English 528 Fall 2015

Thanks to all those who attended the Temporary Autonomous Learning Lounge 1.0.  A special thanks to Caitlin, who supplied the most excellent and robust House Blend coffee as well as the deliciously intriguing Ethiopian Yergacheffe.  And, thanks to Franziska, who delivered a dazzling array of home-baked and delicious cookies!

Welcome to the last day of class – – and, yes, we will be meeting in the classroom on Thursday.  It’s been a great semester . . . I hope the feeling is mutual.  I’ll be around next semester if you need advising, counsel, or a moment of respite in the Temporary Autonomous Learning Lounge.  Before you enjoy your vacation, here are a few reminders:

1. Your two-page “Networking Howl” essay is due tomorrow (Thursday, Dec. 10) in class.
2. You should have already shared your Nella Larsen Timeline google docs with me.  If not, do so immediately!
3. The folks who created hypothes.is are interested in your feedback.  If you can, take a few moments to offer them some feedback on their free, open source platform for digital annotation.  They’ll be very grateful.  (And, you might even receive some goodies.)
4. If you enjoyed some of the digital/tech work we did this semester, perhaps you want to explore things further.  If so, do check out the course I’m offering next semester (English 495, “Introduction to Digital Humanities”).  We’ll be learning, making, and having fun – – as well as designing the return of the Temporary Autonomous Learning Lounge.

Hasta luego, comrades!

Some things to remember for this Tuesday:

1     Join us in the Learning Lounge!  I’ll be in HUM 127 during our regular class time (11 – 12:15).  Julian will be there.  And, Caitlin will bring the coffee.  Come and hang out, ask questions about the final two-page paper, review your timeline entries, or just enjoy the chill, super brain-enhancing environment!  In any case, we’d love to see you in the classroom, but your presence there is optional.

2    What is not optional is our “Howl” Annotate-a-thon.  Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. you will want to visit the “Howl” page and add at least five annotations.  At least three of these should be replies to existing annotations. You can annotate from home, from MUNI, or from our TALL (“Temporary Autonomous Learning Lounge”) located in HUM 127.

3    Send me (profhanley@gmail.com) sharing links before Tuesday to your final draft of your of the Larsen timeline!

4    Don’t forget, our final two-page assignment, “Networking ‘Howl'” is due on Thursday, December 10, our final day of class.

Questions?  Let me know . . .

Change of plans!  For Thursday, read and annotate the first section of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.”  (Try to read the whole thing, if you can.)

Also, don’t forget: the timeline entries must be ship-shape and ready to enter into the master spreadsheet!

Welcome back from Fall recess!  For Tuesday, you’ll want to:

1. Finish reading Larsen’s Quicksand
2. Keep working on your timeline entries.  Refer to the Timeline assignment page.  I’ve looked at your draft entries, so think about my comments.  Also, remember: each group is responsible for 12 – 18 entries.  These entries should be formatted per our Timeline worksheet.  (This will make things easier when we transfer entries to the master Timeline spreadsheet.)

For Tuesday, be sure to:

1. Read up to Chapter 16 in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand.
2. Finish your entries for the Nella Larsen timeline and send me a link to your Google doc.

A couple of things you’ll want to do for our next class on Thursday:

1. Read at least up to Chapter 11 of Nella Larsen’s Quicksand
2. Find, organize and collect information for your Quicksand timeline (See the assignment page.)

I’ve created a page for our Nella Larsen Timeline.  The page lays out deadlines, stages of work, and group membership.

For Thursday, read at least up to chapter seven in Quicksand.

And, don’t forget: the final drafts of your “Waste Land” annotations are due.

For this Tuesday, you’ll want to: read the first two chapters of Nella Larsen’s Quicksand.

Nota Bene: The final draft of your super-rich “Waste Land” annotations is due: Thursday, November 5.

Let’s continue our discussion of Sterling Brown’s poetry and start to move into Claude McKay’s very fine verse.  (You can take a break from annotating McKay’s poems.)