Freedom and Community Blog

AML 3031: American Literature Beginnings to 1860
University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Dr. Julie Buckner Armstrong
Freedom and Community Blog Assignment

Overview:

Students will post periodic reading-related responses to our course website/blog on Freedom and Community (and comment on the postings of others). See “Grading” below for requirements. Other course material will be uploaded to the site as well. The instructor will invite others to join the conversation in hopes of starting a dialogue (political leaders, artists/writers, other American literature professors, etc.).

Decorum and Disagreement:

Blogs can be informal but should reflect awareness of audience: other people are reading what you write, so represent yourself in a public forum accordingly. Note that a course expectation is that all students will behave in class and on line in ways that respect the instructor, each other, and the learning process. You can – and should – have different opinions on sensitive subjects fundamental to our identity as a nation. You also can – and should – discuss those divergent opinions with sensitivity and integrity.

Grading:

The project counts 25% or 25 out of 100 points of the final course grade. 15 of those points come from blog entries themselves: post substantially 5 times (at least 250 words each post) for 3 points each. 10 of those points come from comments on the posts of others: comment substantially 5 times (at least 100 words each comment) for 2 points each.

The instructor will post points to the Blackboard grade book periodically. Students are responsible for making sure those are correct.

The project is designed to measure how well students meet the following learning outcomes noted on the course syllabus:

1. Write with a clear awareness of purpose, audience, and medium, through a writing process that involves reflection and revision
2. Generate ideas and questions; pose problems; gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate discoveries in ways suitable to broader academic conversations
3. Demonstrate awareness and/or advocacy of social justice, civic, or community concerns

Note that one (or more) blog entry should be revised to become Short Essay Two (see separate assignment description for details).