Some of you reading this may be aware that I had planned to offer this first-year writing seminar again this fall. As much as I was looking forward to doing so, I’ve had to cancel the fall 2011 offering of this course. A few weeks ago, the director of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching announced she was stepping down to take a position at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. I was appointed Acting Director of the center starting August 1st. Although this is a great opportunity for me, the demands on my time of the acting directorship this fall will be significant, and I didn’t see a way I could teach the cryptography course at any level of effectiveness.
I may offer the course in the spring, however. I certainly have lots of ideas for improving the course, and I’ll continue to post news items and other relevant resources via Delicious and the Facebook page. So if you’re interested in cryptography, look for those links. And if you’re a first-year Vanderbilt student who’s really interested in this course happening in the spring, please let me know!
Image: “Layers, Leaves, and Sun,” by me
Dan Morrison
The NSA is building a big complex in Utah, and one of its major missions is decryption. See this wired article: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1