Summary: On the first part of my conversation with English Professor Karen J. Cunningham, she tells me about her early interests in books about horses and sulky racing. Books she read in her free time as a kid like Nancy Drew as well as books in her adulthood such as Michael Connelly’s character Heironymus Bosch. She tells me about her affection for Southern California and what she finds profound about it. Her childhood moving around Southern California and Astoria, Oregon. Undergraduate life in Sacramento and living in San Francisco. Stories about her motorcycle riding, cable car driving husband. Her professional career at Pacific Bell in a sink-or-swim program managing circuit provisioning. Other jobs teaching English to Japanese business people and library assistant. The epiphany to enroll in graduate school. Learning from her life the capacity to manage obstacles. She recalls job discrimination at Pac Bell. Enduring sexism as one of the few women at her company. The short term and long term consequences of taking action. Our bewilderment on Harvey Weinstein and the culture that allows his behavior to persist. The public obligation to prevent future injustices by taking action.
