Welcome to our ART 5364 blog!

Welcome to our Art 5364 blog!

First off, welcome to the blog. Just so you know, only class members are permitted to blog. This is a private blog and no one else will be reading your comments but your classmates and me.

Here is how things will work. Each week begins on a Wednesday and finishes the following Tuesday at midnight. But, you will always have until the following Friday to post for that week. That way, you will have nine days to post each week. But keep in mind that means we, as class members, must look at each week until Friday. I am asking that you post a minimum of four times per week--so we can develop a virtual dialogue between ourselves. That means blogging a few times per week. Not all at once in a row. I will go through each week and read all of the comments (as I require you to do) and note how many times you comment. That's just a technical thing on my part, so I can see who is participating.

Keep in mind that you will need to look at our blog more than one time per week. If you are an early blogger with your posts, wait a day or two to respond to other comments. It may take a while for people to respond. For those who respond later in the week on a Tuesday or Wednesday, I still expect everybody to read the entire week of posts—even if that means going back to read them. If you miss a week, do not post in the past week. Post your comments for the previous week in the current week. Just let us know you are doing that.

You need to read the syllabus for more information and then look to Week One for reading assignments and any other information and to begin posting. Usually, I will have some comments, questions, or thoughts to begin a discussion for a week. Sometimes I may not. Those are merely to begin a discussion. My comments do not determine the discussion. They are mere prompts to create a discussion. My perspective is but one of many. It does not rule.

Within a few weeks, I will further explain the project I'd like you to do this semester. You can read about it in the syllabus. I require that you write in first person. That is unfamiliar to many people. Let me demonstrate: “I feel that…,” “I believe that…,” “My experiences have been…,” I am hoping that you will blend in your personal, professional, community, and other aspects of your life experiences in your comments.

The books we are using, I hope, will be interesting to you. This semester, we will assume that making art is research and go from there. We will look to artists as our mentors.

A word about reading books: For many of you, these books will be a first read. There is only so much we can take in from a book with one read. We/you/I may read it from a personal perspective, political, environmental, social, gendered, etc.—there are many ways to engage in a book. I am asking that you look at it from a personal, professional, artistic and/or community perspectives. Feel free to engage yourself in our conversations. Ask questions. Make mistakes. Think beyond. Agree with books. Challenge them.

Each week, I'll try to have a few comments posted to get us started on our readings. Please feel free to bring in movies, books, articles, talks, exhibitions, websites, work experiences, and anything else you feel is pertinent to our class. I am hoping we will develop a personal and intimate dialogue on this blog.

Please review all of the tabs and then proceed to Week One: Introductions, where there will be short directions on what to do. Welcome again to Art 5364. Feel free to email me any questions or concerns you may have. If you miss a week, just make up your blog postings in the current week. Always make them up. (Do not make them up in the past week.) Many of you are teachers and things happen. No need to apologize on here. Just get your posts in even if they are late. Never a penalty. Please do not fall more than two weeks behind. Even if two weeks worth, post in current week.

Please always use "I" language. It will make your posts even more powerful. Feel free to ask questions in your posts. We may not have the answers. Feel free to recommend books or readings or films or exhibitions that relate to our talks/posts. And please read everybody's posts. That will mean you will probably have to catch-up on Wednesday morning/evening for a few later posts. And feel free to carry discussions forward from one week to the next. And, one last comment about posting on the blog: Starting our second week, post one or two initial comments about the readings. Then, wait a bit, read some of the other posts and post two more times. That way we get a better discussion. Try not to post four times in a row. I understand that means that you might have to go back in another day to see what people have posted. But that’s the nature of a non-synchronous course like this. Generally, people post toward the end of the weekend and Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll get into a groove that hopefully will work for most of us in the class.

Also, keep in mind that I have made all of us authors, meaning that you can add video and pictures as I can. It’s much easier to do that as an author than a reader.