Chris Outzen, MFA
@queeryingcommprof.bsky.social
Queer and Querying | Teaching Professor | Director of Forensics | Voracious Bookworm | Purveyor of Bad Jokes |
(He/Him/His)
(He/Him/His)
Pinned
New platform, new intro!
I'm Chris, a teaching professor focused mostly in competitive forensics, intercultural communication, and communication and gender.
My scholarship sits at the intersection of competitive forensics culture and coaching, critical pedagogy, and queer identity performance.
I'm Chris, a teaching professor focused mostly in competitive forensics, intercultural communication, and communication and gender.
My scholarship sits at the intersection of competitive forensics culture and coaching, critical pedagogy, and queer identity performance.
For as frustrated as I was by my feelings around the conference yesterday, today was filled with beautiful, thought-provoking, pedagogy-changing panels and a possible professional opportunity that I can’t stop daydreaming about. What a nice way to end my #NCA2025 in Denver.
#academicsky
#academicsky
November 24, 2025 at 12:33 AM
For as frustrated as I was by my feelings around the conference yesterday, today was filled with beautiful, thought-provoking, pedagogy-changing panels and a possible professional opportunity that I can’t stop daydreaming about. What a nice way to end my #NCA2025 in Denver.
#academicsky
#academicsky
Usually my annual communication research conference is my sacred space, my reset, my chance to embrace the joy of knowledge.
This year feels blah. It feels incomplete. It feels like I’m adrift and aimless and unaccomplished.
It feels as if it’s time to reassess. And that’s ok.
#AcademicSky
This year feels blah. It feels incomplete. It feels like I’m adrift and aimless and unaccomplished.
It feels as if it’s time to reassess. And that’s ok.
#AcademicSky
November 22, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Usually my annual communication research conference is my sacred space, my reset, my chance to embrace the joy of knowledge.
This year feels blah. It feels incomplete. It feels like I’m adrift and aimless and unaccomplished.
It feels as if it’s time to reassess. And that’s ok.
#AcademicSky
This year feels blah. It feels incomplete. It feels like I’m adrift and aimless and unaccomplished.
It feels as if it’s time to reassess. And that’s ok.
#AcademicSky
I’m not the teacher I could be this semester. Trying something new has backfired. I struggle to float, much less swim. It’s been an exercise in grace to self and prioritizing the most meaningful elements of my classes. And it will be ok.
One bad semester does not define our teaching.
#academicsky
One bad semester does not define our teaching.
#academicsky
November 8, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I’m not the teacher I could be this semester. Trying something new has backfired. I struggle to float, much less swim. It’s been an exercise in grace to self and prioritizing the most meaningful elements of my classes. And it will be ok.
One bad semester does not define our teaching.
#academicsky
One bad semester does not define our teaching.
#academicsky
Today in my honors class we talked about sketch comedy as a genre. We could all use a laugh these days so here is one of the classic examples I pulled out. I hope it brings you joy.
#humor #sketchcomedy #CarolBurnett #TimConway #HarveyKorman
youtu.be/9IUSM4EKcRI?...
#humor #sketchcomedy #CarolBurnett #TimConway #HarveyKorman
youtu.be/9IUSM4EKcRI?...
The Dentist from The Carol Burnett Show (full sketch)
YouTube video by The Carol Burnett Show Official
youtu.be
October 28, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Today in my honors class we talked about sketch comedy as a genre. We could all use a laugh these days so here is one of the classic examples I pulled out. I hope it brings you joy.
#humor #sketchcomedy #CarolBurnett #TimConway #HarveyKorman
youtu.be/9IUSM4EKcRI?...
#humor #sketchcomedy #CarolBurnett #TimConway #HarveyKorman
youtu.be/9IUSM4EKcRI?...
Sometimes being a teacher is really hard and joyless.
Tomorrow will not be one of those days.
#academicsky
Tomorrow will not be one of those days.
#academicsky
October 2, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Sometimes being a teacher is really hard and joyless.
Tomorrow will not be one of those days.
#academicsky
Tomorrow will not be one of those days.
#academicsky
September Reading Wrap-up 📚
Mixed bag this month but "Automatic Noodle" was an absolute joy and my favorite. @katiekitamura.bsky.social "Audition" was another surprise that I'm still rolling over in the best way. Looking forward to spooky season reads next!
#BookSky
Mixed bag this month but "Automatic Noodle" was an absolute joy and my favorite. @katiekitamura.bsky.social "Audition" was another surprise that I'm still rolling over in the best way. Looking forward to spooky season reads next!
#BookSky
September 30, 2025 at 11:27 PM
September Reading Wrap-up 📚
Mixed bag this month but "Automatic Noodle" was an absolute joy and my favorite. @katiekitamura.bsky.social "Audition" was another surprise that I'm still rolling over in the best way. Looking forward to spooky season reads next!
#BookSky
Mixed bag this month but "Automatic Noodle" was an absolute joy and my favorite. @katiekitamura.bsky.social "Audition" was another surprise that I'm still rolling over in the best way. Looking forward to spooky season reads next!
#BookSky
Being unable to log into any of my university applications right now is exactly what I needed on a day with a giant to-do list.
(I am unsure yet if this is sarcasm or not; to be decided).
#academicsky
(I am unsure yet if this is sarcasm or not; to be decided).
#academicsky
September 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Being unable to log into any of my university applications right now is exactly what I needed on a day with a giant to-do list.
(I am unsure yet if this is sarcasm or not; to be decided).
#academicsky
(I am unsure yet if this is sarcasm or not; to be decided).
#academicsky
New vibes, new year, same ritual picture.
32nd year of school, 15 of which I've been teaching in some capacity. One day, I may not be excited about the first day of school, but that day is not today.
#academicsky
32nd year of school, 15 of which I've been teaching in some capacity. One day, I may not be excited about the first day of school, but that day is not today.
#academicsky
September 5, 2025 at 12:00 AM
New vibes, new year, same ritual picture.
32nd year of school, 15 of which I've been teaching in some capacity. One day, I may not be excited about the first day of school, but that day is not today.
#academicsky
32nd year of school, 15 of which I've been teaching in some capacity. One day, I may not be excited about the first day of school, but that day is not today.
#academicsky
Just finished Haruki Murakami's memoir "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and it was a breezy engaging personal narrative about exactly what the title suggests.
4 🌟
Full Review here: fable.co/review/42d7d...
4 🌟
Full Review here: fable.co/review/42d7d...
September 4, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Just finished Haruki Murakami's memoir "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and it was a breezy engaging personal narrative about exactly what the title suggests.
4 🌟
Full Review here: fable.co/review/42d7d...
4 🌟
Full Review here: fable.co/review/42d7d...
Just finished @annaleen.bsky.social "Automatic Noodle" and it is everything I could have wanted. Like any good bowl of spicy noodles, it is humble but satisfying and left with me feeling restored. Easiest 5 🌟 all year for me.
Full Review at Fable. fable.co/review/aa5f3...
#BookSky
Full Review at Fable. fable.co/review/aa5f3...
#BookSky
September 1, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Just finished @annaleen.bsky.social "Automatic Noodle" and it is everything I could have wanted. Like any good bowl of spicy noodles, it is humble but satisfying and left with me feeling restored. Easiest 5 🌟 all year for me.
Full Review at Fable. fable.co/review/aa5f3...
#BookSky
Full Review at Fable. fable.co/review/aa5f3...
#BookSky
August Reading Wrap-up!
This was a much better month than July. So many good reads, some new authors, some old favorites, and enough five star reads I want to briefly highlight each of the.
#BookSky
1/5
This was a much better month than July. So many good reads, some new authors, some old favorites, and enough five star reads I want to briefly highlight each of the.
#BookSky
1/5
August 31, 2025 at 6:26 PM
August Reading Wrap-up!
This was a much better month than July. So many good reads, some new authors, some old favorites, and enough five star reads I want to briefly highlight each of the.
#BookSky
1/5
This was a much better month than July. So many good reads, some new authors, some old favorites, and enough five star reads I want to briefly highlight each of the.
#BookSky
1/5
Currently deep in Jessa Crispin's "My Three Dads" and her chapter on white male violence as response to patriarchal violence of the state should be essential reading at this critical juncture in US history.
#BookSky #academicsky
#BookSky #academicsky
August 31, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Currently deep in Jessa Crispin's "My Three Dads" and her chapter on white male violence as response to patriarchal violence of the state should be essential reading at this critical juncture in US history.
#BookSky #academicsky
#BookSky #academicsky
After the summer of research I've had, I like to imagine that the interlibrary loan folks at my university library are talking about me all the time. Between my intercultural and humor classes, mentoring and queerness research, and articles to help students, my library profile is wild.
#academicsky
#academicsky
August 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
After the summer of research I've had, I like to imagine that the interlibrary loan folks at my university library are talking about me all the time. Between my intercultural and humor classes, mentoring and queerness research, and articles to help students, my library profile is wild.
#academicsky
#academicsky
Today, writing was hard. I got "Reject and Resubmit" on a manuscript, which is more than I expected! But attempting to untangle the feedback into meaningful revisions, it struck me how hard looking through someone else's eyes at your own work can be. Still, 154 words is better than 0.
#academicsky
#academicsky
August 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Today, writing was hard. I got "Reject and Resubmit" on a manuscript, which is more than I expected! But attempting to untangle the feedback into meaningful revisions, it struck me how hard looking through someone else's eyes at your own work can be. Still, 154 words is better than 0.
#academicsky
#academicsky
I have been told my feed needs more cat content. Here is Athena fascinated by dead leaves. No one said the content had to be interesting.
#catsky
#catsky
August 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I have been told my feed needs more cat content. Here is Athena fascinated by dead leaves. No one said the content had to be interesting.
#catsky
#catsky
Watching someone on the treadmill at the gym reading a physical copy of whatever the latest Sarah J. Maas "court of booty and flowers" book is. Bold on many levels.
#BookSky
#BookSky
August 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Watching someone on the treadmill at the gym reading a physical copy of whatever the latest Sarah J. Maas "court of booty and flowers" book is. Bold on many levels.
#BookSky
#BookSky
July Reading Wrap-up! It admittedly felt like a month where I had trouble enjoying my reads, so I leave the month feeling a bit blah. But Interesting Facts About Space by Emily and Sinkholes and Other Inexplicable Voids by Leyna Krow were beautiful bookends for the month.
#BookSky
#BookSky
August 3, 2025 at 1:18 AM
July Reading Wrap-up! It admittedly felt like a month where I had trouble enjoying my reads, so I leave the month feeling a bit blah. But Interesting Facts About Space by Emily and Sinkholes and Other Inexplicable Voids by Leyna Krow were beautiful bookends for the month.
#BookSky
#BookSky
One of my favorite experiences as a teacher is when I express concern about a student topic for a project and then they turn in a thoughtfully-considered final version that teaches me and leaves me curious.
#academicsky
#academicsky
August 1, 2025 at 4:35 PM
One of my favorite experiences as a teacher is when I express concern about a student topic for a project and then they turn in a thoughtfully-considered final version that teaches me and leaves me curious.
#academicsky
#academicsky
Preparing my honors course on humor has fed my worst qualities, namely my proclivity for puns and stupid jokes. Case in point, my week devoted to humor as rhetorical argument, titled:
"It's a Silly-gism"
I think I can retire on this one.
#academicsky #teamrhetoric
"It's a Silly-gism"
I think I can retire on this one.
#academicsky #teamrhetoric
July 29, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Preparing my honors course on humor has fed my worst qualities, namely my proclivity for puns and stupid jokes. Case in point, my week devoted to humor as rhetorical argument, titled:
"It's a Silly-gism"
I think I can retire on this one.
#academicsky #teamrhetoric
"It's a Silly-gism"
I think I can retire on this one.
#academicsky #teamrhetoric
I just finished my reading list for my interdisciplinary humor course and it's only *check watch* well-past my bedtime.
#academicsky
#academicsky
July 25, 2025 at 4:09 AM
I just finished my reading list for my interdisciplinary humor course and it's only *check watch* well-past my bedtime.
#academicsky
#academicsky
My husband is on a long trip to visit family in Utah and has been gone for almost a week now. I ran out of will to cook for myself by day 3. Send help and frozen pizzas.
July 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
My husband is on a long trip to visit family in Utah and has been gone for almost a week now. I ran out of will to cook for myself by day 3. Send help and frozen pizzas.
I remembered today that I need to send out "save-the-date" emails for our Valentine's Day themed speech tournament.
I now have a task on my to-do list labeled "Love Fest STDs"
Feels correct.
#academicsky
I now have a task on my to-do list labeled "Love Fest STDs"
Feels correct.
#academicsky
July 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I remembered today that I need to send out "save-the-date" emails for our Valentine's Day themed speech tournament.
I now have a task on my to-do list labeled "Love Fest STDs"
Feels correct.
#academicsky
I now have a task on my to-do list labeled "Love Fest STDs"
Feels correct.
#academicsky
After struggling with course prep all summer, I'm recreating how I used to prep courses in my first two years of teaching:
Books
Booze
Brooks Movies
#academicsky
Books
Booze
Brooks Movies
#academicsky
July 20, 2025 at 10:10 PM
After struggling with course prep all summer, I'm recreating how I used to prep courses in my first two years of teaching:
Books
Booze
Brooks Movies
#academicsky
Books
Booze
Brooks Movies
#academicsky
Following my current inspiration and the dictum that any kind of writing daily is good writing, I've written 2400 words of a short story, which already feels long for how much more I have planned.
Creative writing friends: How many words until it's not a short story anymore?
#writingsky #creative
Creative writing friends: How many words until it's not a short story anymore?
#writingsky #creative
July 6, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Following my current inspiration and the dictum that any kind of writing daily is good writing, I've written 2400 words of a short story, which already feels long for how much more I have planned.
Creative writing friends: How many words until it's not a short story anymore?
#writingsky #creative
Creative writing friends: How many words until it's not a short story anymore?
#writingsky #creative
Years ago I heard a professor say you just need to aim high in your journal aspirations and shove your manuscript out the door.
I am clinging to that advice as I shove mine out the door to a journal I always thought could be out of reach. Worse case scenario: Rejection and feedback.
#academicsky
I am clinging to that advice as I shove mine out the door to a journal I always thought could be out of reach. Worse case scenario: Rejection and feedback.
#academicsky
July 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Years ago I heard a professor say you just need to aim high in your journal aspirations and shove your manuscript out the door.
I am clinging to that advice as I shove mine out the door to a journal I always thought could be out of reach. Worse case scenario: Rejection and feedback.
#academicsky
I am clinging to that advice as I shove mine out the door to a journal I always thought could be out of reach. Worse case scenario: Rejection and feedback.
#academicsky