International Studies

I am back from the Notre Dame peace conference, reflecting on what I learned in the spare moments I have while catching up with my “real life.” Of course I learned a TON and came back with notes, handouts, downloads, and a mental reading list  of a dozen books for starters . . . but as so often, sometimes the most important things that happen at human gatherings aren’t the Planned Agenda Items, but the things that Just Happen. There is no substitute for human and social interaction; or maybe I’m just a social learner.

On the very first day of the conference, I noticed several men in the audience (yes, they were all men) had very tiny, unobtrusive computers on their laps. And just like my students who LOOK extra-serious when they bring laptops to the classroom, most of them were NOT doing work; they were checking their e-mail during the presentations. (This is why I’m considering a new classroom policy: “Sure, you can use your laptop in my classroom . . . if you sit up front with your back to me so I can see your screen at all times!”)

Still, when I’m on the other, listening, side, I would LOVE to be able to check my e-mail during all kinds of meetings, whether academic or administrative; and of course do relevant things like take notes or fact check (which, to be fair, students in my classes have also done). So once I knew peoples’ names, I asked about the tiny laptops and learned about the Netbook! What a GREAT invention! It’s about half the size of a laptop; does just about everything a laptop can do, though maybe not as quickly or all at once; and costs around $300.

I now have one, of course, thanks to the magic of Amazon Prime (this is NOT an endorsement). I got the Acer AspireOne, based both on reviews and on the price; I paid $329 after taxes. I wouldn’t want to work on it ALL the time; the keyboard IS smaller (though this model has one of the larger ones), and the small screen compresses websites in an annoying way. BUT: I toted it to GFT (local coffeehouse) in my purse! It won’t take up half the space in my carry-on when I travel! Small is beautiful! And for cash-strapped students, what a brilliant way to get everything you REALLY need without dipping into the student loans! You have to replace these things every 3-5 years anyway; why spend a fortune on them? (Have we entered the age of the disposable computer?)

And THAT’s the first concrete outcome of my time at Notre Dame! Learning is a strange and mysterious process . . .