Rationale đŸ€”

Blogging is so 2000s, right? So why are we doing it in 2021? Here are a few reasons why I think it’s important to blog:

  • One of our course goals is for you to become more skilled writers. The best way to improve your writing is to write regularly. #themoreyouknow 🌈
  • Your (likely) experiences to the contrary, writing isn’t something we do in isolation or only for a teacher. The best writers are aware of the others involved in a conversation and write with them in mind. Blogging helps make this a reality rather than a trite phrase.
  • Reading one another’s writing is a great way to learn more about what we’re studying. Your colleagues will have insights that you won’t, which can productively challenge your understanding of what we’ve been reading.
  • Your posts help me identify places where the day’s material is confusing or difficult. đŸ˜«
  • Digital humanists tend to blog. In fact, a number of things we’re reading this semester are blog posts. (Blog posts assigned in college classes?! đŸ˜” )

The Nitty Gritty đŸ’Ș

Blogs really work best when fueled by an energetic community.âšĄïžđŸŒ† You will write posts, read posts, and comment on those of your colleagues.

Write Posts

  • Over the course of the semester, you will write seven, 250-word-minimum blog posts. You may not submit more than one blog post per week for credit, unless explicitly directed. There are 15 weeks of class in our semester; you won’t be able to write during the first week or the week of Thanksgiving, and you only have one chance to write this (the second) week. As such, you have to write during 7 of 12.5 possible weeks. Don’t fall behind!
  • To ensure that everyone has a chance to read posts before class, each post should be published by 9am on the day for which the relevant text has been scheduled (e.g., Tuesday at 9am for something we are discussing that day at 2pm).

What should you write about? Mark Sample at Davidson College provides the following suggestions:

Focus on an aspect of the day’s material that you find particularly compelling. This could be something you don’t quite understand or that jars you. Or you could formulate an insightful question or two about the material and then attempt to answer your own questions. You might make connections between the course material and conversations we’ve had in class (or ideas that you’ve encountered in other classes).
 In any case, strive to go beyond the obvious or what we’ve already talked about.

Read Posts

You are required to read your classmates’ posts. All of them. #worstprofever

Comment on Posts

  • By the end of the semester, you must have left 15 comments on your peers’ posts. I will only count 2 comments per week toward this total.
  • Comments must be posted before the start of class.

Your comments should engage directly with the content of your colleagues’ posts. They should be more substantive than a simple +1 or 🙌. Your comments can be short and informal but shouldn’t be flippant. What points do you find compelling? What further questions does the post raise for you? Where do you (politely) disagree with their thinking?

Grading đŸ…°ïž

Blog Posts

Blog posts count as either Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory, or Excellent. A Satisfactory post must meet all of the following criteria:

  • It is posted on time (again, 9am on the day we’ll discuss the reading).
  • It includes a descriptive title.
  • It refers specifically to the day’s reading, almost always through direct quotation.
  • It is at least 250 words long.
  • It is written clearly. By clearly, I mean less formal than a “normal” paper but still serious and rooted in evidentiary-based reasoning.
  • It contains no more than 3 grammatical or spelling errors.

In addition to the above, Excellent blog posts must also:

  • Include one illustrative piece of media (an image, a screenshot, a GIF, an embedded video or audio, etc.). You must give full credit given to the original source.
  • Provide exceptional insight/analysis or make connections far beyond the day’s material. Want some examples of “exceptional insight/analysis”? Try these posts from last year’s class.

Your final grade for the blogging portion of this assignment (170 points) will be determined by what “bundle” your 7 posts fall into:

  • 7 Excellent posts is an A+ (100%)
  • 6 Excellent posts with one Satisfactory is an A (95%)
  • 4 or 5 Excellent posts with remaining posts being Satisfactory is an A- (92%)
  • 3 Excellent posts with the remaining posts being Satisfactory is a B+ (88%)
  • 1 or 2 excellent posts with the remaining posts being Satisfactory is a B (85%)
  • All Satisfactory posts is a B- (82%)
  • More than 2 Unsatisfactory posts with the other posts being Satisfactory is a C (75%)

Each student will have the opportunity to rework one Unsatisfactory post.

Comments

The commenting portion of this assignment is worth 30 points. Comments will be graded on a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory basis. Satisfactory comments meet the following requirements:

  • Posted on time (before the start of class at 2pm)
  • Engage with the original post

Please note: given the realities of the space-time continuum 🚀⏳, neither Hannah nor I can comment on all of your posts. We’ll respond when something catches our attention. While eliciting a comment from either of us is—in fact—a reason for fist-bumping your friends, đŸ€œđŸ€› a lack of comments should not be seen as a criticism of your work. We do read all of them. 👓

Credits 🙏

Over the years, my blogging assignments have benefited from the work of my fellow authors at ProfHacker. Most recently, Mark Sample’s 2018 assignment inspired several revisions.