in Lancaster

I arrived this afternoon to a misty and rainy Lancaster. I town I had read about in the seminal Local literacies book published by the almost iconic scholars of the New Literacy Studies. And finally I am in the town and at the university where the concept of literacy as social practice was made real. I'm sorry I didn't plan to stay longer and explore the city which, I was told by the taxi driver driving me to the university, is an old Roman city and has a history of  hanging witches.

I'm at the HECU 5 conference finally and surrounded by fairly large contingent of South Africans mostly from UCT. Its a comforting feeling as I have been missing Cape Town a lot recently. Reminiscing my financial freedom, my comfortable sense of who I was, my uncomplicated connection to my family and my deep sense of belonging. I'm not sure why I've been feeling like this lately - as I was feeling like I was really starting to settle in England and I really don't want to lose this hard earn sense of security in where my life is at the moment. So being surrounded by people who mostly sound like me is good.

The conference so far (its only been half a day) has been...moderate. SS's keynote was excellent, provoking and inspiring in the depth of its theoretization. I came away thinking - goodness I would like to be able to analyse curriculum structures like that - to really understand what underpins curriculum choices and how those choices construct consequences for students, for pedagogy, for staff. Then SS mentioned my paper, my name, my work as a way in which different theories where being brought together to understand practices in HE. I didn't think too much about it, except that - wow maybe people will think I have something profound to say, which I clearly don't think I have. So I guess I am a bit famous here @ HECU 5 and although I worry about the responsibility that comes with it.

The other session I went was...a bit hint-and-miss really. I tried to maintain an open mind but it just didn't say much to me. And I had to tell myself very loudly and clearly : "We are all trying to tell a story and we all think that OUR story has valid and important merits, some of us even think, our  story can change the world, make it a better place"  But its all just a particular story that not everyone will understand or will want to understand anyhow.