Welcome to the course blog! I am truly excited about teaching this course, and I hope that you find it to be an enlightening and enjoyable educational experience. As mentioned in class, we will be confronting some challenging issues, many of which might generate strong intellectual and emotional reactions. This blog serves as a mechanism for everyone to process these responses and to learn through engagement with others. Since none of us is as smart as all of us, we can gain further insights by taking in the ideas of our learning community members. While we may disagree on here, it is essential that we always demonstrate respect and maintain an open mind.
In order to participate, you will need to have an active Google or gmail account. You can obtain a free account by going to either website and signing up. Once you have accomplished that task, return to this page and click on the heading "Welcome to the Blog -- Topic 1" above. If you scroll down, you can read my instructions and enter your comments in the box. Come back a little while later, click on the same link, and read your colleagues' posts. It would also be great if everyone could at least publish their photo in the "Followers" section on the right-hand side of the page. That way, we can learn each other's names and connect faces with ideas.
I will post a blog topic for almost every week during the term. For each topic, I would like for you to produce a 1-2 paragraph thoughtful comment that shows your honest reflections and includes some type of contribution to our understanding of the issues at hand. (I will hand out examples of a good blog in class.) Then, after reading the posts of your classmates, I'd like for you to jump back into the conversation -- either by critically responding to someone else or by adding to your previous post with further insights. Feel free to continue the dialogue if you wish. You will be graded on the value-added nature of your overall posts over the course of the term. Although I am certain that you will get the hang of this blog thing soon, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
TOPIC ONE: Feel free to address any issue brought up in class on the first night. (Here's the one that I mentioned, but you can do whatever topic you want: Which "identity term" (African-Americans, Black, people of color, etc.) do you feel best applies to the poulation under study in this class and WHY?) The original posts are due by Wednesday August 26th, with follow up posts expected by Saturday August 29.
