Introducing Jesse Stommel at #NWeLearn 2015

I had the pleasure of introducing Jesse Stommel before his presentation at NWeLearn today.

Here's the text. It was meant to be a bit performative.

The introduction was shaped and influenced by several anonymous folks who gave me ideas, feedback, and helped shape my understanding of Jesse's work on a larger scale so that I could get the feel and ethos right. 

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Introduction

“Life is a mystery, 

Everyone must stand alone

I hear you call my name

And it feels like home”*


Jesse Stommel is Executive Director, Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies at University of Mary Washington. 


He researches, teaches, writes, and creates MOOCs.


He’s helping redefine online academic publishing and peer review.


A Twitter colleague describes Jesse as: 

“A discomforting humanities everyman who keeps making everyone think critically about academia and scholarship.”


A few points of contact for the Jesse assemblage:

  • Digital Humanities
  • Zombies
  • Dry English Cider
  • Shakespeare
  • bell hooks
  • Freire
  • A young puppy named Emily
  • Collaborative editing
  • Visual rhetoric


Jesse’s work embodies care and builds productively from rage and frustration with social injustice.


And to the LMS grade book we can shout lyrics from Oi Polloi:

“We’re gonna boot

gonna boot

gonna boot down the door

smash their oppression, smash their law.”^


Don’t offer Jesse dessert, but he’ll probably take you up on the yogurt pretzels


Please join me in welcoming Jesse Stommmel! 


* Madonna’s “Like a Prayer

* ^ Oi Polloi’s “Boot Down the Door"