Alphonse Keasley has been working from home lately and teaching his class remotely, appreciative of our wired world. The Associate Vice Chancellor in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement at The University of Colorado Boulder feels fortunate to get to spend his time connecting with others.
Alphonse Keasley has been working from home lately and teaching his class remotely, appreciative of our wired world. The Associate Vice Chancellor in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement at The University of Colorado Boulder feels fortunate to get to spend his time connecting with others.
“My work, and really what my life has been about, is to pay attention to the wellbeing of people and make sure they feel included,” he said.
Normally, he would be preparing right now to spend May and parts of June in South Africa with students from Boulder. But these days aren’t normal, are they?
A recent telephone conversation with his colleague in South Africa made him feel even more thankful for what he, his colleagues and his students have here. Remote learning just doesn’t work well there for all university learners, nor does it in many other African nations. Internet minutes are costly and not as accessible.
“That moment really tripped something for me,” he said. He remembered how important world travel has been in shaping his understanding of life in the U.S. He and his colleague have decided to write about these COVID-19 times from an ethnographic perspective, each in his own context. “Sometimes, it takes learning outside of the United States to be reminded of our greater humanity.”
We cannot travel. We must stay home for now. And yet he sees this as an invitation to slow down. To pay attention to ourselves, and to others who are very close to us.
“I would hope we could learn from this moment,” he said. “We have always been in this together.”
