Raphael Ranola

If you’ve seen me on the street, I was probably in a button-down and chino pants. Cosplaying as an academic is a hobby I take seriously.

For the sake of this column, I thought it was worth unpacking the value of the essay in general — the staple tool in developing skills in evaluating, arguing and employing rhetoric to show you understand what you're learning.

As an environmentalist, I sometimes doomscroll the subreddit r/BuyItForLife, where sustainability diehards and gear pedants swap recommendations

Kurt Vonnegut doesn't really write a war novel in “ Slaughterhouse-Five ” so much as he writes a novel about war — specifically how war distorts time and the moral trap of trying to make slaughter mean something.

I relish the fact that I'm a product of Illinois public schooling. My education has been built almost entirely in institutions meant to serve the public.

As graduation quickly approaches, many of my recent musings start with the sentence stem, “In another life.” For example, in another life, I would have studied English.

As graduation quickly approaches, many of my recent musings start with the sentence stem, "In another life." For example, in another life, I would have studied English. Or classics, or philosophy — something that asked me to sit with ambiguity and think deeply. Read Full Article »

In early March, with a decision I hadn't fully processed yet sitting in my inbox, I stopped by Jim Hinterlong 's office on a whim.

One of the stranger perks of being a fossil fuel divestment advocate was ending up on a panel for Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Old friend — how lovely it is to see you, your chubby cheeks, curled tail like a windswept banner. Here I am in your habitat — or ours, I guess.