Reqs for Posts and Comments

Guidelines

– Visit WordPress Support for help with the basics such as creating a post when logged into this site.

– Categorize your post! Available categories are: “big question reflection,” “spark post,” and “ad critique.” Do not use the “uncategorized” category! Be sure to follow the requirements for these posts (in the right-hand column of this page).

– Tag your posts with at least one tag that identifies a topic or key word in your post.

– When you are composing/editing a post you will see a word count at the bottom of the post window. Use this to determine if you are in the acceptable range of words for spark posts and big question reflections before you publish your post.

– Do not include any personal contact information in your posts.

– Abbreviations, shortcuts, and txt language should be left to cell phones, electronic chatting and instant messaging services, and the like. Please practice accurate grammar, punctuation, and spelling on our class blog.

– Our class blog is a public site. Only students in our class, our TAs, and I will have the ability to post things, but anyone with Internet access can see what we’ve posted. Keep this in mind each time you submit a post.

– Do not link to pages or external sources that you have not completely read.

– Do not post photos or videos of others without their permission – photos and videos already posted online in a public forum may be re-posted on our blog only if such images and videos are declared by their owner to be freely available for such re-postings (please note: making a link to any publicly accessible webpage and including the title of the page is always acceptable.) Consult these copyright and fair use guidelines.

– The purpose of this blog is to increase dialogue and communication. Please keep this intention in mind and avoid submitting posts that may work to silence others.

– When commenting, show others that you have read their post. Responses such as “Yeah!” or “Nice work!” are insufficient.

– Be prepared for disagreements and be open to having your classmates challenge your position.

Descriptions and Requirements

All of your posts must include text and may also include external links and, when it does not violate copyright law and constitutes fair use, photos, videos, or music files.

1. Big Question Reflection: 100-300 words, exclusive of citations, source attributions, and links. Take one of the “big questions” (What is inequity? What is justice? What is freedom? Is there such a thing as free choice? What is fairness? What is oppression? What is privilege? What is discrimination? For what are you responsible? For/To what will you or must you re/act?) and tailor your answer to it in relation to the specific issues, concerns, and themes that we have been learning about and grappling with thus far in the semester. Your answer should include a text response but it does not need to be limited to this; indeed, you may want to use a particular event or story to frame your response by including and referencing a link to an external site or page that gives us more information about it. Alternatively, you may want to share a song or other audio file that frames your textual response to one of the “big questions.” Cite any sources used.

2. Spark Post: A spark post consists of 100-300 words, exclusive of citations, source attributions, and links. Students should submit something that will spark discussion for us and command our attention! Your post must have something to do with gender or sexuality and may also relate to the broader themes of the class. Specific reference to course materials including direct quotations is welcomed. Cite any sources used.

3. Ad Critique: Consists of 75-300 words, exclusive of citations, source attributions, and links. Your post should provide a critical assessment of the portrayal of sex, gender, and/or sexual desire (you may include more markers of difference in your analysis when applicable) in a print advertisement or television commercial (embed them or hyperlink them in your post). You must refer to course material to support your argument or use your critique to refute claims made by authors whose work we’ve read in class. Pay attention to setting, props, dialogue or ad copy, subjects, product being advertised, clothing, physical posturing, behavior, and the placement of the ad/commercial in the larger context of the host network or host print publication. What values are being sold or marketed as desirable and to whom? Attempt to identify the target audience of the ad – how does this audience influence your critique of the portrayal of sex, gender, or desire in the ad?

4. Comment: no minimum or maximum word requirement but your comment should be fully fleshed out and demonstrate engagement with the original post. “Totally” is not an acceptable comment. If you have the urge to write “totally,” replace “totally” with an explanation for why you agree with the claims/points made by that person’s post and why you think s/he is “totally” correct. If you can offer additional evidence for your support of his/her claim, it will work to strengthen his/her original argument/claim. Cite any sources used.