{"241561":{"#nid":"241561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Conversation Is Key to Colatrella\u2019s Classes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s 9 a.m. on a Friday morning in Stein Residence Hall, and a group of about 25 bleary-eyed students are having a discussion about a topic you probably wouldn\u2019t expect \u2014 whales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWelcome to Carol Colatrella\u2019s Major Authors: Melville class where the focus is on analyzing the classic \u003Cem\u003EMoby Dick\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLike any good teacher, my goal in class is to get as many students participating as possible,\u201d said Colatrella, a professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication and associate dean for graduate studies in Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. \u201cThis is one of the reasons why I like holding this class in the lounge of the residence hall. It allows us to sit in a circle, which allows for more informal discussion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn this day, the students and Colatrella are engaged in a discussion about themes such as hunting whales and whether the reader is meant to feel sympathy for the whales.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI love it when I see that our conversations have meant something to my students,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, a previous literature course I taught focused on families, and after the course ended, one of the students took the time to send me a photo of his family. I could see that I\u2019d made a difference in his life \u2014 and him taking the time to do that made a difference in mine.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, \u003Cem\u003EThe Whistle\u003C\/em\u003E had a chance to learn more about Colatrella and her time at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be as a child?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EA math teacher, and then I thought I\u2019d be a lawyer. Eventually, I realized that I loved literature, which led me down this path.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat made you decide to work at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019d lived up north for much of my life, so honestly, the warm weather in the South was a key factor in my decision. Not to mention, I was eager to come and work for this school, since it was gaining respect among my colleagues in literature and science. It was a chance to work with a group of people interested in the same research topics as I was.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us a bit about your research.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy books, \u003Cem\u003EEvolution, Sacrifice, and Narrative: Balzac, Zola, and Faulkner\u003C\/em\u003E; \u003Cem\u003ELiterature and Moral Reform: Melville and the Discipline of Reading\u003C\/em\u003E; \u003Cem\u003EToys and Tools in Pink: Cultural Narratives of Gender, Science, and Technology\u003C\/em\u003E; and articles I\u2019ve written analyze popular and scientific narrative representations of race, class, and gender.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is an average day like for you? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis semester, I teach one course that meets three times each week. I\u2019m also always working on projects related to my associate dean duties and my role as co-director of the Center for the Study of Women, Science, and Technology (WST), which co-sponsors the WST Learning Community for students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWould you ever be willing to teach a massive open online courses (MOOC)?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI would. But I wonder how I\u2019d be able to sustain the interactive discussion portion of my class teaching it online to such a large group of students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI love the views from the roof garden on top of Clough Commons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is one piece of technology you couldn\u2019t live without?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy Blackberry. It\u2019s like my brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to eat lunch?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI love trying the different salads that Highland Bakery offers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI almost took a job in Denmark as a humanities professor \u2014 I would have been one of 24 female humanities professors in the country. It would have been an adventure, but staying here ended up being the right decision.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s 9 a.m. on a Friday morning in Stein Residence Hall, and a group of about 25 bleary-eyed students are having a discussion about a topic you probably wouldn\u2019t expect \u2014 whales.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"It\u2019s 9 a.m. on a Friday morning in Stein Residence Hall, and a group of about 25 bleary-eyed students are having a discussion about a topic you probably wouldn\u2019t expect \u2014 whales."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-10-01 15:06:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:00","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"241441":{"id":"241441","type":"image","title":"Carol Colatrella","body":null,"created":"1449243688","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:28","changed":"1475894916","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:36","alt":"Carol Colatrella","file":{"fid":"197796","name":"carol.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/carol_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/carol_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2618154,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/carol_0.jpg?itok=z3RF_N-4"}}},"media_ids":["241441"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"39791","name":"and Communication"},{"id":"3975","name":"carol colatrella"},{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1976","name":"Media"},{"id":"167456","name":"School of Literature"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}