On a warm Tuesday in early September, Lori Askeland was shifting gears.
Her Native American literature and film class just ended, her English 101 students were expecting her soon, and for the first time in nearly three decades, she wondered what life without teaching would look like.
It was the third week of the semester, and she had assigned her students a TED Talk featuring the acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in which the Nigerian author reflects on the misconceptions she encountered upon moving to the United States for college. Adichie’s American roommate was shocked to learn that she even spoke English.
That evening after class, former President Donald Trump took to the debate stage in Philadelphia. From 500 miles away, the small Midwestern city where Askeland works was on the Republican presidential candidate’s mind.
