Dave O'Hara
@Davoh
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Peirce, Plato, Philology, Perennialism. Peripatetic piscator. Professor of Philosophy, Classics, Environment. I study fish and forests. 2024 Bush Fellow.
Sioux Falls, SD
Joined August 2008
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Pinned Tweet
An early morning hike with my class in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Beautiful, dense vegetation, and the songs of howler monkeys in the trees above.
@AugiePhilosophy
@AugustanaSD
#environmentalphilosophy
#teachoutdoors
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Met some heavy traffic on the highway here in South Dakota today.
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@tertiagillett
I save those notes in a permanent file, so yes. Thanks for sharing this news, and congratulations!
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It can be hard to capture just how narrow some of the streets are in Morocco’s old cities.
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To my students who are wondering if there is homework over break: my request is that you get outside, slow down, put aside all that provokes you to anxiety. I ask that you spend time with friends and family, and that you do joyful things, not urgent things. Peace be with you all.
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To my students who feel the stress of grades right now: study because the things you learn will make you better able to love your neighbor. Others will benefit from what you learn. You’re engaged in the work of healing the world, and you make me glad.
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Earlier today, a very peaceful march and protest through DT Sioux Falls. Many clergy from across the city. Thoughtful speakers. People extending kindness to one another. This was a huge crowd, and it was not violent. Kind words exchanged b/t marchers and police.
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A quick note to my students who are athletes: there are a lot of us faculty who are sad that this season’s competitions are off. You know why we are sad? Because we know what that means to you, and we love to see your joy when you compete. Just so you know: you’re not alone.
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Some of my students (especially those outside humanities disciplines) find it challenging to write an essay. Here's one approach I suggest:
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RIP, Cormac McCarthy. And thanks for this passage, among many others.
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This weekend I received the good news that I am to be promoted to full Professor. Now: as an environmental philosopher, what should I do with those old business cards that say “Associate Professor”?
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Today, a wonderful mystery: four years ago I lost some of my language ability in an accident. Today, while praying in Spanish, I suddenly regained the accent I learned when I lived in Madrid many years ago. The world is full of wonder for me.
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If you have the privilege of going to university, use that privilege to learn as broadly as you can, and rather than worrying about finding a job, focus on finding your vocation. Study so that you can be a good neighbor. Study to form a good life, not just to make a living.
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My daughter tells me this species is known as “smol birb.” She’s not an ornithologist but I trust her judgment in these matters.
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This old friend fell asleep today, dying peacefully at home. He has been a good companion for our family for fourteen years. He was the right dog at the right time. Reckless hope in me imagines him running wild and free with other dogs now; reckless hope says we’ll meet again.
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Been wearing masks since March and so far the masks don’t seem to have harmed me. I’ve lost several relatives to COVID-19 now. Would like to not lose more. Please consider joining me in wearing a mask when you are near other people. Low cost, high benefit.
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I lost an old friend last week to cancer. I miss him terribly. It has me spending more time in the garden, looking for the small beautiful things, like this tiny green bee on a dandelion, that still are here. I can no longer show him images like this, so I’m showing you instead.
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I hope it’s okay if I shout that MY AMAZING DAUGHTER JUST GOT ENGAGED AND I AM VERY HAPPY!
Thanks for your patience while I exuberate.
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To my students: I know that the weather might make it hard to get back to school tomorrow. I care far more about your safety than about your attendance. Take the time you need, drive carefully, watch out for one another. When you get back, I’ll help you catch up.
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Vikings knew to wear armor to protect themselves. These two also know to wear masks to protect others. Please wear a mask. Thanks.
#LoveYourNeighborAsYourself
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My wonderful daughter got married last night. My heart is full. Here’s a selfie I took before walking her down the aisle.
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My daughter just passed the bar exam and I am a very proud father who just got a bit prouder.
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This week I urged a student to skip class. Her boyfriend was deploying the next day, and two of her friends were conspiring with him to get her away from school so he could propose to her.
She skipped class.
He proposed.
She said yes.
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Augie students, if I taught a class on how to build inexpensive and energy-efficient homes, and your only project was to build the home you’d live in the following semester (yeah, you���d build the whole thing from scratch), who would be interested in taking that class?
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@RobGMacfarlane
I study freshwater ecology. Words like that start cascades of others in my mind: limnic, pelagian, benthic, riparian. The names flow on.
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Just got an email from a current medical student, thanking me for helping her be a philosophy and classics major as an undergrad.
Because philosophy and classics are helping her be a much better medical student, she says.
This makes me glad.
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Hello. Please enjoy twenty seconds of an otter frolicking along the bank of a river near my home in South Dakota.
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24 years ago today I was diagnosed with cancer. I was in grad school, had three small kids.
I’m still here, and I’m grateful for all the kind care I received, and for the research that made my treatment so successful.
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Someone else just asked me about my pending retirement (!) and who will replace me. I would like to take this moment to repeat:
I AM VERY YOUNG AND I AM NOT RETIRING.
And, once again, I can’t retire because then I’d have to move all my books from my office.
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My students and I moved a few tons of mulch—made from trees on campus—to prepare the
@AugustanaSD
vegetable garden today. They grow 30K-40K meals a year; they’re starting a CSA; they’re expanding to include local churches and to feed the hungry.
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Please enjoy a few seconds of the Big Sioux River at sunrise this morning. I stood on the South Dakota side, looking across into Iowa. I was surrounded by birds, including crows, bald eagles, woodpeckers, chickadees, flickers, cardinals, and more. You’ll hear a few of them here.
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Reposting this for everyone who has been told that poetry doesn’t matter, that words are only words, that storytelling is insignificant. And for everyone who wants to hear a good poem, well read.
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Prep for today’s classes on Emerson and informal logic.
I have yet to find an informal textbook that I really like, so I usually choose one and then cobble together parts from many other texts.
And at the beginning of every class I read aloud from a detective story.
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These are my students, made in the image of God. One was my teaching assistant, and she constantly taught me. Another was our student body President this year. He also teaches me constantly. I love them all.
@AugustanaSD
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She missed class because her friend just died suddenly and horribly, she said.
“Would you like to plant some seeds in the campus garden?” She quickly replied: “How soon?”
I gave her a handful of seeds. “What do I do now?” she asked.
“Just let them go.” She opened her hand.
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My little girl is turning thirty this week so this weekend I did what any mature normal person would do and made an illustrated book about her life, in which I portrayed her as a field mouse. This is the first tree she planted when we lived in Vermont.
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Snow geese flying over the prairie today, not far from the Missouri River.
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My current shelfie. I’ve collected a few new books this summer. These will all be fast reads for me. Read this thread to see what I mean:
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I think I found a new graduate student for you,
@SolomonRDavid
. One of my
@AugieEnviro
students who happens to love native fish that not everyone thinks of as beautiful. She said I could show you this photo of one of her tattoos.
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The first sunrise of 2020, looking over the Big Sioux River into Iowa. Good Earth State Park, South Dakota. Wishing you beautiful new light in this new year.
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"Love your neighbor as yourself," he said. "But that's hard," I said. "Yes, neighbor, I know," he replied.
@UnvirtuousAbbey
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All the fireworks I need, right here in the garden. Bright yellow dill blossoms bursting in front of a purple morning glory.
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Some people might tell you that writing books doesn’t earn you money, and yet I get one of these royalty checks every six months.
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My older son got married this weekend. I’m slowly sorting through the pictures and riding the elation of a joyful family gathering. Here are my three kids before the ceremony. They bring good light to my eyes.
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Dear students: you matter more than your grades ever will. As exams come, give yourself some slack and rest each day. Peace be with you.
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Six years ago I was almost killed in an accident. An Afghan refugee who studied with me at
@AugustanaSD
and who has since become a US citizen and serves our nation took PTO to fly to Sioux Falls from D.C. to care for my wife and me.
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Sometimes I think about switching jobs. Then a student send me a text like this one I just received: “Today's class was really powerful! It made me want to live a good life for my children and grandchildren, starting today. Thank you for making me think and feel deeply about it.”
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My wife posted this earlier so it’s too late to keep it a secret that we once looked like this. I regret the clip-on bowtie, but I definitely don’t regret marrying
@ChristinaOHara1
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Classes I will teach this fall:
* Classics
* Philosophy
* Environmental Studies
* Business Administration
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Today a good friend told me his brother died of complications due to COVID-19. My friend asks something simple of the rest of us:
Please wear a mask and take others’ health as seriously as you take your own.
May light perpetual shine upon your brother, friend.
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For a while now I’ve had a great job: teaching at a small college. The job doesn’t make me rich, but it makes me feel wealthy, IYKWIM. I’m in a small town, a rural state, a small school with diverse students. This is a good place to teach.
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So glad my parents didn’t get this kind of message when I was in kindergarten. I’m glad they taught me to read, took me outside to work with them in the garden, took me on the rowboat, and let me play in the woods.
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Trust me; this is funny if you know the Greek text.
Peter said, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
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After graduation I had to snap a selfie with
@TheBigAndSexy70
. I felt confident that he’s not camera shy. We will miss his smile on our campus.
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One of the monarch butterflies I’m watching for my neighbor is about to emerge.
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I recently confessed to my students that I pray for them every day before I teach.
Sometimes this feels silly. What does prayer do, after all? I don’t know for sure. But I know it helps me to consider my students’ needs, and their remarkable lives, even if only for a moment.
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For over a decade, I’ve been dreaming of building an outdoor classroom at
@AugustanaSD
. As the Director of Sustainability, building it has become a priority. Students and alumni designed it, and this week construction began! What do you think of it?
@AugieSustain
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A student just stopped me on campus and said they’re sad to hear that I’m retiring. Not sure whether to be flattered or concerned.
For the record: I am not retiring. I AM VERY YOUNG. Also, there is not enough room at home for all the books in my office.
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My wife’s great aunt died today. Her quiet life might not make the news, but we love her. A Maryknoll nun, a devoted servant, a woman of strong love. The coronavirus ended her breathing but not her spirit. May light perpetual shine upon you, Sister Pat.
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My youngest is studying to be an auto mechanic, and little by little he is replacing every part of our old Honda.
He calls it “The Accord of Theseus.”
He makes me so proud.
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I brought the three Adirondack chairs I built, and planted them outside the chapel at
@AugustanaSD
. Yesterday I walked by and found that other chairs had joined them, like birds flicking together. This is how outdoor classrooms can begin!
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Yesterday my student told me her mother, who lives in another country and whose religious tradition is quite different from my own, prays for me regularly. My student: “But I don’t know if her prayer does anything.” Me: “It does! It just warmed my heart with gratitude!”
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What lessons about nature were handed down to you by your elders? When I was a boy my father taught me that if I walk quietly in the forest, the forest will begin to reveal itself to me.
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When my neighbor’s beautiful dog gets curious about what’s happening on our side of the fence.
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I often let my students bring a notecard to exams. Make it small, I say, and write as little as you can. If you hand write it you likely won’t even need it; making the card is a tool for studying.
Still, sometimes they produce micromasterpieces like this that make me smile.
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To the person who put this rock through our car window: thank you for the rock! It is a nice rock, and I’ve added it to my garden. Whenever I see it I will remember you and pray for you. I hope you are now safe from whoever hurt you.
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As we all know, bow ties are cool. As it turns out, masks that go with your bow ties also have a certain appeal. As a nice tack-on effect, the masks also have some public health benefits. Please consider wearing a bow tie, and a mask that goes reasonably well with it. Thanks.
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Did I mention that my favorite daughter is thirty today? Here she is at her wedding with her favorite papa.
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If we aren’t teaching students about ideas that make them uncomfortable, does that mean I have to revise my theology classes so we don’t talk about sin? Some will like that. It’s always been an unpopular topic—except when we talk about the sins other people commit, of course.
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We are a small city, but we’ve got some chefs with big talent.
Sanaa Abourezk named finalist for James Beard Award for best chef via
@argusleader
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A passenger train would be a welcome addition to South Dakota. If I could take a train to Omaha, Rapid City, or Minneapolis, I’d gladly do so.
Latest Amtrak study maps include potential routes through Sioux Falls, Rapid City
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Found this luna moth drifting in a river this morning. When I picked it up it was still alive, so I put it on my hat and let it dry off in the sun. Three hours later, with dry wings, it flew again.
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Both my morning meetings got canceled so I am seeking the solace of river woodlands.
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I just learned that I don’t have enough followers to be considered an “influencer.”
Which is fine with me.
The algorithms may spurn me, but I like small classrooms, quiet coffee conversations, walks with one or two other people.
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The prairie is like an ocean made of deep organic matter, topped with waves of whirling grass.
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Last week I came to my office and found a gift waiting for me, given anonymously by a kind student. Hopefully that student will see just how much I like this new bow tie you gave me. Thank you!
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Just visited my neurologist. End of appointment he asked: got any questions for me? I said no, but I wanted him to know I am grateful for him. He seemed a little surprised, like maybe his patients don’t often say that. Makes me wonder who else needs to hear that today.
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A forest is not a collection of trees; it is a community of kingdoms.
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In my office, wishing I could have tea here with my students. For now, be safe, friends. Hopefully we’ll meet here again soon. You’re in my heart, on my mind, in my prayers of thanksgiving and supplication.
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On campus today, a student stopped me and said “Are you Dr. O’Hara?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I’ve heard so much about your classes! I want to take one of your classes this spring!” She said.
Just a few words, but they felt so kind, and so affirming.
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If you’re troubled by seeing Native Americans dishonored, do more than lament. Subscribe to Native journalism; buy Native art; tell legislators to honor treaties; give to Native scholarship funds; invite Native speakers and listen to them. Act positively.
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A week ago I gave a book to a student. She read it all, and wants to give it away to someone else now. I feel like this is the heart of my work as a professor: not to create lots of original scholarship, but to pass on the good things I have received.
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Putting aside for a moment paternal pride in my son’s ability with a camera (and having
@NatGeo
acknowledge it) this photo makes me appreciate how beautiful South Dakota is.
How cool is this?? Check out that little yellow square at the top right!
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This is where I live.
Do Nothing For Two Minutes
We leave you this Christmas Sunday morning in a winter wonderland, at Good Earth State Park in South Dakota. Videographer: Kevin Kjergaard.
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When I taught at Penn State I often had college seniors in my intro classes. They were ticking off the last box so they could graduate. So often they’d say things like “I wish I had taken this my first year. It would have changed my career.”
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