Short Stories - For Fun!

In case you're looking to continue your exploration into science fiction, I thought I'd post a few links to some short stories online which we weren't able to get to in class:

This first one I discussed with Jessi, Larry, John, and Warren in class today (it's sort of, though not completely, along the lines of if the whole world was a computer program):
"The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov
I may have been getting the above story confused with E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops," which has similar motifs (Wall-e fans may want to check this second story out; unfortunately I don't have a link to an online copy).

Here is a story by James Tiptree, Jr. which goes well with Joanna Russ' "When It Changed" (which we read before beginning The Handmaid's Tale):
"The Women Men Don't See" - James Tiptree, Jr.

Last, "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson is a classic (he wrote the book Neuromancer and the short story "Johnny Mnemonic" which was turned into a film with Keanu Reeves).

HW Reminder and Presentation Dates

• Bring your copy of Handmaid's Tale to return Tuesday.
• If I haven't given your group the ok already, email me by Sunday night with the info about the article you will be reading - if you're not sure, email me sooner so I can approve.
• Read your group's article. Make sure you come prepared to fulfill your literature circle role on Tuesday.
• Work on your final project and paper! Do not leave it until Tuesday!
  

Here is the presentation schedule* again:
Wednesday
Group 1: Luis, Steven, Jennifer
Group 2: Catriona, Saruul, Safa, Amy
Group 3: Amanda, Raymond, Stephanie

Thursday
Group 4: Ashley, Eileen, Kim
Group 5: Holleigh, Victor, Duc, Polian
Group 6: Warren, Jessie, Larry, John

Friday
Group 7: Mary, Sheryl, Shirlyn, Nicole
Group 8: DiMarco, Anthony, Herman
Group 9: Maybo, Vincent, Jasmine, Paula

*Be early on the day you present - whichever group arrives first will get first pick of order!

Final Project update

As a reminder, here are the updated dates for the final (to accommodate Kermesse and Memorial Day):

• Text 1/Novel Part 1 - Tuesday, May 19th
  
• Text 2/Novel Part 2 - Thursday, May 21st
• Supplemental Text (Criticism) - Tuesday, May 26th

Make sure that tomorrow you choose roles for when you meet on Tuesday. You will also need to come prepared with notes for the text you will be discussing.

To help focus your notes, when looking at your text, here are a couple of questions to consider:

1. What "message" is the text trying to convey?
2. How does the "author" convey this message?

Literature Circle Roles

Here is the handout on literature circle roles I will be passing out in class tomorrow. Each of you will choose one role for your group meeting on Tuesday which you will need to prepare for in advance (hence, I'm posting it today so you can start planning if you like).

Suggestions for your final project

Here are some works I have seen/read and enjoyed and/or have some information about. Many have dystopian/utopian themes which will be good choices for writing about social message. One thing you may want to consider doing would be to evaluate a story/novel/comic book and its film/television version, or two works of any genre by the same author. Most of these works are science fiction, but a few are fantasy. Don't forget to have one person in your group email me with the names of your group members and the works you'll be examining by tomorrow. I encourage you to ask me about any of these works if you have questions! Also, contact me if you want me to make a specific recommendation for something I think you'd like.

Films

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Clockwork Orange

Alphaville

A Scanner Darkly

Barbarella

Dune

Edward Scissorhands

Gattaca

Jonny Mnemonic

La Jetée

Mad Max

The Matrix

Metropolis

Minority Report

Paycheck

Soylent Green

Space Is the Place

Spirited Away

Star Trek

Star Wars

The Time Machine

V for Vendetta

Wall-E

Short Stories/Novellas

"Aye, and Gomorrah" by Samuel R. Delany

“Burning Chrome” - William Gibson

"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" by James Tiptree, Jr.

“Johnny Mnemonic” - William Gibson

“The Last Question” - Isaac Asimov

“Paycheck” - Philip K. Dick

“There Will Come Soft Rains” - Ray Bradbury

“The Star Pit” - Samuel R. Delany

“We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” - Philip K. Dick

Novels

A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

A Unicorn is Born – Trinie Dalton

Beloved – Octavia Butler

The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin (part of the same cycle as Left Hand)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick (or anything else by him – this is the novel version of the film Bladerunner)

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – Cory Doctorow

Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick

Minority Report – Philip K. Dick

Neuromancer – William Gibson

Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler

Slan – A.E. Van Vogt

Trouble on Triton – Samuel R. Delany

Ubik – Philip K. Dick

We – Yevgeny Zamyatin

Graphic Novels

V for Vendetta

Watchmen

Television Series

Battlestar Galactica

Doctor Who

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Sliders

Star Trek

The Twilight Zone

Science Fiction Final

Here is the handout on your final project for this class.

Also: Do not forget to email me by Wednesday night telling me who is in your group, and what work(s) you will be discussing!

Works Cited page

Here's a link to a page on using MLA format if you need help with your Works Cited pages.

For videos, your basic system is:

Video title. Person or organization who put it out/directed it.
Production company name, Year.

Links from Last Week's Videos

Here are the videos we watched in case you'd like to see them again. Also, just to clarify since there may be some confusion, for your presentation and paper you are to look at political advertisements (i.e. not product advertisements) - these are what we looked at and discussed in class. Again, your political "issue" can be a particular proposition, a specific campaign (such as governor, president, mayor, etc.), or a general topic up for debate in the political sphere (such as same sex marriage). To clarify again, there needs to be some sort of pending legislation which is being advertised. While the ads don't necessarily have to link to the specific proposition (such as we saw in the "Gathering Storm" video), it cannot be a broad social issue (such as "racism"). The reason for this is that you are generally not going to find specific advertisements on such a broad topic. This issue/campaign can be current or past. Also, make sure your presentation is focused on your analysis on the propaganda, rather than your opinion on the issue.

Email me if you are not sure what I am talking about, because this is a crucial part of "addressing the task!"

Video 1:


Video 2:


Video 3:


Video 4:

Info from Today's Class

Here are links to info and whatnot from class today:

Info on giving an oral presentation
Using gestures
Rubric for the presentation/paper
Checklist for the presentation/paper

Warren, John, Nicole, and Eileen: Don't forget to email any media you want projected to me by 11:59pm on Sunday, along with what you need to bring to class!

Presentation Signup

Signup here for the presentation

Homework for 4/23

Here is a link to the handout on propaganda techniques.

Again, your instructions for tonight:
Using the worksheet, look at some online political advertisements/commercials. Try to find examples of at least half of the techniques we have talked about in class over the past two days. In the middle column, write how the technique is used, and on the right, tell me where you found it. Here are some non-youtube links you can use to check out ads:

Living Room Candidate
2008 Election Ads
Washington Post Database of Ads

Also, since I'm asking you to do this for homework, I've extended the blog deadline until 11:59pm TOMORROW. Also, don't forget to respond to your critical friends!

Handmaid's Tale Major Assessment Survey

Click here to take the survey!

Your blogs

All of your blogs are now on a sidebar on the right under "My Blog List," so you can quickly access the blogs of your critical friend and your other classmates. They are arranged in the order that they have been updated. Don't forget to post by midnight tonight!

Task for today and Wednesday

Each of you has received an email asking you to create a pbwiki account. An account is needed in order for you to edit your wiki. You will have part of today and all of tomorrow to work on your wikis together. Here are your instructions for today:

1. Spend at least 20 minutes finishing your discussion and finding your neologisms, biblical language, and Offred's language musings. You don't need to rush through the discussion to get to creating the wiki.
2. Each of you will need to create your pbwiki account.
3. Delete my greeting, then begin editing!

Here is our wiki:
http://msaaland1415.pbwiki.com

Neologisms

Here is some more information on neologisms.

Reading Schedule for Handmaid's Tale

The dates to the left of the chapters are when you should have completed the reading by:

4/14 - Ch. 18-20
4/15 - Ch. 21-23
4/16 - Ch. 24-26
4/17 - Ch. 27-28
4/20 - Ch. 29-31
4/21 - Ch. 32-34
4/22 - Ch. 35-37
4/23 - Ch. 38-40
4/24 - Ch. 41-44
4/26 - finish!

Handmaid's Tale Blogs

While we read The Handmaid's Tale during this unit, you will not be required to keep any reading logs. However, I will ask you to post a minimum of six (6) blog entries where you think through thoughts and feelings that you have in response to the material we study, the class discussions and activities that we engage in, and any other experience you have with the unit topic. You may choose to start a new blog, or you can continue with the blog you began during the last unit. If you would like to change your blog URL, you need to let me know by Tuesday, April 14^th (as your next entry is due the following day).

If you would like to review the criteria for the blog, look at the directions from the Left Hand blog task on our class blog. Do keep in mind that your entries need to be more than just a summary of the text, a minimum of 150 words each, and must be posted by 11:59pm (before midnight) on the date the blog is due in order to receive full credit (5 points) for each entry. I would recommend that you do not wait until the deadline to upload your entries, as any entries posted after midnight will be considered late and will receive half credit. Also, if you prefer writing by hand, you may wish to compose your entries on paper and type them later.

Note: Although there are seven (7) deadlines listed below, you only need to post six (6) times. This means you get one freebie! You may choose any one of the seven days to drop, and you do not need to let me know in advance. I would recommend not using your freebie right away in case you have problems with internet access, a big project or a test in another class, or you just plain forget! If you do post more than six entries, you will receive two (2) participation points for each full entry you make (and 1 point for shorter entries).

As soon as possible, you should choose one classmate to be your “critical friend” as we explore, analyze, critique, and discuss The Handmaid's Tale and the issues it addresses. You will be responsible for posting a timely response on your critical friend's blog at least four times throughout the unit. The purpose here is that your critical friends will help support you as you develop your understanding of the text, and the surrounding topics we discuss in class. Please do not wait until the last minute to respond to your critical friend. Your entries should meet the 150-word length requirement, and any additional responses to your critical friend or any other of your classmates will earn you participation points.

Due Dates for Blogs

4/13 – Blog #1

4/15 – Blog #2

4/17 – Blog #3

4/21 – Blog #4

4/23 – Blog #5

4/27 – Blog #6

4/29 – Blog #7

Spring Break HW

Read pgs. 1-99 of The Handmaid's Tale. Post one 150-word blog entry by 11:59pm on Monday, 4/13.

Have a great break and don't forget to explore your city and do something fun!
Tomorrow is free day at the museums, check it out! The YBCA has an exhibition which looks especially cool.
Yerba Buena
SF Moma
Museum of Craft Art and Folk - installations of artists re-creating their working spaces
Legion of Honor
de Young
Cartoon Art Museum

further info

Some links for you:

Social Construction
Social construction at wikipedia
An interesting flickr pool of photos showing social constructs and contrasts
Some basic info about social constructs and race
A longer article on social construction
Social construction of gender


Ursula K. Le Guin


Feminism
Feminism at wikipedia
Feminist scifi at wikipedia
Feminist scifi and fantasy

Joanna Russ

Octavia Butler

Don't forget to upload your reports to turnitin.com by 11:59pm tomorrow! Also, please bring your copies of Left Hand and your journals and reading logs along with you to class tomorrow.

Rubric

Here it is!

HW Reminder for this Weekend

• Bring in a copy of your rough draft for peer review/editing on Tuesday.
• Read "When it Changed" in time for Wednesday's class.
• Post one 150-word blog entry by Wednesday at 11:59pm.

Feel free to email me over the weekend with any questions you have as you are writing your reports!

Goodbye, Gethen!

I'm so happy to hear that many of you ended up enjoying reading Left Hand! I know it was extremely confusing to read at first (and elements of the book will probably remain confusing), but I'm glad to see how you all stuck with it and gave it a chance. Some of the things we get the most enjoyment from in life end up being--and excuse my non-academic language here--a "pain in the ass." But the act of overcoming a challenge can be part of what gives us that satisfaction.

Since many of you have expressed some dissatisfaction with the abrupt ending (or that we've reached the end in general), I just wanted to let you know that this book was part of a series Le Guin did know as the Hainish Cycle. The other books in the cycle (none of which I have read myself) do not take place on Gethen, but rather other planets which belong to the Ekumen. If you do want to read more involving the society of Gethen, she did write two short stories, "Winter's King" and "Coming of Age in Karhide," which take place on the planet we have come to know so well. I have a collection of hers which contains "Winter's King" and I'm happy to make a copy for anyone who's interested. I might even entertain the idea of giving extra credit for anyone who wants to read it over spring break and blog about it. I'm also happy to make copies of her other short stories in the collection.

"Soul Food" by Ursula Le Guin

I just wanted to share that poem from class today with you all, since I didn't make copies:

Soul Food

Everybody on earth knowing
that beauty is beautiful
makes ugliness.

Everybody knowing
that goodness is good
makes wickedness.

For being and nonbeing
arise together;
hard and easy
complete each other;
long and short
shape each other;
high and low
depend on each other;
note and voice
make the music together;
before and after
follow each other.

That's why the wise soul
does without doing,
teaches without talking.

The things of this world
exist, they are;
you can't refuse them.

To bear and not to own;
to act and not lay claim;
to do the work and let it go;
for just letting it go
is what makes it stay.


On the subject of yin/yang, you may be interested in checking out this page someone made addressing some of the themes in Left Hand. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will find a pretty neat breakdown of aspects of Gethenian society into the yin/yang dichotomy.

Gender-Fair/Gender-Neutral Pronouns

Here is the link to the NPR feature on "yo."

Here are also a few links:
Guidelines for Gender-Fair Language from the NCTE
Purdue OWL handout on gender-fair language from class
Wikipedia: Non-sexist language

Reflection Homework for Tonight

Sorry--forgot to post this until now! Anyway here it is:

What do you notice now about the language that you used in your narrative that you didn't notice when you originally wrote it, and how does your use of pronouns play a role in what you notice?

You should write about one full page, and it's informal. I will be grading on how much effort you put into your reflection. You can also extend your reflection to what you learned generally about language and its relationship to culture if you like.

Left Hand of Darkness Glossary

Here is the list of key terms, people and places we created as a class on Wednesday. As these definitions each group's interpretations, I encourage you all to think of this as an ongoing discussion. If you think something needs to be added to or changed in a definition, please leave a comment in the comment section of this post (this is a great way to earn participation points). I also added a few links to terms which have information on wikipedia.

ansible—a communication radio rhat does not involve radio waves or any form of energy. It produces a message at any two points simultaneously, anywhere.

androgynous—being both male and female, meaning having both genitalia

Arek of Estre—Saves Therem of Stok from the cold. He warms him up and then the two kemmer. Bears a kemmer child with Therem of Stok. Brings baby to Lord Harish rem ir Stokven; the baby is Therem of Estre

Ashe Foreth—a Foreteller and the kemmering of Estraven and they also had a son together. There is also something going on between Ashe and Estraven that caused Estraven to be angry with him. Ashe also gave money to Estraven although he knew the risks of helping a traitor.

bisexual—a society which has two separate sexes

celibate—someone who doesn't participate in kemmer (i.e. Ashe Foreth); a job as a Foreteller—wears a gold chain

the Commensals—Thirty-three (33) heads of the Orgota government

commensality—regions of Great Commensality of Orgoreyn; similar word structure as “community” or “communism.” Root means “to eat together”—all Orgota government and institutions

domain—a vast amount of land, territory with borders. There are many domains. A very big neighborhood (domain)

dothe—a phase when your body goes through exhaustion and deep relaxation of your muscles; “hysterical strength” (59) a.k.a adrenaline

Ehrenrang—the capital city of Karhide; the king that ruled Ehrenrang was pregnant and after he gave birth the baby died. It has a parade every year, to celebrate.

Ekumen—an alliance of planets—the people of Ekumen want to recruit everyone in Gethen (Planet Winter)

Estraven—Lord of Estre

Fastness—a prayer house that people can go to for a brief period or longer

Faxe—the Weaver of the Foretellers at Otherhord

female—a certain phase in the kemmering process; a female animal

foray gun—a gun that fires pieces of metal

the Foretellers—people that are vested with the power to see into the future; followers of Meshe

Genly Ai—main character; human from Terra serving as Envoy or representative of Ekumen in Aether. Tries to persuade King Argaven to join the union but ends up going to Orgoreyn as Tibe takes over.

Gethen—a city that has Gethenians that inhabit Gethen that have no defined gender

the Hainish—the experimenters that created the planet Winter. They eliminated different sexes.

Handdara—discipline of the presence; self-enlightenment

hearth—another place (karhosh was built like hearth, but not completely). They have genealogical stability—maybe meaning they have perfected their kemmering

hieb—type of clothing, possibly a coat

Karhide—state of Gethen

karhosh—an island that houses the greatest part of the urban populations of Karhide. There are 20 to 200 private rooms and inhabitants take communal meals. Some buildings are hotels, some are cooperative communities, some are a mixture of both.

kemmer—Gethenian sex cycle; specific part of the cycle entered on the 22^nd and 23^rd day whereupon a person becomes sexually active

kemmering—a partner after one vows kemmering; similar to a husband or wife in our society

King Argaven—King of Karhide

kyorremy—the upper chamber or parliament, which Estraven used to head (Estraven being prime minister). Now his position is with Tibe. The kyorremy position is also under the king.

Lord Harish—father of Therem (of Estre); grandfather of the character we know as “Estraven”

Lord Tibe—King Argaven's cousin; current ruler of Karhide

Mesche—all powerful, supernatural “being” (Orgoreyn religion?); center of time; Foreteller who can see the past, present, and future

Mishnory—a busy port; a city whose main livelihood is based on shipping and fishing or business that relies on the sea

mother—the person who carries the child from kemmer

NAFAL ship—spaceship on which Genly Ai travels, presumably method of travel by Ekumen

nusuth—“doesn't matter,” “no problem,” “no matter,” “whatever”

Oedipus/myth of Oedipus—myth in which a child has a psycho-sexual relationship to his mother or father; myth originated with a kind who thought his son would kill him so he sent him away and abandoned his own child (popularized in psychology by Sigmund Freud)

Orgoreyn—state with 33 substates or districts. The state is feuding with Karhide over land. Orgoreyn is also corrupt because Tibe says he learns to lie from them.

Otherhord—the main temple of Foretellers located in Karhide

pervert—one who has permanent gender/sex

rem ir—“son of”

shifgrethor—related to pride, prestige, self-esteem. A type of façade.

Sinoth Valley—area of dispute between Karhide and Orgoreyn; claimed by Argaven's grandfather but never recognized by Orgoreyn (fenced off and hard to enter)

somer—sexually inactive part of the kemmer cycle

Stabiles—the individual nations within the Ekumenical alliance

Terra—land, Earth, place where Genly Ai lives/comes from

Therem Harth rem ir Estraven—Former Prime Minister of Karhide. Exiled for treason, but details are unclear. He moves to Orgoreyn after he is exiled.

Therem of Stok—Saved by Arek of Estre. Kemmers with him. Killed by a group of men from Stok.

vow kemmering—an oral contract between people to only kemmer with one another and no one else; like marriage

xenophobic—afraid of strangers

Welcome to the blogosphere...

Here are all of your blogs:

Saruul
Steven
Paula
Polian
Sheryl
Kimberly
Amy
Safa
Vincent
DiMarco
Maybo
Holleigh
Lemons
Mary
Choisi
Jessi
Warren
Catriona
Stephanie
Raymond
Eileen
Shirlyn
Animosity
Luis
Anthony
Ashley
Larry
Jasmine
Nicole
John
Jennifer
Herman

Question Paper

Here is the overhead about the question paper I showed you in class. Again, the instructions are simply: ask an open-ended, interpretive question you have about the text, and try to answer it! Don't feel like you need to include lots of citations - I just want you to think about the text and try to make your own interpretation. Think of it as a higher-level freewrite!

1. What is a question paper?

A question paper is an alternative to "study questions" about a work of literature. It's a piece of focused freewriting in which you think on paper a sort of dialogue between the writer and yourself. The question paper begins with a question you have about the work (possibly from your reading logs) and proceeds through a series of possible answers and further questions these answers generate--a free-wheeling alternation of questions and possible answers.

2. Why do a question paper?

By asking your own questions about a text, you will have to look at the piece closely and find your own answers in a text, rather than trying to figure out what I am thinking or what the "right" answer is. In becoming able to ask your own questions about a text, you will be better prepared to interpret a text in the future without my help. This skill is crucial in order to succeed in college (whatever your major is), and also to make sense of any text as an adult.

Writing a question paper will also provide for a better discussion, because you can bring your questions and ideas to your fellow classmates. You can use this approach to any text, including science texts, films, newspaper articles, visual art, blogs, government documents, and non-fiction books.

If you would like to see a sample, log in to the nicenet page for our class (login is on the syllabus) and look under "Documents."

Please type your question papers if you can. If typed, your paper should be 1-2 pages single-spaced (and in 12 pt. font). If you write it by hand, it needs to be at least 2 pages.
Due Wednesday, March 4th

For this task, you do have the option to post your question paper on your blog. If you decide to do this, I will leave feedback and the points you earned in the comments section of your blog (if you don't want anyone to see, you can choose to delete or not to approve my comment).

Left Hand of Darkness Discussion Leading

To discuss Ursula K. Le Geuin's Left Hand of Darkness, our class will organize into small groups of three (3) students each, with each group being responsible for facilitating a discussion of 1-2 chapters for a full class period. To lead your class, you may adopt any format you wish: regular English class, nonviolent talk show format, town hall meeting, courtroom, small group-whole class, whole class circle, or any other mode of your choice. Your discussion should meet all of the following requirements:

• Each group member should take an equal part in leading the discussion.

• You should make an effort to include each other class member in your discussion.

• The questions you pose should not ask for factual information from those story, unless those facts serve to help explore open-ended questions (i.e. those without a single correct answer).

• The questions you pose should include at least one of each of the following categories:

  • inferences about characters or events within the text (e.g., Why doesn't Genly trust Estraven at first?)

  • generalizations from the text to society at large (e.g., How are Estraven's views on patriotism similar or different to our society's?)

  • the effects of literary form or technique (e.g., Why does Le Guin make recurring references to the season of winter throughout the story?)

  • the purpose of a particular event in terms of the text's meaning (e.g., What is the significance of the parade in Chapter One and what does it tell the reader about Karhide?)

  • evaluations of the literature (e.g., What do you think about Le Guin's use of fluid gender in the story?)

  • emotions that students have in response to the story (e.g., How do you feel about Genly's dislike of Gethenians?)

  • personal connections to the story, including connections to other texts and opportunities for your classmates to bring in other related knowledge they may have (e.g., Has there ever been a time when you felt you were an alien in a situation?, What do you know about different forms of gender expression?)

• During the discussion, you should also work on getting students to elaborate on their initial comments.

Discussion Schedule
(I will add the rest of the names Monday)

3/2* - Ch. 5 - Warren, Jessi, John
3/3 - Chs. 6 & 7 - Holleigh, Nicole
3/5 - Ch. 8 - Eileen, Kim, Shirlyn
3/9* - Chs. 9 & 10 - Ashley, Larry, Vincent
3/10 - Chs. 11 & 12 - Steven, Herman, Luis
3/12 - Ch. 13 - Amanda, Jennifer, Stephanie
3/13* - Ch. 14 - Polian, Mary, Sheryl
3/17 - Ch. 15 - Paula, Jasmine, Maybo
3/18* - Chs. 16 & 17 - Catriona, Saruul, Amy
3/20 - Ch. 18 - Duc, Victor, Raymond
3/23 - Ch. 19 - Anthony, Safa, Dimarco

Don't forget: you have 2 reading logs due each day on the discussion schedule, unless there is a blog due! Blog days are marked with (*).

Websites for Blogging

Hi all. Please don't forget to email me your blog urls by Friday. You can send them to msaaland@gmail.com.

Here are some free sites you can use for blogging:
Blogger (which we used for our utopian project)
Wordpress
Tumblr
Typepad
Livejournal

Also, here is a link to a helpful site if you are looking for tools to help you explore the web, from hosting pictures for free to getting a free email:
I want to

Again, here are the directions:

Reader Response Blog

In addition to your reading logs, you will be responsible for keeping a blog in which you think through thoughts and feelings that you have in response to the material we study, the class discussions and activities that we engage in, and any other experience you have with the unit topic. Your blog should have a minimum of five (5) postings, but you are welcome to include more. The following issues will be factors in the way I grade your blog:

• Your blog does not need to follow the conventions of textbook English. Rather, the purpose is to think about the class without worrying what form your thoughts take. As this is part of your classwork, while academic language is not required (or even encouraged) please do keep in mind using language which would be appropriate for school (i.e. no swearing, please).

• Do not simply summarize the literature we read in class. While you need to refer to these texts, the primary purpose of your blog is to think about your response to them, rather than to provide summaries of what they say. In other words, your journal should focus on how you have engaged with the literature.

• You are welcome, though not required, to reflect on personal issues that occur to you in relation to your consideration of the literature. Keep in mind that I am required by law to share any thoughts or suggestions of violence, suicide, substance abuse, family abuse, or other harmful behavior with the school counselors.

• Each blog post should be a minimum of two hundred (200) words. Any additional posts you make will count towards your participation points. You will receive double points for each quality blog posting you do (one point for short entries). This includes comments on others' blogs.

• As this is a public forum, please do not reveal personal information about yourself such as your home address, your telephone number, your last name, or any other confidential information about yourself. You are more than welcome to use a pseudonym for yourself if you like.

• Part of what makes blogs exciting is the ability to include multimedia. You are more than welcome (in fact, encouraged) to link to other sites which you find relevant, include images and video, and anything else you can think of which is appropriate to the discussion.

• On the day your blogs are due, you do not having reading logs due.
  

Due Dates for Blogs

2/27 – Blog created
3/2 – Blog #1
3/9 – Blog #2
3/13- Blog #3
3/18 – Blog #4
3/25 – Blog #5

We're taking a trip today!

Good afternoon and congratulations on finishing your blogs - I can't wait to check them out!

Today you will get to view and evaluate your classmates' blogs! You should try to visit at least 5 blogs today. Leave constructive feedback in the comments sections of the blogs. Here are some types of comments you can leave:

• Comment on what you liked.
• Comment on anything that confused you.
• Comment on anything that you did not like.
• Offer any suggestions for improvement.

After visiting the blogs, I would like you to reflect on your own blog through answering the following questions:

• What was your group trying to accomplish? Did you succeed? Why or why not?
• What would you change about your group's approach to the project? What did your group do well?
• What did you like about the project? What was difficult? What was easy?
• What grade does your blog deserve? Why?

Here are classmates' blogs:

Tucanese
Kingdom of Paradigm
The Waddlers
The Hive
Ecosia
Dolphin Island Paradise
Marcolien
Impossible is Nothing

Enjoy your trips!

Blog Resources and Ideas

I can't wait to see everyone's blogs! Just in case you need them, here are urls to free sites where you can post images. The first two require you to have a username, while the last does not.

Photobucket
Flickr
Tinypic

Also, Jessi brought up a good idea and I wanted to share it with the rest of the class. If you want to present some of the information in your blog, besides things which must be explicity written (like journal entries), and you can thing of a different way to do it - great! Her group is going experiment with video in their blog. You could also create digital art using photoshop, write a song, create art and scan it in or photograph it, create a short skit and videotape it, etc. You could even integrate other media into your blog postings/journal entries (for example, maybe someone in your society wants to share a link or a photo). Part of this activity is to use the internet as a tool for learning: reading, writing, and story-creation.

Welcome to our class blog!

Hey there scifi students. This is a new experiment to help you all keep track of what we're working on along with important deadlines. You all know that we have been working on our utopias this week and those will be due Thursday, February 12th at the beginning of class, as we will be spending that day evaluating each other's blogs. Tomorrow-Thursday, please meet at the computer lab as we did today.

Tomorrow I will be handing out our next short story, "House of Bones" by Robert Silverberg. You will need to read this and do 5 reading log entries by Friday. Friday will be discussion day so be prepared to participate! I would also recommend bringing the last two stories we read by Pollack and Delany as we'll be revisiting them.

Links:
Bare Bones Guide to HTML
EFF Student Blogging FAQ (from Thursday)

I'll leave you with some pictures of Samuel Delany, who has the most amazing beard I've ever seen (in person or otherwise):