Andrea Palpant Dilley Reading! Required! Be there!

Remember, this is a required event for our class! Show up.

Tonight. 7 p.m. Robinson Teaching Theater. There will be cookies and punch. And fun.

The Deadline

Your review is due as a comment on this post by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 24. Again, to keep the blog somewhat organized, post your review as a comment on this post so all of our conversations are in the same place.

As always with the comments area, it would be great to see you making the blog into a conversation. Don't just add your own thoughts; build on another commenter's thoughts. Try to interact as much as possible.

The Basics

You’ll write a 300-500 word review of the Dilley reading. In your review, you should explain what happened at the event, taking time to point out the most important points made or the most significant moments. (Be sure that you explain why those were the most important points or moments. Don’t simply assert their importance. Defend your claims!) Build up to a conclusion in which you explain and justify your own response to the event: Why—based on what you’ve said above—the event was significant to you, personally; what you took from the experience of attending; what the event inspired you to do or be; and/or how the event surprised and challenged you.

You may also choose to complete this assignment by writing 300-500 words in response to someone else's review. Be sure, if you do so, that you still offer some original and personal reflections on the part(s) of the event that you found most engaging or interesting or otherwise noteworthy.

Always Defend Your Claims with Evidence!

The Reasons

Being part of a university community means that you will have frequent opportunities to hear from and experience interesting speakers and artists—possibly more opportunities than you will have at any other time in your life. The faculty members who contribute to and help to put together the Speakers and Artists series here at Whitworth do so with the goal of giving WU students the chance to experience, wrestle with, and respond to a wide variety of ideas and artistic expressions. We also like to bring in speakers and artists who interest and challenge us. You get the idea: We think these events are well worth your time.

How to Gauge the Quality of Your Responses

The Best: Tells what happened and reflects fully on it, finding things both to affirm and to question.
Just Okay: Tends to summarize rather than go very far with reflections.
Not So Hot: Summary alone.

 

 

Fall Convocation Reflections, 2012

Your Blog Contribution is DUE: Monday, 9/10, 5:00 PM

• Your Required Contribution: 300 words. (That's a puny minimum. 500 words would be better. There is no maximum.)
• How to Contribute: For this assignment, click "Post a Comment," on this post.
• Option 1: You can do one big comment to contribute, or you can post a couple of different smaller items.
• Option2: It would be terrific to see you not only posting absolutely original comments but also commenting on each other's comments. The blog allows your response to Convocation to become a conversation in ways that plain-old paper printouts cannot. So let's converse!

Convocation is a traditional ceremony marking the start of every semester at Whitworth and featuring an address from President Beck Taylor. Before President Taylor speaks, there's a processions of professors in their full academic regalia, eccentric hats and all.

 

Convocation is an event through which the university tries to express something about its values and priorities. It's a time to meet together and reaffirm our values as we start the semester.

In the comments area below, each of you should contribute your substantial impressions of and ideas about the event.

A recommendation: Try to say more by talking about less. That is, choose one aspect of the event that struck you as interesting, and write a lot about that, rather than trying to account for everything.

Another recommendation: Try to use your concrete observations of specific things going on at convocation to draw a conclusion about just what it is that Whitworth is trying to say, through this event, about its values and priorities.

And, as we've said above, try to make this a conversation, by responding thoughtfully to one another. Be sure that at least one of your contributions gets up to 150 or 200 words (at least), but feel free to add as many small comments as you can. If you agree with someone else's posts, say so, and maybe add your own additional thoughts on the subject. If you disagree, you can mention that, too, but take some time to say why, and to defend your position (in a friendly way).

Keep it civil, of course.

But don't be boring.

Welcome and First Assignments!

Throughout the semester you will be posting responses to events, readings, and such to our course blog (this one!).

Your first assignmnet: Register!

To post responses, you will need to make sure you are registered with Blogger (this is easiest with a google account). If you have a google account, you can use that as your login. If you don't want Getting to know Whitworth associated with your current google account, simply create new account.

When you know which email address you are going to assosiate with this blog, email Maggie (mwolcott@whitworth.edu) so she can add you as an author.

Next: Start posting! If you're struggling with adding posts, check this space for a quick tutorial in the very near future