Hello 301 –

For some strange reason our course schedule page is stuck on an old edit  – I cannot edit it to continue working on the due dates. I am contacting a tech person this morning to work on this – in the meantime here is the correct schedule for you.

Assessment Scheme, Assignments, Instructions for Term Paper and Due Dates

Assessment Scheme

Students are assessed on their written assignments and their
online dialogues, which include student blogs with hyperlinks, online
commentary, sharing resources, and self-assessments. Students will also be
assessed on their participation in an online conference at the end of the term.

Students will be required to complete the following assignments:

• 30% Blog Assignments
• 20% Dialogues
• 30% Conference Presentation
• 20% Final Paper

Please Review the Guidelines for blog assignments

Assignments

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE before midnight

Note: There is NO final Exam for this course.

In place of a final exam we will be presenting an online conference at the end of term

Lesson 1:1 

Assignment 1:1  Due: Jan 18

Follow the instructions in this lesson to set up your blog and write a short introduction (300 – 400 words) that includes at least two hyperlinks and a visual. This introduction should welcome your readers and include a brief description of the course and some commentary on your expectations for this course. Place a link to your blog on our Group Facebook page.

Lesson 1:2

Assignment 1:2:  Due Jan 21

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog. By significant I mean; the comment offers a new insight or a question with some measure of complexity, or a criticism.

Assignment 1:3  Due  Jan 25

At the end of this lesson you will find a list of questions. Read each of the questions and select ONE that you would like to answer for your blog assignment.  Follow the blogging guidelines  and instructions in this lesson to write a 500- 800-word answer and post on your blog. Be sure to also respond to all comments on your blog.

Lesson 1:3 

Assignment 1:4 Due Jan 28

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog. By significant I mean; the comment offers a new insight or a new example from the text that will enlarge the original answer, or a question with some measure of complexity, or a criticism supported by evidence from the Chamberlin reading or another scholarly source.

Assignment 1:5 Due Jan Feb 3 

At the end of this lesson you will find detailed instructions for this assignment. Your task is to take the story that Kings tells about how evil comes into the world at the witches conference [In “The Truth About Stories” page 9 ] — and change the story any way you want — as long as the end remains the same:

“Once you have told a story, you can never take it back. So, be careful of the stories you tell, AND the stories you listen to.” 

Then learn your story by heart and then tell the story to your friends and family. When you are finished, post a blog with your version of the story and some commentary on what you discovered. If you want, you can post a video of you telling the story, in place of text.

Lesson 2:1

Assignment 2:1 Due Feb 6

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog.

Assignment 2:2  Due Feb 10

Write a short story (600 – 1000 words max) that describes your sense of home and the values and stories that you use to connect yourself to your home and respond to all comments on your blog.

Assignment 2:3 Due Feb 15

Read at least 6 students blog short stories about ‘home’ and make a list of the common shared assumptions, values and stories that you find. Post this list on your blog with some commentary about what you discovered.

Lesson 2:2

Assignment 2:4 Due  Feb  22

At the end of this lesson, you will find a list of questions. Read each of the questions and select one that you would like to answer for your blog assignment and respond to all comments on your blog.

Lesson 2:3

Assignment 2:5 Due Feb 26

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation with question in the comment box of each blog.

Assignment 2:6 Due Mar 5

At the end of this lesson, you will find a list of questions. Read each of the questions and select one that you would like to answer for your blog assignment and respond to all comments on your blog.

Lesson 3:1

Assignment 3:1 Due  Mar 8

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog.

Assignment 3:2 Due  Mar 12

At the end of this lesson, you will find a list of questions. Read each of the questions and select one that you would like to answer for your blog assignment, and respond to all comments on your blog.

Assignments 3:3 Due  Mar 15

It is time to find working partners for your research projects. You need to find 3 people to collaborate with for the end of term online conference.  Ideally a research group will have four members. To find your group members, read through the blogs that interest you the most and study the comments as well. Connect via your blog comment boxes and discuss your common interests. Equally important is a discussion on your working habits; procrastinators and over-organizers should self-identify. So, be clear with each other on your schedules and working habits before committing to a group. One member of the group should post a list with your names on our Group Facebook page.

Lesson 3:2

Assignment 3:4 Due Mar 16

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box.

Assignment 3:5 Due Mar 19

At the end of this lesson, you will find a list of questions. Read each of the questions and select one that you would like to answer for your blog assignment and respond to all comments on your blog.

Lesson 3:3

Assignment 3:6 Due Mar 22

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog.

Assignment 3:7 Due Mar 29

Write a blog that hyper-links your research on the characters in GGRW according to the pages you have chosen. Be sure to make use of Jane Flick’s reference guide on you reading list.

Lesson 4:1

Assignment 4:1 Due  Mar 31

Students are required to read two student blogs and post a significant and relevant observation or question in the comment box of each blog and respond to all comments on your blog. If you do not receive any comments on your blog – post two extra comments on your peer’s pages.

Assignment 4:3 Due April 2

Create an About Page that includes:

• A general introduction of your team’s area of research.
• Each team member should write a very short bio and introduction with a  general description of your individual area of interest and one or two reasons why you are interested in this area of research.
• A visual correctly cited
• A short embedded video of interest to your team

• Link your website on our Face Book page

Lesson 4:2

Assignment 4:4 Due April 8

• Each student should have two annotated bibliography posts. Please note: Use MLA style guide to format your Annotated Bibliography. Do not post by student name or by numbers.
• Each student should begin posting comments; I expect to see an ongoing dialogue grow on your Annotated bibliography comment box this week.

Assignment 4:5 Due April 12

1. Each student will have contributed to the conference dialogue at least four times; two comments on your Annotated Bibliography page and — as a team: two comments on another team’s Annotated Bibliography. 

PLEASE NOTE: You must select another conference presentation to dialogue with – as a team, and indicate on your Dialogue Summary which team you have partnered with, thank you.

1. See Conference Instructions for more details

Lesson 4:3

Assignment 4:6 Due April 17

Conference websites are complete and ready for evaluation

Term papers are Due April 21

Email your instructor a pdf file of your paper please.

erika.paterson@ubc.ca

THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS COURSE:

Hello 372 and welcome to our course of studies together.

Please begin with the welcome page where you will find a general overview of course expectations. And, I have made a video that you can follow along as I talk you through the course syllabus .

Please also take the time to cruise through the course site and get a sense of how you will need to schedule yourselves  — this is an interactive online course and timeliness is essential in order to fully engage with the course. The Course schedule page is a quick reference to due dates.

This is a challenging course that asks you to explore literature in a different context than the average English literature course, and requires assignments that are likewise “different’ than what most of you will be accustomed  to expecting in a Literature course. I hope you will enjoy the challenges and feel free to use of our Private  Group Face Book page ** to ask your questions. This Facebook page is for your convenience only and is not mandatory; if you do not like Facebook we also have a Chat function on our UBC site.

Thank you and enjoy.

** Please note: the private group Facebook page is NOT required. If you prefer, you may post your links on our canvas chat page . I like Facebook because you can share resources with ease – but, please do not feel obliged or as if you are missing necessary resources by not using this page. Every message I put on Facebook, I will also put on Canvas or email. Be sure to check your UBC email for my messages.

Please Note: This course was English 470 – but changed to 372 last semester, so  you may see references to Engl. 470 in earlier blogs or comments.

Good Monday Morning English 372;

I hope you are all well and adjusting to this strange and scary situation. I am back at work today with the goal of updating all of your evaluation sheets as quickly as possible. I am also answering your emails fast as I can. I will limit my comments on your evaluation sheets in the interest of completing this task quickly.  Once I have updated everyone, I will rewrite and repost our Syllabus – I am aiming for Friday. April 3rd. In the meantime, if you wish to continue working – please do so.

The best way to communicate your choice of the three options posted on the previous post, is to send me an email with a subject line that reads one of the following:

• 301 Re-weight my Grade
• 301 Withdraw with W
• 301 Change Registration

Please do not stress yourself, you have time to make this decision.  As you consider your options, please read the following conclusion to the email I received from the Head of the Department, thank you all.

Arts Academic Advising will be available Monday-Friday to answer your questions as responsively as we can, but please be aware that processes and timelines are still being developed. We will do everything we can to support students who had applied to graduate this term; please understand that it has to be a priority to make it possible for them to complete their degree. Information is changing rapidly right now. We remain committed to your academic success and will provide you with additional information as soon as possible. Please continue to follow public health guidelines and work with your instructors, knowing that we will be in touch shortly.

Good Tuesday everyone;

O.K. we all have some choices to make and I want to work toward as much flexibility for people as possible. I figure there are two ends to your feelings as a class; at one end there are people who really want to focus on school work during this crisis and at the other end there are people who can no longer focus on their school work during this crisis. I land in about the middle myself. The way I see it, we are all in the same boat, but some are in the bow some are midship and some are in the stern, and we all have the same goal: to stay afloat and make our way through this semester with no casualties.

I will say one thing about how I am viewing this crisis, personally; I believe Mother Nature is giving us all a “Time Out!!’ – She has sent us to our rooms alone to think about the mess we have made of our planet and quite frankly the ways we govern ourselves as a peoples.

Now, onto our options. First, no matter which option you choose you need to be aware of the following message I received from the Head of the English Department;

Should the course instructor wish to make a material change to the syllabus after the last day by which students are permitted to drop the course without receiving a ‘W’ on the transcript, the course instructor must explain the rationale to the class. The course instructor must ensure that registered students have access to the changed details in a revised and dated version of the syllabus and should send electronic communication to students to alert them that a change has been made.

O.K. – so what that says to me, is no matter the outcome, if anyone is unhappy with their final grade, there is a clear course of action to be followed. First, talk with the Instructor, next ….. . I hope that elevates stress.

Now, our options:

“Some faculty will also be implementing “reweighting”, meaning that your total work to-date in the course will constitute your entire grade. Specifics about what will happen in each course will be up to the instructor, but all are being encouraged to be as generous as possible under the very difficult circumstances of the pandemic.”

I like the above option, but in our case, I need to complete the Unit three evaluations before many of you are able to make this choice with a sense of security, and I will, there is no panic or rush to make your individual choice as to which option is best for you. And, of course, not all team members will want to choose the same option – but, we will deal with that when the time comes, no worries.

Next, I quote the message from the Head:

1. Students who believe that their grades have been negatively impacted by this unprecedented global crisis will be able to withdraw from their course with a W, with no credit received and no tuition refund. We will offer more information regarding the implications of this choice by the end of the week, along with a form to request the W.
2. A third alternative will be to request that Arts Advising change your registration in any or all of your courses (including two-term courses) to Credit/D/Fail standing. These standings will appear on your transcript, and we will offer more information regarding the implications of this choice as well as how to apply for it later this week. The standing works as follows:

• “Credit” is assigned when the grade is 55% or higher. Degree credit is earned.
• “D” is assigned when the grade is 50-54.9%. Degree credit is earned.
• “F” is assigned for grades below 50%. Degree credit is not earned.

And finally, the best way to communicate your choice of these three options, is to send me an email with a subject line that reads one of the following:

• 372 Re-weight my Grade
• 372 Withdraw with W
• 372Change Registration

NOTE – remembering to put the course number before the option will be helpful 🙂

As I say above, you have time to make this decision, I am still taking the remainder of the week off. The first case of the Corona Virus has hit the little Island I live on – and I now have 5 other people sewing mask and everyone is collecting elastic and fabric. Next Monday, I will be back in full force and focused for you all. As you consider your options, please read the following conclusion to the email I received from the Head of the Department, thank you all.

Arts Academic Advising will be available Monday-Friday to answer your questions as responsively as we can, but please be aware that processes and timelines are still being developed. We will do everything we can to support students who had applied to graduate this term; please understand that it has to be a priority to make it possible for them to complete their degree. Information is changing rapidly right now. We remain committed to your academic success and will provide you with additional information as soon as possible. Please continue to follow public health guidelines and work with your instructors, knowing that we will be in touch shortly.

Again, breath as deep as you can often and listen to your favourite music and vision a new future for us – set you minds on creating positive paths out of this chaos. Thank you all.

A small note on language: the word “slave’ as in — My ancestors were ‘slaves’ – is a noun that names without recognizing the act of enslaving people — or one could say, with hiding the act of enslaving people.

As if a person is innately ‘a slave’ – so, try to replace ‘slave’ with enslaved’ – this way there is an actor; a guilty party who is the enslaver.

So, “My ancestors were slaves.” becomes “My ancestors were enslaved”

Even better, would be to name the act and the enslavers, “My ancestors were captured and enslaved by the British … , or the Spanish, or the Dutch, or the USA or …..

Hello 372;

It is time to submit your three favourite blogs from the first two units for evaluation. The best way to do that is to post a blog with links to the three and a short intro to each blog. I will be reading through blogs steadily all of the upcoming week, so the sooner, the better. Thank you!

“Home’ is where the heart lives”

Here is something else to think about that words ‘do’ – with words we create metaphors, and metaphors are both real and not real. “

***

At the beginning of this lesson I pointed to the idea that technological advances in communication tools have been part of the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, and suggested that this is happening for a number of reasons.

“Being active in all kinds of social media myself, I have a couple of good examples of the advantages and disadvantages of social media.”

It is interesting how many people read my question as a prompt to measure advantages and disadvantages of new digital technologies. Why is that? The question explains itself clearly enough. I am asking people to think about technical advances in context with orality and literature, most specifically in context with a narrative that wants us to think in divisive and hierarchical categories. The question is providing “ the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality,…”

So, why do so many responses go directly to categorizing the impacts into good and bad; advantages and disadvantages? – this is the same old narrative that wants to divide and categorize; to create binaries and make judgements: good and bad. This is the narrative that needs to be ‘unlearned’.

I’d like you to consider two aspects of digital literature: 1) social media tools that enable widespread publication, without publishers, and 2) Hypertext, which is the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click. How do you think these capabilities might be impacting literature and story?

With a Great Title:

The Mutual Interdependency of Oral and Written Culture

Titles are wonderful, please do invent titles for all of your blogs. Visuals are really nice too.