Teaching, Teaching, Teaching

Good news are rare these days. So here are some good news: despite the pandemic, I secured (almost too) many courses to teach! I love teaching university courses. But I'd never thought that I would teach five different courses (at two universities) this semester. After I initially thought I might have only two courses at …

Please Respond! Publish or Perish (Part II)

We have to publish our research. Particularly if we are junior scholars who just finished our PhD or are still working on our PhD, our publications often decide whether we have a chance to stay in academia—or if we have to leave. I talked about the difficulties to find the time and the material in …

Owning Stereotypes?

Recently, I read how a woman described herself as 'exotic' on Social Media. When I asked about this descriptor, she replied that's what she is: from Latin America, from the jungle! In my personal experience, exotic is usually used ethnocentrically, by people who describe people different than themselves. For me, it has a racist connotation, …

The Joys of Mansplaining

Thank you, dear men, for your endeavors to explain the world to me. Thank you, dear men, for explaining my research topics to me. Thank you, dear men, for approving of my decisions. I had no idea what I was doing for years before you came around and explained everything in one or two sentences! …

The ‘Subversiveness’ of Not Wearing Face Masks

Every time I am leaving the house, I cannot believe that there are still people refusing to wear face masks. I see people on public transport that do not wear masks or do not wear them properly, covering mouth and nose—including the person disinfecting the handrails, handholds, and grab handles. I see people in shopping …

Black Lives Matter: A Letter

Dear Black people, I believe in equality. I believe that, although humans are so different in so many ways, we still are the same on a basic level as long as we respect each other. Regardless of the color of our skin, our nationality, our believes, our gender, our sexuality, our age, our social class, …

(Not) Doing Fieldwork in Times of COVID-19

How does one begin a new research project these days? It's difficult to begin a new research project without funding. It's difficult to get funding without (a lot) of experience in a new field. So the plan was clear: use some of my own funds for a brief, exploratory field trip to the new place …

Back to School.

These are crazy times. Who would have thought that a virus—just the flu, basically—would change the entire world for who knows how long. Most freelancers in education and research probably struggle with this: less work or, for at least some, no work at all. I lost my main source of income, but luckily not all …

The Elite.

A few months ago, I started teaching culture, cross-cultural comparison, and intercultural communication to privileged (mainly white, mainly male) management students. Before I had my first day, I had expected excited, motivated students eager to learn about cultures and how to communicate with business partners around the globe. I'm not sure why I had these …

At the AAA in Vancouver

When I booked my room for this year's AAA in Vancouver, I didn't think too much about it. It was quite cheap, the reviews accordingly, but without funding, it had to do. It can't be too bad, right? When I arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday, public transportation didn't work as expected so I decided to …