Blackboard Posts

Each participant is responsible for contributing a total of 6 Blackboard Posts on the same dates as their group members (see the course schedule). Each post will consist of 25-word summaries (your summaries must not exceed twenty-five words and should reflect what you see as the main argument, theme, or thesis of the reading(s)) and discussion questions (questions raised in your mind as you read that will provoke student discussion in class). Further instructions for each individual assignment are found on Blackboard under "Forum" in the "Discussion Board." You must post your summaries and questions to the discussion board under the correct "Forum" on Blackboard by 11:59 pm on the night before class; every member of the class should read her/his peers' summaries and questions prior to class.

These short summaries of readings, paired with student-developed discussion questions, serve three functions: 1) they require you to read and think about the course texts prior to coming to class; 2) they encourage you to cultivate important reading and writing skills (ex: reading for a purpose, identifying arguments, writing succinctly); and 3) they provide questions for class discussion that originate from you and your peers.

See grading criteria and examples authored by prior students appended to the syllabus.