Week 1 (second week of class)

 

Dear Class,

 

Welcome to our final week in Camelot!

 

Reflecting on the Introductory Week:

• Last week, you reviewed American Realism and got to examine one specific realism principle in Twain's book.
• You also got acclimated to our class, read quite a bit, introduced yourself and asked questions of each other, and some of us got to meet in real time.
• I was touched by the comments in our spiritual thread. I hope the spiritual thread lifts and motivates us every week. Thank you so much for your participation there.

 

Looking forward to Week 1:

This week, you will read several hundred pages of (in my opinion) engaging, meaningful, thought-provoking text.

•  Here is a link to some great Twain quotes. http://www.twainquotes.com/

• On the Introduction page, the page numbers listed for the textbook readings this week do not match the page numbers in my textbook; "The Dying Words of Stonewall Jackson" isn't even in my edition (Volume 2, second edition). Don't count on the page numbers to match up with the pages in your own textbook unless you have the same edition.  Here are the links for this week's reading if you are waiting for a book (or if your version of the textbook is missing one of these articles):

1. Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses by Mark Twain   http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3172/3172-h/3172-h.htm
2. The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte   http://www.bartleby.com/310/4/2.html
3. Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce    http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/992/
4. The Dying Words of Stonewall Jackson by Sidney Lanier http://www.bartleby.com/297/266.html
5. Editha by William Dean Howells     http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/howells/editha.htm

• Review the Student Moderators list and make note of the week you are presenting. As a moderator, you must post a question or several questions about the reading for the class by Tuesday evening of the week you moderate. This means you need to complete the readings early during your week as a moderator. Your classmates will then respond and discuss throughout the week. To earn full credit as a moderator, you need to check on the discussion board daily and continue to develop the conversation.
• To earn full credit as a participant on the Questions for your Classmates discussion board each week , you need to make comments on at least two separate days so you have an opportunity to address the question/s and engage in further conversation. You may also earn full credit for participation by attending my weekly meetings and participating in discussion there. I explain this a bit in the following brief video: 

• To reiterate, I will allow moderators to earn two extra points if they lead live discussions in addition to leading discussions in "Questions for Your Classmates" during their appointed moderator week. I will give full credit to students who discuss the readings in our live Thursday meetings instead of participating on the "Questions for Your Classmates" discussion board. The goal here is to discuss the readings through the medium most convenient in your schedule.
  

Thank you for your diligence in this class so far! I look forward to working with you, and I am praying for your happiness and success.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Bowen