The first half of Literary Kinds definitely went way beyond my expectations. I was expecting to like the class, but I've found that I really love it. The free discussion and lack of raised hands, while it may have taken some getting used to, is at this point proving beneficial to the flow of ideas. The fact that class is a conversation has made me much more receptive to everything that's being said, which in turn makes it easier to learn. 

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/world/asia/13hanhan.html?pagewanted=2&ref=global-home

This is a really interesting article about a famous Chinese blogger, his blog, and censorship.  I think it's worth reading, and it goes with what we did during the first half of the semester.

 I have really been enjoying this course; I love how free and open our conversations are, and how Anne does not facilitate them in a "traditional" way. We just let our thoughts carry the conversation, and we are not constricted to as ridged a structure as I usually am in my courses. One thing that I am struggling with is writing a paper in a voice that is not as formal and directed as I have been writing. My high school was very strict about format and paper tone, so it will take me some time to get used to transitioning into a less formal writing style. 

I came into Literary Kinds with a cynical view of the internet.  I loved it and spent a lot of my time on it, but I mostly saw it as my time-waster.  I also didn't see too much benefit to blogging as I thought it was simply self-centered.  This class has really helped me to understand the full potential of information-sharing on the web, and now I also see how it can be used in the academic world.

Yesterday, The New York Times provided a great kick-off to our study of parody;
see at! once! Algebra in Wonderland.