When I walk in the room I think, "I wonder who read my post." Do any of you guys do that? It's an odd thing to think about.
I love putting up posts in a public display of a reading response (as opposed to just handing it to my teacher) and as a way of sharing my thoughts and feelings. I enjoy it! And it gives people that may not get a chance in class to express their opinions a chance to do so. (Not to mention that it's always nice to practice the skill of writing.) The posts are an exercise of communication through alternative outlets and spheres and cybers and such - an important element of the course. That being said, I think it would be interesting if the OSU students commented on our blogs and we commented on theirs. We (IU students) see each other twice a week and we will be able to talk to each other face-to-face, respond to each others' posts verbally if we want to, and get to know each other in general. I think it would really bring home the goal of the course if we were required to communicate directly and personally with OSU students. It would give us a better connection with those "people on the other side of the camera" and put us all in a circle of dialogue- as opposed to two separate circles (or rectangles). That's not to say that we wouldn't respond to our classmates blogs - just that it not be required. I'm game either way. It's just something to think about.
I am really excited about this course. Dr. H's enthusiasm for the subject sets a nice vibe. And you guys all seem like pretty open, charming people. I respect and appreciate how this course challenges us to put ourselves out there. That's not always easy to do- especially in a setting full of people you barely know. It challenges us to think about a topic immersed in emotion, violence, politics, pain, love, hate and life. What more can you ask for?!
I like how some of our fellow classmates have taken note of a striking resemblance between the way our class seems to take shape and Jerusalem herself. Amen to that.
I never really have thought of that when I walk into class. It is actually funny, because all the people you are engaged in discussion with are actually reading what you are writing in your personal blog. Someone may completely disagree about one topic in your blog, but come back in class and completely agree about with you.
ReplyDeleteYou have definitely struck a thought in my mind, and now I feel that every time I go to class it is going to feel more like a game of Guess Who?.
I always think about this whenever I walk into class! It's such a strange feeling, but it's kind of nice to know that everyone had to blog and that we're all given the same set of facts to present in whatever way we choose. Seeing ourselves on screen with OSU weirds me out even more.
ReplyDeleteIt's a idea great to have us interact with the OSU students in the Living Jerusalem class , but it seems to be difficult to even interact with all our classmates here at IU. If only our class was smaller, so we could easily read everyone's blogs and share opinions across state-lines to OSU. Maybe we could be paired with one student at OSU and really get to know them and their blog well. Just a thought.
I agree with you when you said the class seems like a living entity. It's so nice that Living Jerusalem is not as structured as most other classes and it gives us the flexibility to do what we want with the curriculum and our class dynamic.