What’s service-learning, and now what’s sonic culture? For Tuesday’s class (on January 15th), you’ll be reading a talk by Erik Davis, as well as Megan Nordstrom’s English 121 E-Portfolio.

As you read, compose a blog entry, which can include your notes on, questions about, responses to, and frustrations with the texts. As I’ve mentioned, your blogging needn’t be formal.

When you are finished reading, please include in your post (perhaps after your notes, etc.):

• At least one quote from each text that you consider—for whatever reason—important.
• Your response to HOW each quote is written (e.g., the tone, word choice, or the type of evidence used) and the implications of the quote, and
• Your understanding of how each quote relates to the importance of studying sound and sound technologies. (Note that how the texts differ quite significantly. They serve different purposes and audiences.)

If you would like to come to class even more prepared, then you can expand upon how your two quotes intersect. Together, in conversation, what do they suggest about sonic culture studies? (Throughout the quarter, we’ll refer to such conversations as “intertextualizations.” How English is that?)

Let me know what questions you have, and please categorize this thing under “Blog 2 – Sonic Culture?” and post it before Tuesday’s class.

Also, please read and comment on at least two posts by your peers. What do you like about their readings of the texts? How have they helped you better understand approaches to sonic culture?

Thanks again!

Now that you’ve completed Response Paper 1.1, how about letting someone else give it a gander?

The purpose of this peer review is to get to know one of your 121 peers a bit better and to do so through sound.

To begin, you will receive one of your peer’s 1.1 playlists or audiographies. Then, you will read it closely, noting what’s included and how it’s included.

Next, in your own blog entry, please respond to the following questions:

• What appears to be her rationale for the order of the sounds?
  
• What other sounds might “fit” in her playlist?
• Based upon your peer’s playlist, what do you assume about her?

Again, no need to write formally here, people. Treat your blog entry as a space to take notes as you read your peer’s playlist.

Before you post your entry, please categorize it under “I Hear You.” Thanks!

When you are finished, as a class we’ll chat about your playlists and the blog responses to them.

As you blog, let me know what questions you have. Thanks!

– Jentery

As you are already aware, English 121B is a service-learning course. In this class, you are required to spend twenty to forty hours during the quarter at a local Boys and Girls Club. The idea here is that your service-learning will augment your academic learning. For example, rather than abstractly speaking about how the technologies and media that we use ostensibly impact communities, you will instead have the concrete opportunity to use technology to articulate your service-learning experiences and speak for, about, and with local Boys and Girls Clubs. Such concrete opportunities should not only enhance your academic learning, but also increase your awareness of how your academic work here at the UW intersects with public practices.

But wait. What’s service-learning anyway?

For this in-class blog (to be written on Thursday, January 10th), please write briefly about some sort of community or volunteer service that you have performed (e.g., helping a friend, participating in a local organization, or tutoring a student). Or, if you prefer, you can reverse the dynamic here. That is, you can write about a time when someone volunteered to help you, presumably when you were in need of some help. (Of note, this experience needn’t be “positive,” per se. Be honest here.)

As you write, please mention the following three things:

• The specific context of the community or volunteer service (e.g., the who, what, when, where, and how)
• How you now recall that service as an experience (e.g., negative, positive, productive, or unproductive)
• And how that service experience might help you approach “service-learning” in this class.

No need to write formally here, people. The function of the blog in this class is to collaboratively log, discuss, and feed back into class activities, service-learning, and sonic culture. Get your ideas out for conversation and polish them in the response and major papers.

Before you publish your blog post, please categorize it under “#1 – Service-Learning?”.

And, of course, since this is your first blog post, ask me technical questions. After all, this isn’t a computer science course, so I’m certainly not assuming that you have “blogging proficiency.”

Thanks!

Welcome to English 121, everyone!

Indeed, this is the class blog and podcast. Here, as in actuality, let us respect each other. As we broadcast loud and clear, we’ll be intelligent, constructive, and collaborative, no doubt.

To protect your privacy and the privacy of the class, the blog is password-protected and not open to the public. This blogosphere is for our eyes and ears only. The next step? I will issue you an ID and passcode so that you, too, can post creative compositions on this blog.

If you lose either your ID or your passcode during the quarter, no worries! Just e-mail me, and I’ll (re)issue.

I’m looking forward to working with you this quarter.

Until soon,
Jentery

P.S.: Check out the course website, if you haven’t already!