Weekly Discussion Blog
(20% of Course Grade)
Beginning in the third week of the semester, you will be asked to compose a post directly onto this course weblog or respond in depth to another post, by 11:00 p.m. on Monday of each week. The purpose of the blog is two-fold: (1) to give you a creative space for working out difficult concepts; and (2) to provide a space for responding to one another’s thinking, extending discussions beyond the classroom. 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.
I will not prompt you to write anything specific; instead, think of this as a discussion blog to help each other work out difficult concepts, and also to teach each other the concepts that you know. Also, remember that this blog space is publicly visible to more than just our class. So, while I want you to feel comfortable to have great discussions on it, it is a performance space where we need to be committed to some good practices. Over the semesters, some of my students have helped me to devise the following guidelines for posts:
1. Engage your reader and keep your reader engaged. Make it interesting! Think of this blog as a space where you will instigate or inspire class discussion on critical topics, and not just a space for filling up with words. Start a thoughtful conversation about what you read, rather than just summarizing it. Keep us interested by challenging us. Feel free to embed links or illustrations if you feel like those would aid your explanation of difficult concepts.
2. Write for critical depth and synthesis. I am less interested in having you "camp" around certain issues or texts (i.e., "Does anyone really understand this stuff?" "I agree -- I sure don't understand it!" "Burke sucks!") than I am in having you work it out and work it through. These posts are your critical offerings to the rest of the class, where critical means you are applying the terms, concepts, and theories of others to something you have read in order to understand it more fully. What did reading the text contribute to your understanding of the topic or the course? How does this text relate to other readings in the course (from the week or the month prior)? What do you understand about something that has been perplexing you? 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, you might do a rhetorical analysis of another text or situation as a way of demonstrating one of our theories, or you might do other things.
3. Put texts into conversation with each other. Whatever you do, please put questions raised by one text in conversation with other texts, and help us to understand how one text extends or complicates another. By "conversation," I don't necessarily mean "dialogue" (although that is an option), but I do mean help us to discuss the theorists or questions together.
4. Write enough. Setting word limits in electronic mediums can be pointless and problematic (since it isn't like setting word limits on a printed page), but you should plan to write a couple of screens' worth, as you are aiming for a fairly expert level of discussion. This often comes to ~750 words, but I urge you to simply write enough, which may mean writing a bit less or a bit more. Above all, write to communicate.
5. Write with substance and quality. I think everybody's challenge is in genuinely communicating their thoughts, ideas, values, and arguments to unfamiliar readers. That said, your posts should be somewhat polished so that it communicates well. You are writing for a public audience, and this isn't Facebook. Paragraphing, spelling, and accuracy all matter in this context.
6. Write with clarity and specificity. We need landmarks! Try stating your main claim early in the post to help us follow your thought process. Be sure to remind us of what article, author, or assignment you are writing (and include full names and details). If you are responding to part of someone else's post, please copy/paste that part for others to see, or embed a link to their post.
7. Title your posts. Make them interesting! Titles should reflect what you have thought or written or are trying to argue. They should not simply restate the name of the article or assignment.
8. Follow good civil/civic discussion practices. We will spend some time discovering what these are, but for now please remember that the aim of our discussions is to exchange ideas and help others understand why we think the way we do. In one sense, what we do is like diplomacy. Flaming, aggression, hate speech, inside jokes, or tactics that cause others to feel marginalized or excluded will not only not be tolerated by me, they will also shut down conversation and undermine your discussions.
9. Attribute and cite your sources. Always! While you don't need a formal Works Cited list, you should mention the full names of authors you cite, and the titles of articles you discuss in the context of your post. Include page numbers when you quote or paraphrase. If you refer to something we haven’t read, provide us with either the citation so we can find it ourselves, or a hyperlink allowing us to access the document--especially images and video where you use them. And please sign your name (or your pseudonym) to every post and every comment so that other readers and writers know who left it.
This is work, but I hope you will enjoy it!
(20% of Course Grade)
Beginning in the third week of the semester, you will be asked to compose a post directly onto this course weblog or respond in depth to another post, by 11:00 p.m. on Monday of each week. The purpose of the blog is two-fold: (1) to give you a creative space for working out difficult concepts; and (2) to provide a space for responding to one another’s thinking, extending discussions beyond the classroom. 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.
I will not prompt you to write anything specific; instead, think of this as a discussion blog to help each other work out difficult concepts, and also to teach each other the concepts that you know. Also, remember that this blog space is publicly visible to more than just our class. So, while I want you to feel comfortable to have great discussions on it, it is a performance space where we need to be committed to some good practices. Over the semesters, some of my students have helped me to devise the following guidelines for posts:
1. Engage your reader and keep your reader engaged. Make it interesting! Think of this blog as a space where you will instigate or inspire class discussion on critical topics, and not just a space for filling up with words. Start a thoughtful conversation about what you read, rather than just summarizing it. Keep us interested by challenging us. Feel free to embed links or illustrations if you feel like those would aid your explanation of difficult concepts.
2. Write for critical depth and synthesis. I am less interested in having you "camp" around certain issues or texts (i.e., "Does anyone really understand this stuff?" "I agree -- I sure don't understand it!" "Burke sucks!") than I am in having you work it out and work it through. These posts are your critical offerings to the rest of the class, where critical means you are applying the terms, concepts, and theories of others to something you have read in order to understand it more fully. What did reading the text contribute to your understanding of the topic or the course? How does this text relate to other readings in the course (from the week or the month prior)? What do you understand about something that has been perplexing you? 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, you might do a rhetorical analysis of another text or situation as a way of demonstrating one of our theories, or you might do other things.
3. Put texts into conversation with each other. Whatever you do, please put questions raised by one text in conversation with other texts, and help us to understand how one text extends or complicates another. By "conversation," I don't necessarily mean "dialogue" (although that is an option), but I do mean help us to discuss the theorists or questions together.
4. Write enough. Setting word limits in electronic mediums can be pointless and problematic (since it isn't like setting word limits on a printed page), but you should plan to write a couple of screens' worth, as you are aiming for a fairly expert level of discussion. This often comes to ~750 words, but I urge you to simply write enough, which may mean writing a bit less or a bit more. Above all, write to communicate.
5. Write with substance and quality. I think everybody's challenge is in genuinely communicating their thoughts, ideas, values, and arguments to unfamiliar readers. That said, your posts should be somewhat polished so that it communicates well. You are writing for a public audience, and this isn't Facebook. Paragraphing, spelling, and accuracy all matter in this context.
6. Write with clarity and specificity. We need landmarks! Try stating your main claim early in the post to help us follow your thought process. Be sure to remind us of what article, author, or assignment you are writing (and include full names and details). If you are responding to part of someone else's post, please copy/paste that part for others to see, or embed a link to their post.
7. Title your posts. Make them interesting! Titles should reflect what you have thought or written or are trying to argue. They should not simply restate the name of the article or assignment.
8. Follow good civil/civic discussion practices. We will spend some time discovering what these are, but for now please remember that the aim of our discussions is to exchange ideas and help others understand why we think the way we do. In one sense, what we do is like diplomacy. Flaming, aggression, hate speech, inside jokes, or tactics that cause others to feel marginalized or excluded will not only not be tolerated by me, they will also shut down conversation and undermine your discussions.
9. Attribute and cite your sources. Always! While you don't need a formal Works Cited list, you should mention the full names of authors you cite, and the titles of articles you discuss in the context of your post. Include page numbers when you quote or paraphrase. If you refer to something we haven’t read, provide us with either the citation so we can find it ourselves, or a hyperlink allowing us to access the document--especially images and video where you use them. And please sign your name (or your pseudonym) to every post and every comment so that other readers and writers know who left it.
This is work, but I hope you will enjoy it!
