This spring I asked my Asian Philosophy students to buy good quality paper notebooks or journals, journals they’ll be glad to own for years. I also suggested they consider buying one good brush pen, a calligraphy pen, a fountain pen, or some other writing instrument in which they could take some joy and pride.

As the semester ends, I’ve really enjoyed seeing them write notes. When I write a word on the chalkboard in Sanskrit or Classical Chinese (or sometimes in modern simplified Chinese) they watch me make the strokes slowly, then copy them in their notebooks. I often write words multiple times so they can see how my hand moves. I also brought in a “magic” cloth with squares on it for learning Chinese calligraphy. When you use a water brush on the cloth, the water makes the cloth dark, then fades back to white after a few minutes. We’ve practiced writing together in class. I think we’ve all enjoyed the process.

Yesterday when Canvas/Instructure went down due to a cyberattack, one thing remained unchanged: my students’ notebooks. We had a calligraphy quiz in class, and it was both low-tech and fun. Everyone took a few minutes to write in Chinese or Sanskrit (their choice) and they handed in a piece of paper with their brush strokes and handwriting. As a professor, I was delighted with the results.