Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 28 seconds
I’ve gotten out of an old habit of blogging ahead of my keynotes. I think it just comes from being privileged enough to do so many of them that I don’t have time to pay enough attention to each individual one, and some have really niche or limited audiences anyway, so it’s not necessarily that useful to blog about them broadly, if that makes sense?
This upcoming keynote via ThinqStudio’s Unconference themed Joyride (I got ask them what’s with the dinosaurs!) is extra special to me, though, and it’s free, so I want to invite you to join us. I hope this is something that will please the organizers rather than overwhelm them 🙈. The link to sign up is in the caption of the image above.
Why is this keynote/conference so special?
- It will be my first keynote post COVID recovery. I’m slowly regaining my energy back, thankfully, and I met the organizers to plan this event while I was in the middle of my illness and they were sooooo sweet and it was a good moment in my day 💕
- The person who invited me is Lisa Forbes, who is someone I admire. She co-facilitates the Professors at Play mailing list, which has been a source of many lovely ideas, and a great event last year that I really enjoyed, as well as much else! It makes a huge difference to me if someone I respect and like invites me to keynote. I know it’s not fair, but it is what it is, and I want to do her proud. I also recently discovered her research on motherhood (see @Mothering_Drs) which makes me love her 10 times more. Again, not fair, but that is life and that is my subjectivity.
- Ross Gay in the closing session!!! I recently learned about his work on “delights” and I strongly recommend you attend this one! For some reason, it really matters to me who the other invited speakers are at events! Tells me where the organizers’ heads and values are at!
- It’s an UNCONFERENCE! What is a keynote in an unconference!? So I am brainstorming ways of making it even more interactive than my usual interactive keynotes!! How far can I push the boundaries!!? Can I do a real unkeynote? What haven’t I done before that I now can?? I don’t promise something I’ve never ever done before, but maybe more intensive interaction combining many things I have done in different events before.
- They also gave me a debrief slot after the actual keynote, which I reeeaaaally like because it’s so hard to give a keynote then have no opportunity to chat with participants afterwards. It’s deflating/anti-climactic. So I am glad to have that additional slot to talk with people. Some other conferences offered something like this, e.g. OLC Innovate and OpenEd20. These slots feel a bit like the Virtually Connecting informal chats so feel like home 💕
- I co-organize many of my own institution’s events, and we have our own (not open to all) event next week. I’m looking forward to how this one is organized.
- The institution is CU Denver. Isn’t that where Remi Kalir and Sean Michael Morris work? I gotta ask if they are coming! Again, good friends and also educators I admire!🥰
- It is free and anyone can join! I love public scholarship and much prefer if keynotes I give are available to others for free. I know it is more pressure to create new content, and I may not have a ton of new content for this one, but I plan to have a ton of interaction where participants can enrich the keynote itself. So unkeynote I guess!
- The theme of joy!!! I am talking about care and equity and community but everything else is focused on care and joy. I want to join as many sessions as possible event though it is my weekend.
So yeah! Join me! Inshallah it will be a good break and inspiring event
ThinqStudio’s 2021 Unconference explores the intersections of joy, care, and pedagogy in higher education through keynotes and discussions, participant-generated sessions, giveaways, and facilitator-led breakout sessions. Register today! https://t.co/5TBRFWzvXB
— thinqstudio (@thinqstudio) February 16, 2021
Come check out our Unconference! Included in our day is a keynote from @Bali_Maha and opening remarks from the CU Denver Chancellor @MarksMichelleA. Register here: https://t.co/5TBRFWzvXB pic.twitter.com/viJTub4ogK
— thinqstudio (@thinqstudio) March 4, 2021
Done.