Good to see each of you today. I’m looking forward to giving the class over to you during this second sequence, watching you collaborate, and responding to your inquiries. As we’ll probably observe, community-based learning is quite a different practice from academic learning. That said (and as always), I encourage you to be active, creative, and downright brilliant. This sequence is your chance to (at the least) imagine something you think should happen and (what’s more) produce that something and implement it. I welcome all forms of composition.

To start us off, Podcast 2 is due on Thursday, ok? And put a lid on Major Paper 1 this week. Let us move forward. (And at the bottom of this entry are your Sequence Two groups.)

After Thursday’s class, we’ll head to the EMP at 2 p.m. If you are interested, then meet me in my office (Art 347) then, ok?

I’ve read your evaluations of the course. Thank you. I appreciate your honesty, your kind words, your questions, and your suggestions. To address your concerns, here are my comments in response:

• Re: the portfolio, we’ll be discussing it on Thursday and workshopping examples next Thursday. I won’t leave you in the dark! I promise! Still, be in touch with questions, ok? I’m here to help with revisions, writing, and the like. Just ask!
• When I say, “stakes,” I mean, “Why does your argument matter? How is it changing things and for what purposes? Who should care about it?” Cool? Let me know if you need more of an explanation.
• If you EVER have questions about a prompt (e.g., paper length, expectations, or purposes), then please don’t hesitate to ask. Call me on it in class. After all, prompts are subject to revision, too. I won’t hesitate to make changes if you think they are necessary. Honestly.
• We’ll start blogging in class more, starting Thursday, actually. No worries!
• We haven’t discussed music — directly — in a class about sound because, in all honesty, we don’t have time. Alas, the tyranny of the quarter system. What’s more, if 121 were not a composition course, then music would certainly be a part of the curriculum. Feel free, tho, to use music in the service of your writing and class conversations! There’s the audio PSA and your podcasts, too!
• I’ll watch my potty mouth in class. Sorry! I don’t mean to offend and apologies if I have.
• While I cannot — per the English department — give you a grade right now, the mid-quarter evaluation should give you a pretty solid idea of where you are in the class. If you want, tho, then ask me. I’ll tell you, with some suggestions for revision, too.
• I incorporate technology into this class for five primary reasons: (1) It enhances collaboration and multi-modal learning. (2) It does not privilege the classroom as a space for knowledge-making. (3) Students tend to — but, admittedly, not always — enjoy working with digital media and information technologies. (4) It forces students and instructors to re-think how we understand “composition” in the academy and how we “compose” for an academic audience. (5) My doctoral research and dissertation focus on technology, culture, embodiment, and the production of art.
• If you are having difficulty with the readings, then the problem isn’t you! I assure you. As you read, let me know what questions you have.
• Reminder: You can earn extra participation credit in this course (e.g., EMP, (virtual) office hours, sonic versions of your work, and extra podcasts/blogs). See me with questions.
• My rib is doing better. Thanks! I only cracked it; it wasn’t a clean break.
• Do you have suggestions for an in-class workshop (or even one for extra credit after class)? Let me know! I’d love to hear your ideas! We still have time!
• If you feel that the writing is quite similar for each paper, then tell me. I encourage creative approaches to writing, and by no means do I imagine the prompts as requiring a universal approach/response.
• If you ever think you are “writing to fill space,” then quit writing and e-mail/see me. I’d rather read a short, thoughtful piece than a longer, less engaging one. Less is more! I’m always glad to give you suggestions, wherever you are in the writing process.
• My favorite records right now are: All Hour Cymbals by Yeasayer and Untrue by Burial.
• For those of you who are actually interested, I’m teaching English 111 in the spring. The course is called “1919/2019: Writing with the Past, for the Future.” We’ll be studying media and literature from the year 1919, creating a collaborative, “mock-1919 document,” and then arguing for a medium of the future –something we might see in 2019. Then I’ll be doing the Summer Institute on “Media and the Senses,” with –in 2008-09 — 200/300-level courses in English/Comparative History of Ideas that stress digital media and/or 20th century U.S. literature. These 200/300-level courses will NOT be composition courses. Be in touch if you want more details. And thanks for inquiring. I’d love to work with all of you again!

I hope these comments are productive for you — at whatever level, hahaha….

And now for the Sequence Two Groups:

Group 1 (Rotary)

• Ryan
• Colleen
• Kenyon
• Casey
• Miriam

Group 2 (Wallingford)

• Ainsley
• Ashley
• Seth
• Jillian

Group 3 (Wallingford)

• Aitza
• Summer
• Krysta

Group 4 (Wallingford)

• Nathan
• Francis
• Sam
• Scott

Group 5 (Wallingford)

• Sohroosh
• Aly
• Juhi
• Jenna

Looking forward to Thursday, everyone! Thanks again for a great class today!