Dan Punday
@dan-punday.bsky.social
Professor of English at Mississippi State University. I've published on narrative theory, contemporary US (mostly) literature, and computing. Currently working on infrastructure as a narrative issue. Also sometimes makes pottery.
Let's all recall who was on that Harper's letter with Weiss. I suppose they weren't all bad faith actors, but everybody should be reexamining that pile-on about "woke" culture. So much woe-is-me self indulgence, disgusting simple opportunism.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lette...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lette...
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Let's all recall who was on that Harper's letter with Weiss. I suppose they weren't all bad faith actors, but everybody should be reexamining that pile-on about "woke" culture. So much woe-is-me self indulgence, disgusting simple opportunism.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lette...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lette...
Been praising my Am Lit survey students all semester. But here's an answer on the final from a guy who presented as super bro-y guy. But what a lovely closing paragraph on *Sing Unburied Sing*; so thoughtful. I think I did my work with this class.
December 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Been praising my Am Lit survey students all semester. But here's an answer on the final from a guy who presented as super bro-y guy. But what a lovely closing paragraph on *Sing Unburied Sing*; so thoughtful. I think I did my work with this class.
Grading finals for my American lit survey, and struck by how many students spontaneously reference Stein's *Tender Buttons*. My work here is done.
December 10, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Grading finals for my American lit survey, and struck by how many students spontaneously reference Stein's *Tender Buttons*. My work here is done.
Haven't heard it put this way, but I think this is smart: ChatGPT essentially depends on making you feel like you *can't* do stuff, like read long articles, write papers, brainstorm, and even figure out the mechanics of adult life.
This entire grift relies on convincing people that they don't know how to do the things they have always known how to do, and ironically, if it works, we will, in a very short amount of time, forget how to do all the things we have always known how to do.
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Haven't heard it put this way, but I think this is smart: ChatGPT essentially depends on making you feel like you *can't* do stuff, like read long articles, write papers, brainstorm, and even figure out the mechanics of adult life.
Grad students came into the last class eager to rank the novels in the infrastructure and lit seminar. Decided to do it publicly, with lots of on-the-fly audience feedback. Severance takes the gold, Tropic of Orange the silver, How to Live Saftely in a Science Fictional Universe the bronze
December 2, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Grad students came into the last class eager to rank the novels in the infrastructure and lit seminar. Decided to do it publicly, with lots of on-the-fly audience feedback. Severance takes the gold, Tropic of Orange the silver, How to Live Saftely in a Science Fictional Universe the bronze
Not the most important thing about Stoppard's death, but this is something I didn't know.
Playwright Tom Stoppard has died at 88. Did you know he ghost-wrote George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? kottke.org/20/11/tom-st...
Tom Stoppard and the Last Crusade
Hermione Lee has written an authorized biography of playwright, screenwriter, translator, and man of letters Tom Stoppard, calle
kottke.org
November 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Not the most important thing about Stoppard's death, but this is something I didn't know.
For a small fee, I will attend your enemy's presentation and ask, "So is this basically just New Criticism?"
For a small fee, I will go to your historian enemy’s seminar presentation and say “I guess I’m just wondering what the “so what” of this paper is?”
November 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
For a small fee, I will attend your enemy's presentation and ask, "So is this basically just New Criticism?"
Had grad students over to make pottery Christmas ornaments. Just opened the kiln and everything came out great.
November 27, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Had grad students over to make pottery Christmas ornaments. Just opened the kiln and everything came out great.
Wrapping up the American lit survey. A few weeks ago I asked student jokingly after push back, do you want to teach class? Today she said, yes, she'll teach the class. It's the last day on Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing*. Did amazing. Turns out, her grandfather worked at Parchman. Geez, what a context.
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Wrapping up the American lit survey. A few weeks ago I asked student jokingly after push back, do you want to teach class? Today she said, yes, she'll teach the class. It's the last day on Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing*. Did amazing. Turns out, her grandfather worked at Parchman. Geez, what a context.
Last cosmos of the year.
November 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Last cosmos of the year.
10 years ago, had someone ask me for an chapter for a book on Clarence Major. Wrote it but the collection didn't go anywhere. Never did anything with the piece, now the editor wants it in a journal special issue. Sure, why not? Now I'm getting copyediting Qs and I have no idea what I was referencing
November 21, 2025 at 12:54 PM
10 years ago, had someone ask me for an chapter for a book on Clarence Major. Wrote it but the collection didn't go anywhere. Never did anything with the piece, now the editor wants it in a journal special issue. Sure, why not? Now I'm getting copyediting Qs and I have no idea what I was referencing
This semester I've added a "warm up exercise" to the Am lit survey class. In groups students fill out a one-page sheet of 3 questions about the reading. They get credit as long as they participate. Discussion is more lively, attendance is better. Students like getting these little points for stuff.
November 19, 2025 at 12:17 PM
This semester I've added a "warm up exercise" to the Am lit survey class. In groups students fill out a one-page sheet of 3 questions about the reading. They get credit as long as they participate. Discussion is more lively, attendance is better. Students like getting these little points for stuff.
Gratifying day teaching Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing* in my American lit survey. Students came in with opinions! Mad at Leonie. Tried to get them to maybe be slightly critical of Jojo, but they wanted no part of that. Perfect teaching experience: so many strong opinions about these characters.
November 18, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Gratifying day teaching Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing* in my American lit survey. Students came in with opinions! Mad at Leonie. Tried to get them to maybe be slightly critical of Jojo, but they wanted no part of that. Perfect teaching experience: so many strong opinions about these characters.
Had a brilliant undergraduate make it to being a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Did some mock interviews and coaching to help him get prepped. Just learned that his whole interview focused on why he (as a black man) wanted to "do DEI." What a fucking joke.
November 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Had a brilliant undergraduate make it to being a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Did some mock interviews and coaching to help him get prepped. Just learned that his whole interview focused on why he (as a black man) wanted to "do DEI." What a fucking joke.
Finishing my American lit survey with Jesmyn Ward's *Sing Unburried Sing." What a novel! I told my students I should have required a box of tissues among the course materials.
November 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Finishing my American lit survey with Jesmyn Ward's *Sing Unburried Sing." What a novel! I told my students I should have required a box of tissues among the course materials.
For my birthday last month, I asked my wife for a ridiculous blazer, and my wife knocked it out of the park. Wore it tonight, and got complements at the restaurant and concert we attended. Am I brave enough to wear it to teach?
November 15, 2025 at 3:52 AM
For my birthday last month, I asked my wife for a ridiculous blazer, and my wife knocked it out of the park. Wore it tonight, and got complements at the restaurant and concert we attended. Am I brave enough to wear it to teach?
Wow, I had this on my cubical all during grad school. What a time capsule--and still good advice.
"I consider writing an act of good citizenship."
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
November 11, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Wow, I had this on my cubical all during grad school. What a time capsule--and still good advice.
Reposted by Dan Punday
Lavish.
Higher education can—and should—fight the Trump administration, but the age of lavish government support is coming to a close, Aziz Huq argues.
The Next Era of the American University
Higher education can—and should—fight the Trump administration, but the age of lavish government support is coming to a close.
bit.ly
November 1, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Lavish.
So enjoying this grad seminar on (recent) literature and infrastructure. Easiest teaching job in the world. Though there are only 6 students, class basically involves me coming in and saying, "so what did you think?" and the students cook for 3 hours. My main job is putting things on the whiteboard.
October 28, 2025 at 11:10 AM
So enjoying this grad seminar on (recent) literature and infrastructure. Easiest teaching job in the world. Though there are only 6 students, class basically involves me coming in and saying, "so what did you think?" and the students cook for 3 hours. My main job is putting things on the whiteboard.
Last night, on my way back from a local music show, country-ish, and put on the artist on Apple Music. Next song comes up, sure: another singer they worked with. Then Apple picks house music next. Tempted to skip, but I like the idea that Apple thinks this is my music.
October 24, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Last night, on my way back from a local music show, country-ish, and put on the artist on Apple Music. Next song comes up, sure: another singer they worked with. Then Apple picks house music next. Tempted to skip, but I like the idea that Apple thinks this is my music.
Some students in my lit survey clearly didn't do the reading, and were caught unawares by a pop quiz. One student asked if they could get credit by going to the poetry reading last night I was urging them to attend. I said sure, just send me a selfie from the event. Got a 8 or 9 this morning. Lovely
October 22, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Some students in my lit survey clearly didn't do the reading, and were caught unawares by a pop quiz. One student asked if they could get credit by going to the poetry reading last night I was urging them to attend. I said sure, just send me a selfie from the event. Got a 8 or 9 this morning. Lovely
I don't think I was as successful as I had hoped in convincing my students in the literature survey to love Gertrude Stein. Their loss, obviously, but I feel like I let her down a bit.
October 16, 2025 at 1:54 AM
I don't think I was as successful as I had hoped in convincing my students in the literature survey to love Gertrude Stein. Their loss, obviously, but I feel like I let her down a bit.
Enjoying the new Pynchon novel, although I'm not far in. So happy have this appear out of nowhere. He leans into the genre so joyously. I had to edit a book ms. where I referred to *Bleeding Edge* as "his most recent, and probably last" novel. Glad to be wrong.
October 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Enjoying the new Pynchon novel, although I'm not far in. So happy have this appear out of nowhere. He leans into the genre so joyously. I had to edit a book ms. where I referred to *Bleeding Edge* as "his most recent, and probably last" novel. Glad to be wrong.
On the "ripoff degrees" thing, I'm reminded of this data I presented when I interviewed to be dept head at Mississippi State: the difference between humanities earnings and business earnings is trivial over a career. All that matters is finding a way to graduate. Just help people find their niche.
October 11, 2025 at 12:21 PM
On the "ripoff degrees" thing, I'm reminded of this data I presented when I interviewed to be dept head at Mississippi State: the difference between humanities earnings and business earnings is trivial over a career. All that matters is finding a way to graduate. Just help people find their niche.