The last two weeks I have offered contextualization of both the Benjamin and the Adorno and Horkheimer readings; have those contextualizations been helpful? What else might I do to help you prepare to read?
I have really gotten a lot out of the reading prompts. A coupon for a free coffee would be nice.
Have the prompts and questions in the discussions (D2L and ning) been helpful for you?
Sometimes they are a bit confusing. It could just be me though. I am still acclimating to the new way for thinking. (By the way I will never complain about the nudging in the right direction) The Romance question prompt threw me for a loop...but it worked for other. ....it really depends on your perspective as the reader.
Am I setting rigorous enough expectations, and helping/encouraging you to read and think alertly and in depth?
I think I gave stopped thinking. Not in a bad way though. I guess I have just stopped worrying about right and wrong and focused on developing an idea in order to understand the text. So I guess that is a big check!
Is the overall tone of class conducive to your learning and thinking?
Everything is pretty straight forward so yes. I do wish there was a printer friendly syllabus!
Is there anything else about the structure and workings of class that could better support your learning?
I think maybe every three week we should try and read each others blogs. That way if we are really stuck on an idea we may find some help.
Thanks for these responses, Richard, and for hanging in during this past week. It does sound as though you are making class work for you, which is very good to hear. (I particularly like your description of "not thinking"!)
ReplyDeleteThe next few weeks we will have some differing rhythms of how we read and respond, so that there is more interaction outside of the discussions. So thanks for making that last observation about reading each other's blogs. (I will be asking that of you, but you can go read them at any time you want, in the meantime!(