Thursday, February 12, 2009

New blog...

If I was really blog savvy, I would have figured out a way to merge this blog with a new one that I started for my spring semester class.

Alas. I am not blog savvy in the least.

So, if you're still reading/checking this blog (and I'm SO glad you are!), go here for my recent updates.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Keep on posting!

It's December 15 and I'm finishing up with course grades. It's been a wonderful semester. Please do stay in touch!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break!

We won't be meeting in class this week.

Enjoy the time off.

Work hard on your final projects :)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

For Week 13 - Questions to guide your reading

Read:

* Boy Meets Boy
* McLean (1997): What is McLean's rationale for considering GLB(TQ) literature as "multicultural"? What stereotypes and inaccuracies does she suggest we watch out for? This article was written in 1997. Are you familiar with any books that you think do a "better" job of representing GLBTQ characters?
* Levithan (2004): Although Levithan is directing his words to librarians, they also apply to teachers. What does he mean when he writes, "Being gay is not an issue, it is an identity. It is not something you can agree or disagree with."
* Optional: Barnard (1994): (Posted on Angel) Why does the author suggest that heterosexuals not identify themselves as such in these discussions? What do we mean by "heterosexual privilege" in a teaching context?

Info on blogging and citing what you post

Last year's 448 instructor (Valerie) posted a really helpful post on this subject.
I've cut and pasted it below:

* If you use a direct quote you need to put it in quotation marks or off-set it and give the source.
* If you paraphrase someone else's idea, you need to indicate that you've done so.

In most cases I think that doing this informally is fine. (Meaning you don't have to do a reference list like you might in a course paper.) For example, indicating the author's name and year of publication when you are drawing from a course reading or including the web address of where you drew a quote or big idea.

Here's where things get a little fuzzier, since a lot of our work is collaborative.

* If you are summarizing ideas formed in group discussion or sharing an idea that one of your classmates developed, you need to indicate that.

For example, if your analysis of a book is the product of a whole group discussion that helped you think of the book in new ways, say so. For example, "Class discussion helped me see..." or "One of my group members helped me understand..." or "Our debriefing after the such-and-such activity made me realize..." Or maybe leading with, "One of my group members wrote a questioning the text paper that made me look at the book in a different way".

Several positive things come out of acknowledging sources: it allows readers to track down written sources, it reminds us of the value of talking through ideas and hearing multiple interpretations of text and it keeps us "honest" in terms of sharing the credit for ideas.

Info about final project presentation (Dec 10)

For your final presentations, I'd like you to do the following:

Booktalk books
Share a key quote, poem, etc.
Talk about the commonalities you noticed across the literature representing your focus group
Talk about the diversity you noticed across the literature
Talk about the key professional resources did you found
Share your questions and what you still want to learn/find.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

For Week 12 - Jewish American literature

* Confessions of a Closet Catholic
* Silver (2002): What criteria does Silver suggest for evaluating books?
* Kimmel (2003): How does Kimmel understand the "Jewish content" of his stories?
* Group C members write a questioning the text paper and submit it to the dropbox by 6 pm the evening before your class was scheduled.