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.
Everything that happens in the world was a 30 Rock episode first.
November 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Everything that happens in the world was a 30 Rock episode first.
More broadly, gender *is* an ideology. Every Jane Austen novel, every Hemingway story, every action movie or trashy romance novel has a theory of what it means to be a guy or lady. Of course!
November 14, 2025 at 7:41 PM
More broadly, gender *is* an ideology. Every Jane Austen novel, every Hemingway story, every action movie or trashy romance novel has a theory of what it means to be a guy or lady. Of course!
Yes, we'd be a much stronger profession if universities routinely hired at the associate and full level. That just almost never happens.
November 14, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Yes, we'd be a much stronger profession if universities routinely hired at the associate and full level. That just almost never happens.
I love doing laundry. 2 minutes to load the washer, then 45 minutes to yourself while it runs. Then either 1 minute to throw it all in a dryer, or 5 minutes to hang stuff up. And you're a hero.
November 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
I love doing laundry. 2 minutes to load the washer, then 45 minutes to yourself while it runs. Then either 1 minute to throw it all in a dryer, or 5 minutes to hang stuff up. And you're a hero.
This is so true. Unfortunately it's not just an institutional ed-tech decision. All of the word processing programs are integrating it, which means non-AI is the outlier.
November 6, 2025 at 11:53 PM
This is so true. Unfortunately it's not just an institutional ed-tech decision. All of the word processing programs are integrating it, which means non-AI is the outlier.
I'm not saying this is wrong, but that was the Biden philosophy: pass legislation for concrete action (climate, infrastructure, manufacturing). The problem is, it takes so long for that to be felt in communities. By the time it appears, the next election has already happened.
November 3, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I'm not saying this is wrong, but that was the Biden philosophy: pass legislation for concrete action (climate, infrastructure, manufacturing). The problem is, it takes so long for that to be felt in communities. By the time it appears, the next election has already happened.
I made the selfie thing up on the fly because I couldn't attend the event and had no way to verify if they were there. Some just send pics of the lectern or talk, but others made a point of actually taking a selfie with the poet, and another showed me her holding a copy of the chapbook she bought.
October 30, 2025 at 10:13 AM
I made the selfie thing up on the fly because I couldn't attend the event and had no way to verify if they were there. Some just send pics of the lectern or talk, but others made a point of actually taking a selfie with the poet, and another showed me her holding a copy of the chapbook she bought.
I gave a pop quiz last week that a lot of students weren't prepared for. One student said, hey, if we went to that poetry reading you keep recommending, could we get credit? Woke up the next day with like 10 selfies from the event (couldn't attend myself). Boy, those students put one over on me....
October 30, 2025 at 1:46 AM
I gave a pop quiz last week that a lot of students weren't prepared for. One student said, hey, if we went to that poetry reading you keep recommending, could we get credit? Woke up the next day with like 10 selfies from the event (couldn't attend myself). Boy, those students put one over on me....
I had a whole discussion with students early this semester about how to talk to faculty (Dr. vs. Professor) and noted the gender bias so that they *never* address female faculty by their first names. I find it charming when they call me Dr. Dan, but that's easy for me, full professor old white guy.
October 28, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I had a whole discussion with students early this semester about how to talk to faculty (Dr. vs. Professor) and noted the gender bias so that they *never* address female faculty by their first names. I find it charming when they call me Dr. Dan, but that's easy for me, full professor old white guy.
Also, at the end of the of the first novel, *The Underground Railroad* discussion of the late section where Cora is captured by Ridgeway and his odd-ball troop of thugs led to a comparison to characters in Shrek. Every night we say, basically, have we reached our Shrek moment?, meaning class is over
October 28, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Also, at the end of the of the first novel, *The Underground Railroad* discussion of the late section where Cora is captured by Ridgeway and his odd-ball troop of thugs led to a comparison to characters in Shrek. Every night we say, basically, have we reached our Shrek moment?, meaning class is over
Man, wait until the Post hears about tariffs and the way ICE is imprisoning American citizens! Going to be so much editorial outrage about that, given their stated commitments.
October 27, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Man, wait until the Post hears about tariffs and the way ICE is imprisoning American citizens! Going to be so much editorial outrage about that, given their stated commitments.
By the way, the two groups, small venue, independent artists were Beet Root Revival and King Margo. Definitely worth a listen.
October 24, 2025 at 12:43 PM
By the way, the two groups, small venue, independent artists were Beet Root Revival and King Margo. Definitely worth a listen.
It's a long interview, but if you have the time it's interesting. He refuses to do the standard "I've grown a lot, but sorry..." thing. I wonder if being able to occupy political space that way might make recruiting interesting candidates easier. I have mixed feelings, but it got me thinking.
October 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM
It's a long interview, but if you have the time it's interesting. He refuses to do the standard "I've grown a lot, but sorry..." thing. I wonder if being able to occupy political space that way might make recruiting interesting candidates easier. I have mixed feelings, but it got me thinking.
He did a long interview on the most recent Pod Save America. I'm not sure his explanation is completely convincing--I was in the Marines, and we loved tattoos with scary stuff like skulls--but it's not crazy. He's also in trouble for saying he's a communist, which is kinda the opposite.
October 22, 2025 at 12:01 PM
He did a long interview on the most recent Pod Save America. I'm not sure his explanation is completely convincing--I was in the Marines, and we loved tattoos with scary stuff like skulls--but it's not crazy. He's also in trouble for saying he's a communist, which is kinda the opposite.