Aug 3, 2020Thinking as an EscapeI often say that I ended up in philosophy on a whim. I studied Liberal Arts in CEGEP (the Québec version of the in-between transition from high school to university). My philosophy courses were my favourite. I especially loved early modern philosophy, moral philosophy and logic. I tutored fellow students…Life Lessons2 min read
Jul 2, 2020Homebound, yet PlacelessI often feel placeless, groundless. When asked where I’m from, I answer ‘Montreal’, and then immediately turn into an unsolicited tour guide and talk endlessly about the wonders of bagels (real bagels, not this bloated bread shit), bike lanes everywhere, walking to the Jean-Talon market, living without a car, language…Life Lessons4 min read
May 21, 2020On the Fear of Not Knowing, Or “I Know What a Vein is”My mum sent me a video recently of me as a 6-year-old visiting family in England. It’s the end of the day and I need to get into my PJs and go to bed. …Life Lessons3 min read
Feb 29, 2020My name is…At the beginning of every term, I introduce myself to my students. I say, “Hi folks, I’m Anna Cook. You can call me Dr Cook, Prof Cook or Anna. It’s spelled like ‘Anna’ but pronounced ‘On-a’ just to make things difficult. …Life Lessons4 min read
Feb 1, 2020Notes to MyselfDuring the year I lived on my own, I learned the value of fresh-cut flowers, self-made dance videos and Post-its on the wall. In my tiny little studio apartment, I tried to conjure as much joy as possible. I started buying myself flowers once a week at the market. It…Self Care4 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Jan 11, 2020Teaching with TeaHow bringing tea for my students challenges expectations of who counts as a ‘serious thinker’ I started teaching with tea in my last year of graduate school. I was teaching an Introduction to Critical Thinking class Monday to Thursday from 9am to 9:50am. …Education5 min read
Dec 3, 2019Good Enough: On Picking the Right PasswordHow an online password helped me trust my abilities. I changed my online passwords when I was in the mad dash of finishing my dissertation in two months. A year prior, I changed my passwords to ‘Badass’ (in slightly different forms — you know to make it a strong password…Passwords4 min read
Nov 17, 2019On Choosing the Right FontI switched to Garamond when I was completely stuck in the middle of one of my qualifying exams to become a PhD candidate in philosophy. I was writing a paper about Spinoza, a 17th century Dutch philosopher whose writing in the geometrical method (a mathematical proof essentially), as a result…Design3 min read
Oct 31, 2019On Meeting my Graduate School MonstersI named my monster Lenny. Well, I didn’t name it so much as its (his?) name became viscerally apparent in a therapy session. This monster was sticky, on my back with its arms wrapped tightly around my neck. He had been there for so many years that his sticky skin…Life Lessons4 min read
Published in Human Parts·Oct 23, 2019Member-onlyYou Don’t Have to Choose One Part of YourselfLogic dictates ‘this or that,’ but real life begs for nuance — I have always had a hard time with both and neither. It’s either on or off. We’re friends or we’re not. I love it or I don’t. I’m all in or completely out. I don’t know how to have acquaintances. People are friends, hope-to-be friends, or I-feel-bad-we’re-not-closer friends. But not…Teaching5 min read