Blog #4: Invention

Get curious!

Write a blog about the subject(s) you'd like to research for your Report paper.  What academic topic interests you?  Why? What has inspired you to write about that topic?  What research have you done so far? Is this a field in which you're already becoming an expert, or are you just starting out? What are your plans for learning more? Do you have any ideas for "primary" research (observations, interviews, surveys) you can conduct?

Prompt for Blog #3: Ms. Brown's Rappers

In Josh Levin's article, "Rappers and Bloggers: Separated at Birth!" he writes that "Rap music and blogging are populist, low-cost-of-entry communication forms that reward self-obsessed types who love writing in first person."  If 'push-button publishing' (blogging technology available to the masses, often for free) has afforded such narcissists a platform for their self-indulgence, as Levin insists, has the 'Internet Age' also fostered cultural narcissism?  Does rapping foster cultural narcissism?  

And/or:

As a student searching for information and knowledge, do you think the proliferation of available resources is empowering?  Or does it make you feel lost and confused?  Not long ago, most sources were contained in a library--perhaps not as convenient as the internet connection in your own home, but tidy and manageable.  Since more and more media outlets are available for our consumption (not only online, but in print sources and on television), many fear an inability to regulate and centralize information, while others are grateful that no single group can control our access to information.  What do you think? 

Blog Entry #2: On Writing, Writers, and You

Respond to this entry in any way you like. Respond to one section, one question from a section, or simply let these sections inspire a topic all your own. The only stipulation is that your blog is at least loosely related to writers and/or writing.



Writer stereotypes:

Journalists are brazen and heartless.

Novelists are reclusive.

Scholarly writers are boring and pretentious.

Poets are hippies.

Short story writers are lazy.

All writers are crazy/liberal/bad at math.



Why are these stereotypes true? Why are they false? What does that tell us about writing? About different genres of writing?



Writing stereotypes (note that some of them are contradictory):

Any one can write.

Writing is strictly a talent; you have it or you don't.

Most professors make you write papers when they want to punish you or because they can't think of anything else to do.

Using sources means you can't think of anything original to say.


Which of these are true? Which are untrue? What's the point of writing for school anyway?

Writing Your Profile:

What did you learn about the person you profiled?

What did you learn about yourself through writing your profile?

What did you learn about writing through writing your profile?

Describe the process of writing your profile. What worked? What didn't? What do you wish you had done differently?

Welcome!

Hello, ladies and gentlemen!  

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging.  I hope you have set up your account either through blogspot or through your IUS-assigned homepage.  Now it's time to start blogging!

For your first assignment, due on Monday, September 1st, post a blog that tells your obituary. 

Think of the influential people you wrote about in class and imagine that you, too, will become an influential figure in coming years.  Outline your future achievements, and, if you choose to tackle the morbidity of the assignment, go ahead and describe your death, whether it's from "natural causes" at the age of 175 or just a few years down the road when you courageously save an entire orphanage and a number of puppies from a burning building.  

Remember to be as specific as possible and to have fun!