(200 points)
Beginning in the second week of the semester, you will be asked to compose 3 posts on our class blog by Wednesday of each week, for a rough total of about 20 posts over the mini-semester (you may be asked to post 1 or 2 extra). The purpose of the blog is two-fold: (1) to give you a space for thinking through and working out difficult concepts, and for responding to one another’s thinking; and (2) to provide a space for us to extend discussions beyond the classroom. At the end of the term, your "20 Posts" will help to shape the intellectual roadmap of the course.
These posts may be some of the most concentrated and challenging writing you do in this class, and they should be smartly and thoughtfully composed. You might exchange informed opinions about the assigned readings, you might ask and answer questions or expand on issues we didn't cover in class, you might make applications of our texts to other texts you read or encounter, or you might do other things. The most important thing to do in your posts is to draw salient connections – help us to understand how the questions raised by one critical problem are in conversation with other questions or problems, and help us to understand how one theorist helps you understand another theorist’s ideas, or extends or complicates them. Please do not simply opine, vent, agree/disagree, or "camp" around certain issues or texts (i.e., "Does anyone really understand this stuff?" "I agree -- I sure don't understand it!").
Here are a few basic guidelines for our blog:
- Posts are due each Wednesday by 3:00 p.m. if you wish to receive credit for your posts that week.
- Please remember that our blog is a public space: any flaming, aggression, inside jokes, or other exclusionary tactics will shut down conversation and undermine your ability to blog.
- Please try not to exceed 500 words for either your posts or your comments. (I realize that sometimes you will have to exceed this in order to fully articulate your ideas.)
- Title your posts to give your readers context for what they are reading. Titles should reflect what you have thought or are trying to argue; they should not merely restate the name of the reading you are responding to.
- Posts should be somewhat polished; remember that you are writing for a public audience. Paragraphing, spelling, and accuracy all matter in this context.
- Remember that academic integrity applies to the posts on this blog, too. Please refer clearly to the text you are discussing, be accurate with names and titles, and include page numbers where relevant. If you refer to someone else's (published) reading of a text, mention this outside source.
- Comments can also count as posts, as long as they are as extensive, thorough, and insightful as your other posts. In fact, I would like to see you comment on each other's posts as much as possible.
Have fun with this! I may participate from time to time.
-Prof. Graban
