HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 12! The Week 12 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 12 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon. Friday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Thursday.
Week 12 Responding: Check your groups. The groups for Blog Responding are basically the same as last week, but there have been some small adjustments, based on the folks who are finished with the class. So, before you do the blog responding assignment, double-check on your group to make sure you are responding to the right folks.
Gradebook Declarations. Some of you are under a lot of pressure at the end of the semester with projects and tests in your other classes. So please, if you do not have time to fully complete one of the assignments for this class, just skip it, and make up the points later. Read each Declaration carefully and do NOT make the Declaration if you have not completed the work. You need to check your word count and other requirements BEFORE you do the Declaration. The penalties for making false Gradebook Declarations are serious; if you are not clear about this, please check the Honor Code for this class. Your Gradebook Declarations need to be accurate and honest; the whole grading system in this class depends on it.
Storybook Stack. There are still some Storybook assignments in the stack (late Week 11 Storybooks plus early Week 12-13-14-15 Storybooks), and I am making my way through them in the order that they were turned in. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. As always on Friday, I will do my best to get comments back before the weekend to any assignment turned in before noon on Friday. Anything that is turned in after noon on Friday will be added to the stack first thing on Monday morning.
Grading and points. (repeat announcement) As you can see in the Grading Information page, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive. My only request is that you please let me know when you are done so I can know that it is time to record your final grade in the Gradebook.
Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. (repeat announcement) For the Week 12 Internet assignment you will be commenting on Storybooks, along with an extra credit option to comment on Storybooks in the other classes again. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available a week from today, on April 19), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.
April 15: Leonardo da Vinci. Today marks the birthday in the year 1452 of the remarkable Leonardo da Vinci, who was a genius in math, science and engineering, as well as being a famous painter and sculptor. You can read about his remarkable life and career in Wikipedia. To see someone paint the Mona Lisa using the a very simple and primitive old art program, MS Paint, take a look at this YouTube video - it's mesmerizing!
Thursday, April 14
Today is Thursday of WEEK 12 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 11 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that BEFORE NOON TODAY for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday.
Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment before 10AM on Monday, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in later on Monday, or on Tuesday or Wednesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.
Writing Center. (repeat announcement) In addition to the writing you have been doing for this class, some of you probably have writing assignments, such as final papers and projects, which you will be turning in for your other classes. So, I wanted to remind you that for any kind of writing project you are doing in any of your classes, the Writing Center is the place to go for help. Whether you are struggling with the overall organization of your writing (finding a focus, working with paragraphs), figuring our research strategies for a research paper, or whether you have some basic questions about writing mechanics (especially punctuation), the tutors at the Writing Center can help. For hours and services, visit the Writing Center website.
April 14: Ramana Maharshi. Today marks the anniversary of the death in the year 1950 of the great Indian guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi. You can read more about his life and career in Wikipedia, which also has a section of quotations from his works and teachings - for example, here's one about how getting to know yourself is like wearing a pair of shoes for the soul: "Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes." There's even a Ramana Maharshi comic book in the famous Amar Chitra Katha series of comic books as shown below:
Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment before 10AM on Monday, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in later on Monday, or on Tuesday or Wednesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.
Writing Center. (repeat announcement) In addition to the writing you have been doing for this class, some of you probably have writing assignments, such as final papers and projects, which you will be turning in for your other classes. So, I wanted to remind you that for any kind of writing project you are doing in any of your classes, the Writing Center is the place to go for help. Whether you are struggling with the overall organization of your writing (finding a focus, working with paragraphs), figuring our research strategies for a research paper, or whether you have some basic questions about writing mechanics (especially punctuation), the tutors at the Writing Center can help. For hours and services, visit the Writing Center website.
April 14: Ramana Maharshi. Today marks the anniversary of the death in the year 1950 of the great Indian guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi. You can read more about his life and career in Wikipedia, which also has a section of quotations from his works and teachings - for example, here's one about how getting to know yourself is like wearing a pair of shoes for the soul: "Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes." There's even a Ramana Maharshi comic book in the famous Amar Chitra Katha series of comic books as shown below:
Wednesday, April 13
Today is Wednesday of WEEK 12 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 11 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.
Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment before 10PM on Sunday, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in later on Sunday or on Monday or on Tuesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.
Grading and points. (repeat announcement) As you can see in the Grading Information page, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive. My only request is that you please let me know when you are done so I can know that it is time to record your final grade in the Gradebook.
Do-It-Yourself Latin Poetry. As some of you may know, I started out as a Classics professor here at OU, and I continue to do a lot of work on Latin fables and proverbs and poetry just for fun. If you know any Latin at all, you might be interested in an article I've just published about a system for writing your own original Latin poetry using a kind of "encoding machine" that takes your secret message and turns it into Latin verse. The system is called "steganometrographia" and it was invented in the 18th century by a Latin scholar named Melchias Uken. You can read the article online here, or you can visit Mark Walker's website to download the latest issue of VATES: The Journal of New Latin Poetry where you will find some marvelous Latin poetry along with various articles about Latin verse composition. I've embedded the journal below so you can get a sense of what a nice publication it is - very fun stuff, and the Latin poems all have accompanying English translations. My favorite poem in this issue is the very first poem you will see there: Gliris Somnus, "The Sleep of the Dormouse."
Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment before 10PM on Sunday, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in later on Sunday or on Monday or on Tuesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.
Grading and points. (repeat announcement) As you can see in the Grading Information page, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive. My only request is that you please let me know when you are done so I can know that it is time to record your final grade in the Gradebook.
Do-It-Yourself Latin Poetry. As some of you may know, I started out as a Classics professor here at OU, and I continue to do a lot of work on Latin fables and proverbs and poetry just for fun. If you know any Latin at all, you might be interested in an article I've just published about a system for writing your own original Latin poetry using a kind of "encoding machine" that takes your secret message and turns it into Latin verse. The system is called "steganometrographia" and it was invented in the 18th century by a Latin scholar named Melchias Uken. You can read the article online here, or you can visit Mark Walker's website to download the latest issue of VATES: The Journal of New Latin Poetry where you will find some marvelous Latin poetry along with various articles about Latin verse composition. I've embedded the journal below so you can get a sense of what a nice publication it is - very fun stuff, and the Latin poems all have accompanying English translations. My favorite poem in this issue is the very first poem you will see there: Gliris Somnus, "The Sleep of the Dormouse."
Tuesday, April 12
Today is Tuesday of WEEK 12 of the class, and I've re-arranged the Quiz area in Desire2Learn so Week 12 is on top. For those of you in Indian Epics, that means continuing with Buck's version of the Mahabharata (including the great legend of Nala and Damayanti), while it's a choice between fairy tales and ballads in Myth-Folklore, and this is the week of the Arabian Nights in World Literature. If you have not turned in your Week 11 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.
Counting this week, there are FOUR WEEKS of class remaining (Weeks 12-13-14-15), which means 120 points of regular assignments, plus extra credit. That assumes you have not been working ahead; if you have been working ahead, you can look at the Gradebook to see just how many available points you can still earn in these last weeks of class.
Storybook Stack. As usual on Tuesday, I am making my way through the big stack of Storybooks turned in over the weekend. If you turned something in by noon on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later on Sunday or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. If you are turning in multiple assignments this week, don't forget to submit a separate email for each Storybook assignment.
Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. (repeat announcement) The Week 12 Internet assignment is available now, when you will be commenting on Storybooks, along with an extra credit option to comment on Storybooks in the other classes again. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available a week from today, on April 19), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.
April 12 2011: Ramanavami. Today is the Hindu holiday of Ramanavami, or Ram Navami, which marks the birthday of Rama, an avatar of the god Vishnu - a character who is very familiar to everyone in the Indian Epics class! You can read more about this holiday at the BBC website and at Wikipedia. Here is a Ram Navmi greeting card showing Rama, his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana, and the monkey-god Hanuman kneeling:
Counting this week, there are FOUR WEEKS of class remaining (Weeks 12-13-14-15), which means 120 points of regular assignments, plus extra credit. That assumes you have not been working ahead; if you have been working ahead, you can look at the Gradebook to see just how many available points you can still earn in these last weeks of class.
Storybook Stack. As usual on Tuesday, I am making my way through the big stack of Storybooks turned in over the weekend. If you turned something in by noon on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later on Sunday or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. If you are turning in multiple assignments this week, don't forget to submit a separate email for each Storybook assignment.
Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. (repeat announcement) The Week 12 Internet assignment is available now, when you will be commenting on Storybooks, along with an extra credit option to comment on Storybooks in the other classes again. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available a week from today, on April 19), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.
April 12 2011: Ramanavami. Today is the Hindu holiday of Ramanavami, or Ram Navami, which marks the birthday of Rama, an avatar of the god Vishnu - a character who is very familiar to everyone in the Indian Epics class! You can read more about this holiday at the BBC website and at Wikipedia. Here is a Ram Navmi greeting card showing Rama, his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana, and the monkey-god Hanuman kneeling:
Monday, April 11
Today is Monday. Week 11 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 12 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started. Weeks 13, 14 and 15 are also available for those of you who can see the goal in sight and want to start working ahead now to finish up the class.
Gradebook Declarations. Some of you are under a lot of pressure at the end of the semester with projects and tests in your other classes. So please, if you do not have time to fully complete one of the assignments for this class, just skip it, and make up the points later. Read each Declaration carefully and do NOT make the Declaration if you have not completed the work. You need to check your word count and other requirements BEFORE you do the Declaration. The penalties for making false Gradebook Declarations are serious; if you are not clear about this, please check the Honor Code for this class. Your Gradebook Declarations need to be accurate and honest; the whole grading system in this class depends on it.
Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in. If you are turning in multiple Storybook assignments, please do each one in a SEPARATE email.
Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. Week 12 will begin tomorrow, on Tuesday, and you will be commenting on other people's Storybooks. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available a week from Tuesday, on April 19), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.
April 11: Margaret of Navarre. Today marks the birthday, in the year 1492, of Margaret of Navarre, who is known to those of you in the World Literature class as the author of the Heptameron. You can read more about Margaret here at Wikipedia, which is also the source for the portrait below, painted in 1527:
Gradebook Declarations. Some of you are under a lot of pressure at the end of the semester with projects and tests in your other classes. So please, if you do not have time to fully complete one of the assignments for this class, just skip it, and make up the points later. Read each Declaration carefully and do NOT make the Declaration if you have not completed the work. You need to check your word count and other requirements BEFORE you do the Declaration. The penalties for making false Gradebook Declarations are serious; if you are not clear about this, please check the Honor Code for this class. Your Gradebook Declarations need to be accurate and honest; the whole grading system in this class depends on it.
Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in. If you are turning in multiple Storybook assignments, please do each one in a SEPARATE email.
Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. Week 12 will begin tomorrow, on Tuesday, and you will be commenting on other people's Storybooks. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available a week from Tuesday, on April 19), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.
April 11: Margaret of Navarre. Today marks the birthday, in the year 1492, of Margaret of Navarre, who is known to those of you in the World Literature class as the author of the Heptameron. You can read more about Margaret here at Wikipedia, which is also the source for the portrait below, painted in 1527:
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