Postbellum American Literature News, Fall 2004

Hey, everyone. I'll be putting announcements on this page having to do with course requirements, changes in these web pages, and other matters. I recommend looking here every time you visit the course web site--at least once a week.

12/10/04
Hey all, I have to change my office hours today from 11-3 to 12-3--my morning meeting got changed!

12/8/04
Hey all, here are my office hours for exam week: M 12-6; T 10-3; W 11-4; Th 11-2; and by appointment.

12/6/04
I have a few changes to my office hours this week, due to unexpected meetings being called. The new office hours for this week will be as follows: M 12-2; T 4:30-6; W 11-3; Th 3:30-5; F 11-3. I will announce my office hours for the exam week later this week.

11/29/04
I have a few changes to my office hours this week, due to unexpected meetings being called. The new office hours for this week will be as follows: M 12-2; T 4:30-6; W 12-3; Th 3:30-6; F 11-1.

11/12/04
Hey all, sorry I had to cancel office hours yesterday--my wife was in the emergency room in the wee hours of the morning for what may be a kidney stone. Although I came to campus a bit late today, I was in the office from roughly noon to 2 pm. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week!

11/10/04
Hey all, sorry I had to cancel office hours yesterday--my wife had a migraine so I was on baby duty (i.e., play time!). To make up for the missed office hours a bit, I'll be in the office on Friday from noon to 2 pm.

11/1/04
The assignment sheet for the final project is up and running. Please come to class with any questions you may have about it.

A note about office hours this week: since it's course selection week, I have to give preference to my advisees who need to meet with me this week. So if you are not one of my advisees, but you do want to see me this week, please sign up for a time on the sign-up sheet on my office door (Fenton 240). However, you may only sign up for a time that's open on the day you're there to sign up or the next day--not any further ahead than that. (For example, if you come by this afternoon, you can only sign up for a slot on Monday or Tuesday). This will allow my advisees every opportunity to sign up with me for advising on course selection. As always, I am available outside my regular office hours by appointment, so if the sign-up sheet isn't working for you and you really want to see me this week, let me know and we'll make a time for you.

10/22/04
Hey all, I've moved the due date for the second critical essay to Monday, 11/1/04.

10/19/04
Due to a meeting change I just discovered, my T office hours will be 4:30-6:30 pm; I'll add F hours from 2-3 to make up for missing that hour.

10/18/04
Hey all, by adding Crane to the readings for today, I just realized that I have to take him away from the readings for 11/1 (during which a GPP will be happening). Just wanted to clarify in general that groups can refer back to previous readings during the GPP and even design activities requiring a look back at texts from earlier in the course; and that this group in particular can refer back to today's readings on 11/1.

Also, the assignment sheet for the second critical essay is up and running--please come to the next few classes with any questions about this assignment.

10/13/04
Please be aware that I've added a short story by Stephen Crane to the readings for Monday. Also, due to a meeting, my Thursday office hours will be curtailed: 3:30-5. However, I'll be adding Friday office hours: 2-3.

10/11/04
Due to a meeting change, my T office hours will be 4:30-6:30 pm.

10/6/04
Due to a meeting change, my F office hours will be 1-2 pm.

10/4/04
I've changed the readings for Wednesday's class to include a few more historical context essays from the Chesnutt novel's apparatus--see the main page for details. Also, I have to fiddle with my office hours this week: they'll be M 12:30-3, T 4:30-6:30, W 12:30-3, Th 4:30-7, and F 2-3.

9/29/04
OK, the groups are all set for the GPP--see the main page for details.

9/27/04
Sorry I had to cancel office hours today--basically we thought Chika was going to get her shots at this check-up, so I cancelled pre-emptively thinking that she would need both mom and dad to help her deal with the pain and all. As it turned out, the doctor decided we could wait till her one-year check-up for the shots, but by the time we left the office, my office hours were almost over, so I kept them cancelled.

Now that Steve's put his request in and Stacy has told me she'd leaving the class, it's up to Katherine to decide which of the three open groups she wants to join.

9/22/04
Hey all, I've updated the main page to incorporate changes to the groups for the GPP due to one person withdrawing from the class and other requests I received since last week. Looks to me like we only need to nail down when Steve Galbo, Stacy Warner, and Katherine Wyrobek are doing the GPP for everyone to be part of a group--which should be easy, as there are only two groups left that have room for one more person, so these three could form a new group of their own (best option) or split up and join the two remaining open groups (leaving one with 4 people--not ideal).

9/20/04
Hey all, I have to cancel my afternoon office hours tomorrow (T, 9/21) because I'm going to be speaking at the Peace Pole rededication ceremony at 4 pm outside Mason Hall.

The assignment sheet for the first critical essay is up and running--please come to class with any questions about this assignment.

9/15/04
Hey all, sorry but I had to cancel my office hours unexpectedly today, due to jet lag (Chika thought it was Japan time last night, which meant that Kuniko was up all night--I fell asleep, nice dad--so that come morning, I was on baby duty and mom was on sleeping detail into the afternoon).

9/13/04
OK, folks, as promised, the group pedagogical project page is up and running as of this afternoon! Also, I've updated the main page to include the composition of some of the groups doing the pedagogical project, as well as names of individuals who have requested specific classes (any list of names with an ellipsis [ "..."] after it is still open for one or two people to join). I've already had to give two people their second choices, so please get me your requests ASAP.

Also, congratulations to you all for winning the Great Listserv Race of 2004 today. If anyone didn't get the chocolate in class today or wanted another prize, stop by my office.

9/9/04
Picking up my wife and baby at the airport this evening, so I'm cutting my office hours today short--leaving a little before 5.... This means the gpp and ce assignment sheets will be delayed until the weekend--sorry!

9/8/04
Hey all, I've begun to put down the names of people who have requested specific dates for their top choice for when to do the group pedagogical project--see the main page for details. The assignment sheet for the project will go up this week, as it isn't yet completed. For now, just send me an email (to simon@fredonia.edu) with the three dates/readings you'd most like to do a teaching project on with one or two other classmates who have also requested that day (I'll pair or tri you up, so you don't have to check with others in advance of setting your top 3, unless you want to work with particular people). Thanks.

9/1/04
I have to cut my office hours short today: 12:30-2 pm. My apologies.

8/31/04
Update on the Great Listserv Subscription Race of 2004: it's shaping up to be even more exciting than the Olympics, with much greater acclaim for the winners locally and internationally, so without further ado, here are the standings as of tonight: ENGL 334-01 leads with 17 of 23 students in the course subscribed to their listserv (I'd congratulate y'all but that would be premature), ENGL 209-11 is practically tied, with 13 of 20 students subscribed, followed closely by ENGL 209-10 with 12 of 22, and then by AMST 202-01 with only 12 of 26.

8/25/04
Welcome to the course! Please feel free to explore the site to see what links are active. As more become active, I'll let you know here!