 conferences. And was accepted to speak at the MLA in January of next year.
4. Discovered some fantastic writers: Sayeb Taleh, Ramon Saizarbitoria, Eliseo Alberto, Cecilia G. Guilarte, and a novel by Ernestina de Champourcin I had no idea existed.
5. Discovered some great new theory and criticism by Patricia Ventura, Jim McGuigan, César Rendueles, Mario Ojeda Revah, Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, Joseba Zulaika, Edurne Portela, and Paul Verhaeghe.
6. Became a lot more active in the service to the profession, writing book reviews, participating in career counseling at a conference, starting to work as a Treasurer for a professional organization.

It’s absolutely not true that having a small child and being a very engaged parent prevents one from being a productive scholar. I just have to plan a lot more efficiently now that I can do no work past 4 pm. As I said before, I had taken a year off research after Klara was born, but thanks to careful planning, nobody will ever guess that from my CV. 

I’m at a weird point right now because I will finish my last article of the year this week, and I still have no idea whatsoever what my next article will be on. I’m not used to this, and I have to start writing that new article on January 15 (I have a conference talk and a review to write before that). This means I have to decide fast. 

The next post will be on personal achievements of the year.

“Enough is enough,” proclaimed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at a December 6 press conference. “I think when we start having to talk about the differences between sexual assault and sexual harassment and unwanted groping, you are having the wrong conversation. You need to draw a line in the sand and say: None of it is OK. None of it is acceptable.”

Wow. When a person who holds public office says things like these, it’s very disturbing. This is extraordinarily offensive and manipulative. Gillibrand suggests that anybody who does see a difference between assault and harassment considers them to be acceptable. Who voted for this wannabe Komsomol leader?

Soviet-like rhetoric is colonizing the public discourse in this country at a scary speed. All of this sounds so painfully familiar.

Consumerism is beyond disgusting when taken to these extremes:

Spikes have been fixed to trees in a leafy neighbourhood of Bristol in an attempt to prevent birds from perching there and creating a mess on residents’ cars.The spikes, of the sort normally seen on the ledges of buildings to ward off pigeons, have been spotted on trees in Clifton, near the wildlife-rich Downs and the Avon gorge.

We all know how much I detest Rauner but the following criticism is just dumb:

When asked when the last time he visited [Southern Illinois], a spokesman for Rauner said, “Given the distance, I’m not sure he’s gotten that far down in Southern Illinois in recent months.” The distance –3 hours from Springfield to Carbondale by car – however, seemed not to be a factor in the Governor’s decision to visit China (18 hours), Japan (17 hours), and Israel (20 hours) in recent months.

Let’s criticize Rauner for the many – and I mean, tons – of things that he does wrong but noticing that globalization happened is not one of them. If cheap populism is how we plan to fight his reelection, then oy.

Klara’s favorite story right now is the one I call “The Recalcitrant Grandpa.” In the story, grandpa refuses to follow his daily routine and Klara helps him understand why he should. The story is endless and goes as follows:

“Then mamma said, ‘Grandpa, please put on your pink tutu.’ And Grandpa said, ‘No! I don’t want to put on my pink tutu.’ And Klara said, ‘Grandpa, you have to put on your pink tutu because we are going to the dance lesson.’ And Grandpa said, ‘OK!'”

Grandpa also refuses to take his orange paci, eat yogurt, brush teeth, play with his toy Santa, wear a green dress with horses, etc. The story doesn’t have a manipulative component because Grandpa only refuses to do things that Klara likes to do. What’s really cute is that Klara understands the humorous aspect of Grandpa in a pink tutu and screams “Funny!” whenever Grandpa does something particularly hilarious.

Another fascinating thing is that when Klara wants to hear a story, she links her little fingers to show a chain. Which means that she understands the nature of a narrative where one thing leads to another and everything is linked. 

The new Republican tax bill has a provision that will allow companies to write off the full cost of new buildings and equipment. That’s a clear attempt to tie capital to land. And there are dozens of provisions like that, attempting to bring some solidity into the liquid. This is a big country, it’s not Estonia, it can’t get on going fully liquid right now.

Responding to the anxieties arising from the eriosion of the nation-state by stoking xenophobia and hatred is wrong. But once you’ve pointed that out, you need to offer a response of your own. Because if you don’t, you are sending a message that strengthens the very position that you pretend to condemn. “Yes, it’s bad but it’s the only way.” 

I’m deeply indifferent to Star Wars but nothing is cuter than when Klara says, “Hi Yoda! Hi Darth Vader! Sleepy Yoda, wake up!” (The neighbors are fans and have inflatable figures as Christmas decorations.)

I’ve been elected Treasurer of United Feminists. It’s been the most useful professional organization I’ve belonged to. They always suggest actual publication opportunities and send out a really informative newsletter. 

If you are a scholar of Hispanic literature, language and/or culture, please consider joining. It’s very cheap (seriously, go here and check it out), and you’ll be helping a really good organization that is in dire financial straits right now. I promise you that we only do valuable, good work. 

Have you ever wondered what the USSR would have looked like if it existed in the times of the Internet?

If you’d like to know if any of the movies or TV shows you watch has a bad apple –someone accused of sexual misconduct– affiliated with it, you need to head over to The Rotten Appl.es. A quick search of their database will tell you if a cast-member, screenwriter, executive producer or director is an alleged abuser.