Dear All
I did try to publish on the blog but am uncertain whether it worked and am not incline to figure out what a google account is etc. So here is my comment:
I think another useful initial question that may introduce the student to skeptical thinking is to ask "Why was this book assigned to you?" I would like the ensuing discussion to uncover whether there are generational and other sociological differences between the group who assigned the book and the students who are reading it. Of course there is also the unifying theme of Brooklyn and so it strikes me that students can discuss how Lethem's Brooklyn is and is not their Brooklyn or whatever borough they come from.
Frederick Wasser
(Posted by S. Walker on behalf of F. Wasser, due to temporary technical issue)
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Blog for readers too?
Hello everyone.
Since we're still a month away from the actual discussions of the book, this blog is currently intended for use mostly by the discussion group coordinators, though it is an open blog and I'm very happy if other people contribute as well! But it seems to me that it might be nice to open a blog for the students reading the book as well, to discuss this book, to branch off into discussions of other books they might find that they think are similar to this book, etc. How would people feel about that? I'd be happy to set up another blog if people think the students would like their own space or that they wouldn't like students to see our early discussions, or if people prefer, this blog could be open to students when the discussion starts as well. Either option works for me. How would everyone feel about this?
Stephanie
Since we're still a month away from the actual discussions of the book, this blog is currently intended for use mostly by the discussion group coordinators, though it is an open blog and I'm very happy if other people contribute as well! But it seems to me that it might be nice to open a blog for the students reading the book as well, to discuss this book, to branch off into discussions of other books they might find that they think are similar to this book, etc. How would people feel about that? I'd be happy to set up another blog if people think the students would like their own space or that they wouldn't like students to see our early discussions, or if people prefer, this blog could be open to students when the discussion starts as well. Either option works for me. How would everyone feel about this?
Stephanie
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Brooklyn College Freshman Common Reading Book Discussion Blog
Welcome to the Brooklyn College Freshman Common Reading Book Discussion Group blog. The book we will be discussing is "The Disappointment Artist and Other Essays" by Jonathan Lethem. This blog will be used first by moderators for the discussion groups, to talk about topics such as what questions we might ask about the book, how to get a discussion going, tips on managing discussions, etc.
For my first message, though I know everyone probably already got a copy of the book in print, I'd like to mention that the book is also available both electronically and in print to all Brooklyn College students, faculty, and staff, through the Brooklyn College Library. Just go to the Library's home page at http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu and look it up in the catalog, by author or title. If you prefer the electronic version, you will need to download the Ebrary reader if it is not already on your computer, but this is fairly easy to do, and you will be prompted to do it when you try to "open" the book to view it, if indeed you don't already have it. Library computers are generally equipped with the Ebrary reader; I doubt all other computers on campus are, and if you log in from home, you will definitely need to download the reader, as well as logging in via EZProxy.
This is my first time trying to create a blog, but so far, it seems to be pretty easy! I hope you'll all bear with me if we ever run into technical glitches.
Stephanie Walker
Brooklyn College Library
For my first message, though I know everyone probably already got a copy of the book in print, I'd like to mention that the book is also available both electronically and in print to all Brooklyn College students, faculty, and staff, through the Brooklyn College Library. Just go to the Library's home page at http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu and look it up in the catalog, by author or title. If you prefer the electronic version, you will need to download the Ebrary reader if it is not already on your computer, but this is fairly easy to do, and you will be prompted to do it when you try to "open" the book to view it, if indeed you don't already have it. Library computers are generally equipped with the Ebrary reader; I doubt all other computers on campus are, and if you log in from home, you will definitely need to download the reader, as well as logging in via EZProxy.
This is my first time trying to create a blog, but so far, it seems to be pretty easy! I hope you'll all bear with me if we ever run into technical glitches.
Stephanie Walker
Brooklyn College Library
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)