Research Thoughts

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Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

What We Know and What We Ask

I’ve found there are two major schools of thought when it comes to research - you’re a [qualitative, quantitative, etc.] researcher, or...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Why I Write

I stood trembling in a library. I gripped the small, blue book tightly. Surveying the entire library, family members were present,...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Using han, Finding jeong

This is the final reflection I shared in my dissertation. I reflect on my Korean culture and heritage, and the process of using the...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Life After the PhD

I initially started this website a year ago when I felt as if I was drowning, struggling to find out what my next steps would be and...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Housing Justice in San Diego

I've lived in San Diego for most of my life. I was born here, grew up here, left at 18, September 2006, and returned September 2011, 5...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Masking Tools of Oppression as Equity

I wrote this piece in the summer of 2021, but I've updated it and added some additional thoughts as things have shifted, but really not...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Stay Today

The smell of the fresh rain hitting the gravel road, The light that showed, Roared, And sparked in the sky, Reminding us of the beauty of...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Heartland of the United States

As an academic, teacher, activist, and "progressive" (leftist) living in a large city, I can't help but reflect on things as I drive...

Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Breathing, Fighting

I wrote this poem in the summer of 2020, but I wanted to share it now so it's more recent and accessible. Feeling, breathing, fighting,...

The Wanderlust Threader