One of the most helpful (and unnerving) aspects of the Summer Teaching Institute a few years ago was when Bob Baird videotaped each participant delivering a lecture, then played that lecture back for all of the Institute fellows to see.
Oh my …
Do I really leave most of my sentences incomplete? Do I really jump around with my topics like that? Is it the camera or that hideous jacket that makes me look so fat?
The video was a good catalyst for me to examine HOW I present material in the classroom. And I hope I’ve gotten better since then.
Meanwhile, I am one of the four subjects of film-maker David Licata’s latest documentary, “A Life’s Work.” David’s quest is to find out what drives the people who undertake mammoth tasks that they know they’ll never finish. My personal Herculian task is to digitize a copy of every piece of black gospel vinyl released between 1945 and 1970. To that end, I co-founded and help administer The Black Gospel Music Restoration Project here at Baylor University.
David filmed me while I conducting research in Chicago for my book on the influence of black sacred music on the Civil Rights Movement. Amid the interviews with gospel artists, Freedom Riders, activists and pastors, he caught me looking for rare gospel vinyl at a used record store in Hyde Park.
The documentary is probably still a year away from release, but he posted that three-minute clip on YouTube, if you’re interested: