62. 🚘 welcome to tiny driver 2.0 🚘
thinking about tiny evolutions
Hi there! 👋 I’m Ida, and this is tiny driver, a newsletter about research, pedagogy, culture and their intersections. Thank you for being here. Reach out anytime by just hitting reply, I love hearing from you.
Hello, and happy Monday.
Well, given that you've already probably read the title, you know that there are going to be some changes here at tiny driver! Don't worry—you'll still get issues every Monday morning. The changes mostly have to do with the way I structure these posts and what I'm going to write about.
When I first started tiny driver, I was beginning my academic career as a Visiting Assistant Professor, where my primary roles were to teach courses in Asian American Studies and to begin revisions on my dissertation to turn it into a book. I had just graduated from my program and was navigating what it meant to begin my career in a pandemic. As a result, tiny driver's structure reflected where I was in my career. This is how I describe it on my newsletter's "About" page:
✍️ What I write: I am currently writing freelance, doing academic research, and writing my first (!!) book proposal. Follow along as I share with you my journey through writing—from first steps to fully published pieces.
✏️ What I teach: I'll be teaching courses this year in Asian American Studies! I'll write about how I'm planning for the courses & my reflections on all things pedagogy.
📚 What I consume: Commentary on TV, movies, books, and other things that I happen upon. (I'll always mention what I'm currently reading and what I'm planning on reading next.)
💯 Items of note: Links from around the web curated by yours truly.
🐶 A pup-date: I have two very important dogs in my life named Higgins and Girlie. I let you know how they're doing and what they're up to.
Since transitioning into my new position as a postdoc, though, I've found that these categories don't necessarily reflect the new goals I have. This space will always be one that prioritizes cultivating community and nourishig/sustaining my own academic journey. Over the month of August, I took the time to really reflect on how I want this space to evolve with my career transition and maintain these priorities. (Big thank you to my fellow friends & newsletter writers for stepping in during "Au-Guest Month" to give me that space!! 💜)
Through the power of a sustained journaling practice (and inspiration from Louise DaSalvo's Writing as a Way of Healing), I found that I have some new goals for this year:
Actively reflect on my book manuscript writing through a process journal. Every Monday through Friday, I would begin my writing session with some journaling on how I'm feeling about my writing and what I want to accomplish. And after completing my writing session, I'd conclude the time with journaling about what I accomplished during the writing session, how I feel about my writing, and what I want to do next.
Develop a consistent reading practice for current scholarship & academic books. One thing that went out the window last year was reading scholarship in my field on a consistent basis. This year, I want to build that consistent reading time into my routine, both for books that have just come out or that are helpful to my own revisions and what I'm thinking through.
Tiny driver has always been a way for me to reflect on my goals (previously: transitioning smoothly out of grad school and becoming a better teacher). Now, I'm hoping to use this space as an accountability mechanism for maintaining these two goals in my routine. So, without further ado, here's the structure of tiny driver 2.0:
✏️ Still Processing: Reflections on my writing process and excerpts from my process journal. I hope that these musings will also keep you company in the pursuit of your own goals!
📚 Still Reading: I give you a summary and my thoughts on a recent academic article or book that I read the week before. I already have a "To Read" list going, and there are a lot of exciting books on deck having to do with queer theory & queer of color critique, anti-Muslim racism, racialization, US-Iran relations, etc.
🌀 Still Consuming: A mash-up of the old "what I consume" and "item(s) of note" sections.
📖 Book Club Corner: Information re: the tiny driver book club.
🐶 A pup-date: Because Higgins and Girlie continue to be serving absolute cuteness.
It is my intention that these changes will re-invigorate tiny driver as they align more clearly with my current priorities and goals. I'd love you to join me on this new journey, and I hope that this little letter inspires you to take some time and reflect on what in your life could better serve you and your tiny evolutions! Let's continue driving forward together. 🚗 🥰
As always, thanks so much for reading through, and I'll see you in the next one!
Warmly,
Ida
I love seeing all of the changes in your academic life in real time. Even if I just have time to skim each week, I really appreciate knowing what you and other scholars a little ahead of me career wise are doing as I work on my dissertation and go on the job market. Thanks for all you're doing and sharing!
Loving this evolution Ida!