Why English professor Jeff Nunokawa wants you to text in class
He just has one weird rule about it
Head of Rocky and English professor Jeff Nunokawa is a fixture at Princeton.
His spasmodic but infectious energy and curiosity is a staple of the Rockefeller College experience as well as the most well known component of an otherwise often forgotten English department.
Jeff talks a lot–and he’s not afraid to ruffle some feathers, challenge you, or make an effort to change the status quo. The only professor at Princeton with a serious social media following, he constantly feeds his followers with short daily essays, musings, quotes, Instagrams of his dog, and Snapstories of himself on shirtless runs.
During the last lecture of the Fall semester, in one of his famously inspiring yet entirely impromptu lectures, he caught one of his students texting in class. Understanding that texting is hardly a rare occurrence in most college classes, Nunokawa wasn’t offended in the least, but used the momentary distraction as a muse to talk about the most used modern form of electronic communication.
Jeff made it clear that contrary to some of his colleagues who denounce texting as a lowly form of communication, a distraction, a waste of time, and a social exchange that is miles from any sort of meaningful connection or pursuit of truth or a human heart, he is a proponent of “kids texting.”
In fact, the he calls texting the most modern form of expressing yourself. In texting, he says, we seek to share our thoughts and feelings and reactions in the form of writing, in a way which we actually don’t get to engage with very often.
He only has one stipulation–if you’re going to text in class, you have to text him. To prove that he meant what he said, he proceeded to write his phone number on the board.
If something inspires you today, tell him about it. If you find some beautiful line of poetry or some inspiring quote, send it to him. We can’t give you his number here but if you have something talk to him about, ask an English major. They’ll be sure to have it.
It’s not every day that a tenured Princeton Professor invites you to text him or tell him about your thoughts and feelings. You’ll be glad you connected with him.