You know, I’m not…

You know, I'm not trained as a pop cultural scholar; my academic specialty was post-colonial lit. and theory. So it's challenging for me, trying to decide how to best (and most rigorously) teach the blog course, covering pop cultural material. Especially since there's still not a lot of literary critical theory available on the subject, as far as I've been able to find. (There's a fair bit of analysis of blogs as a phenomenon, of course, but mostly coming out of different fields.) Anyway, this is the sort of assignment my students have (get) to do -- I think it's of literary interest. We'll see how they do.

Assignment #4

4. Writing a Personal Blog entry

Part I: Considering the wide range of possible topics for a personal blog entry, as seen in Mary Anne and John's journals, draft an entry of your own to hand in. Remember that a personal blog typically ranges widely in topic, so imagine this entry as part of a series in which the reader has been getting to know you and your interests. No need to write an 'introductory post' at this point -- instead, try dropping in 'in media res', as it were.

You can be as revealing (or not) as you like; think about your own comfort levels, social prudence, etc. Obviously, I'll be reading the final entry, but you could imagine, for example, that you were writing the blog under a pseudonym, if there were things you'd be comfortable saying to me, or a stranger, that you wouldn't say to family or employers. (Although as we've discussed, no anonymity is ever guaranteed on the internet.)

Blog Entry Length: anywhere from 250 - 2000 words

Part II: Write an accompanying analysis, in which you consider a) what you were trying to communicate with your entry and b) what literary / structural / etc. tools you used to reach the reader. Remember that every blog entry is deliberately crafted -- even when they seem very informal, the writer is making choices about their language, choices about how they can best communicate their ideas to society.

Analysis Length: 250 - 500 words