Hopefully you read my āintroductionā email thoroughly, and youāre ready to dive in to this class. If you havenāt, go ahead, return to that email, and then come back to this message. š
Okay, so now letās get started. I like to begin my classes with a quote or a question, and even though weāre all online this semester, I decided to keep with that tradition, so hereās the quote and questions:
When you write, itās like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them unity. Your fingers have still not perfected the task. Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light. Like the diverse women of your family. Those whose fables and metaphors, whose similes and soliloquies, whose diction and je ne sais quoi daily slip into your survival soup, by way of their fingers.
EDWIDGE DANTICAT
Take a moment and think about the following questions:
Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
Why are you taking this class in particular?
Why do you think others are taking this class?
What do you hope to gain from this class?
What does this quote and questions have to do with one another?
Some Thoughts
Anyone who has braided hair knows it is a challenge. Itās a skill. Itās not something you can learn overnight. Braiding and writing are both skills that need time, effort, and a lot of patience. Everyone in this class is bringing different experiences with writingāthe good, the bad, and the so-soāand some of you may wonder why you need to take a writing class at all. After all, we’re at New York City College of Technology!
This class is going to focus on reading and writing about discourse communities, and our experiences with writing about those discourse communities. (If you have no idea what a “discourse community” is, we’ll be talking about that later.) Some of the reading may be difficult to understand in one read–which means you’ll have to read it more than once! Some of the writing will be “easy” and some will be the opposite of easy, but as long as you make an effort with everything I assign this semester, youāll be happy with your experience (not to mention the grade)!
Everyone in this class is a writer. Whether you are writing a text, a paragraph, an essay, or a novel, you are all writers. You may have different reasons for taking this class. Some might be taking this class because it is required, because they want to practice writing, and even others arenāt quite sure why theyāre here. Whatever your reasons or expectations for being here, please know that I and your peers are here to read and respect you.
Please take some time to explore this OpenLab course site. Use the menu to explore the course information, activities, and help. Be sure to check on the Agenda tab where your assignments for Week 1 (which is THIS week) reside.
Also, if you havenāt yet, pleaseā¦
Please take some time to explore this OpenLab course site. Use the menu to explore the course information, activities, and help. As the course progresses, you will be adding your own work to the Student Work section.
Join this Course
Login to your OpenLab account and follow these instructions to join this course.
If you’re new to the OpenLab, follow these instructions to create an account and then join the course.
Remember that your username and display name can be pseudonyms, rather than your real name. Your avatar does not need to be a picture of your faceājust something that identifies you on the OpenLab.
Questions
If you have any questions, reach out via email or in Office Hours. If you need help with the OpenLab, you can consult OpenLab Help or contact the OpenLab Community Team.
Leave a Reply