Sunday, March 21, 2004
Intro to Blogging 101
This is my first attempt to enter the world of web logging. It will take some time to accustom myself to the possibilities and functionalities of this new medium of expression. My first thoughts are to remark upon the value of preserving thoughts and ideas in ways that are searchable and cross-referenceable. Of course, to make that work, I'll need to generate a corpus of web logs. The immediate task is to begin with some ruminations about the purpose of my keeping a 'blog'.
As a professor of medieval English literature at Cal State Northridge, I have long used the web as a way of giving my students access to resources about the Middle Ages which would otherwise be unavailable at an underfunded, non research-centred university in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. However, it is in the classroom that I as an individual can give these materials meaning, relating them to the social and intellectual concerns that make the Middle Ages still a vibrant and important area of enquiry today. But I always felt that there was something missing. The classroom does not provide a forum for just any thoughts--developed and undeveloped--about the relationship between what I teach and what I observe in the world around me. The web log makes available exactly such a forum. Here I can make my thoughts available as they arise, unconstrained by the needs to achieve particular goals for my student's learning, or even by the need to produce a finished piece of research for publication. Here people can observe my thoughts and ideas in whatever stage they happen to be in.
There are certainly dangers to this approach. It must be stated first and foremost that this web log does not reflect in any way the views of the institution to which I am attached: California State University, Northridge. All views are my own. I welcome any of my students who wish to explore my ideas outside the classroom, but they should be informed that this web log does attempt to be objective, politically correct, or otherwise beholden to the restrictions I would normally consider sacrosanct when functioning in a professional context.
Two problematic issues arise from this. First, can I truly be open and uninhibited when discussing my views on my students and the university I work for? Second, to what extent can I place in the web log thoughts related to my research, which I will eventually publish. Some things must be held back, but only time and experience will tell where the lines should be drawn. This is my introduction to blogging.
As a professor of medieval English literature at Cal State Northridge, I have long used the web as a way of giving my students access to resources about the Middle Ages which would otherwise be unavailable at an underfunded, non research-centred university in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. However, it is in the classroom that I as an individual can give these materials meaning, relating them to the social and intellectual concerns that make the Middle Ages still a vibrant and important area of enquiry today. But I always felt that there was something missing. The classroom does not provide a forum for just any thoughts--developed and undeveloped--about the relationship between what I teach and what I observe in the world around me. The web log makes available exactly such a forum. Here I can make my thoughts available as they arise, unconstrained by the needs to achieve particular goals for my student's learning, or even by the need to produce a finished piece of research for publication. Here people can observe my thoughts and ideas in whatever stage they happen to be in.
There are certainly dangers to this approach. It must be stated first and foremost that this web log does not reflect in any way the views of the institution to which I am attached: California State University, Northridge. All views are my own. I welcome any of my students who wish to explore my ideas outside the classroom, but they should be informed that this web log does attempt to be objective, politically correct, or otherwise beholden to the restrictions I would normally consider sacrosanct when functioning in a professional context.
Two problematic issues arise from this. First, can I truly be open and uninhibited when discussing my views on my students and the university I work for? Second, to what extent can I place in the web log thoughts related to my research, which I will eventually publish. Some things must be held back, but only time and experience will tell where the lines should be drawn. This is my introduction to blogging.
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