On blogging and anthropology

Welcome to Anthropology 4454 at WUSTL and in cyberspace! As part of our inquiry into the ways in which technoscience shapes everyday life, each class participant will contribute to the course blog throughout the semester. This blog will serve as a space for our personal reflections on course themes as well as our entry point into a shared intellectual community (both on- and off-line) with each other. This is also an experiment in participant-observation, a key hallmark of anthropological engagement. Writing on a regular basis is the foundation of a writing-intensive course and you should update the blog on a regular basis (at least 2 times each week, and more often if you feel inspired). Make sure to include your name (or screen name) with each post to receive credit.

At least one weekly blog entry reflecting on the readings must be posted by 11 p.m. on Tuesdays before each class meeting. This weekly reflection post (~300 words) should analyze the key argument(s) of the readings. In other words, what is the author trying to convince you to believe or accept? What reasons or evidence does the author give for his or her claims, and how effective are they? Where does the reasoning break down or what things do not make sense? You should also situate the text(s) within the context of the course as a whole. How do the readings contribute to the main concepts and themes of the course? How do they compare (or contrast) to the ideas presented by previous readings? How has your thinking been altered by the reading(s)?

Ideas for other types of postings include:

1. Questions for class discussion.
2. Reflections on and reactions to class discussions and course topics.
3. Responses to your classmates' blog entries.
4. Excerpts from and links to news stories, scholarly articles, images, videos, and other online material related to course themes.
5. Ideas, field notes, analytical musings, and descriptive materials for your mini-ethnography projects.
6. Observations and comments on the blogging process and experiences with other forms of virtual mediation (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, etc.)
7. Other creative uses are welcome!

This blog should be a lively space for your personal reflections on course themes as well as your entry point into a shared intellectual community (both on- and off-line) with your colleagues.