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Spring 2007
AFRICAM 98/198
2 Unit(s)

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About the Course:

“A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.” – Blogger.com

This course will attempt to harness the blog as a medium for developing better writers. Students will create and maintain weblogs with an emphasis on well crafted writing that engages the reader—a distinct voice, critical eye, wit, proper grammar, rich narratives. Blog entries will be limited to nonfiction but can include any variety of styles and topics (personal journal, journalism, critical reviews of movies/books/music, oped pieces, etc.)

By maintaining a daily blog—essentially finding something interesting to write about every day—students will gain valuable practice as writers. They will develop critical thinking skills and a personal voice as they inject insight and commentary to their daily postings. The challenge of finding everyday material for their blogs will make students more aware of their own thoughts and surroundings as well as promote media literacy (scouring newspapers, TV, the web, movies, magazines, etc.).

Much of the class will be conducted in a workshop format where students will discuss each other’s blogging/writing and give constructive feedback.

How to Enroll:

To enroll, please send an email to decalblog@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Name
2. Major? Will you be signing up 98 (lower division) or 198 (upper division)?
3. Have you ever blogged before?
4. Please attach a 500 word writing sample/blog entry. If you don’t have a blog…write anything. This is not a contest or a competition.

Answers to these questions and the writing sample will not determine who is accepted into the class. Students will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. The purpose of the questionnaire and the writing sample is to demonstrate that students are interested in writing and in the class. Providing the writing sample will be a good first step since the class promises to focus heavily on writing. You also have to show up for the first class meeting for the CCN distribution (provided that students have completed the pre-enrollment questions).