Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Objective: To develop a valid and reliable peer observation and evaluation tool (POET) to be used in a large classroom setting as part of a comprehensive teaching assessment program.
Methods: POET was developed by consensus of a 9-member peer observation taskforce after an extensive literature search, review of peer evaluation at similar academic institutions, and direct input from an external expert on peer observation of teaching. To establish validity, each taskforce member and the external expert provided feedback on organization, terminology, and clarity and independently ranked each item on a scale of 1 (no importance) to 5 (high importance). Items with a mean score below three were removed. Remaining items were reorganized and modified based on feedback. After receiving peer observation training, taskforce members piloted POET on a pre-recorded lecture. Based on consensus, POET was streamlined further and descriptors were added. To establish inter-rater reliability, 2-3 taskforce members observed eight separate lectures utilizing POET. Intra-class correlations (ICCs) were computed for each lecture. Results: POET contains scripted interview questions for pre- and post- observation meetings and a 39-item rubric to evaluate lecture content, presentation skills, classroom climate, and assessment strategies. ICCs ranged from 0.67 to 0.90 indicating very good inter-rater reliability. Data from one rater on three occasions were excluded due to low variability in response scores which produced negative ICCs. Implications: POET is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate large classroom teaching when used by trained peer observers. The effectiveness of POET as an assessment tool warrants further study.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Poetry is a career with no necessary institutional affiliation. Drawing from interview and ethnographic data this paper uses Abbot's work on jursidictions in the field of professions, and Stebbins analysis of the system of relations between amateurs and professionals to provide a better sociological understanding of poets. Seeing poetry as a 'calling' accepts too many of the romantic misrecognitions of the field and does not allow for adequate analysis. In addition, this paper proposes the concept of 'symbiotic careers' to better understand how artistic careers are interwoven with necessary work outside of the arts.

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Poet-presidents challenge the Cuomo-Clinton quip that "you campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose." While it's too early to deem Obama a poet-president, Douglas Hyde (1860-1949), the first president of the Irish Saorstat ("Free State"), and Václav Havel, the first president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, fit the category snuggly. Because both Hyde and Havel assumed the office of president in/of a new order that their own symbolic action helped bring about, their situations are of particular pertinence to students and scholars of social movements and social imaginaries. This paper will look at the poet-president as a type—of which Hyde and Havel are embodiments—and whether the poetic constitution confers upon the poet-president immunity from the effects of the so-called "Iron Law of Oligarchy."

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The poetry slam environment is the location of a joining of the political and the personal. In this paper, the author explores the personal and political expression of identity in slam poetry competitions and slam poetry. Issues of identity and performance are explored. The slam location is posited as site of political and personal musing.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of what political theory has to learn from the arts, through an examination of the differences between Gadamer's ideas about poetry and those of his teacher, Heidegger.