WELCOME STUDENTS!
I am going to use this post to welcome aboard my students. I hope your summer went well and that you are getting settled into your new (or old) digs. It has been a gloomy welcome week as the weather has been dank and cool, but aside from that I'm really excited about this coming semester and meeting all of you.
As you can see, this blog has many links to bloggers around the world--mostly in the states and in the middle east. As the world seems convulsed by conflict and strife, the blogosphere has been both a reflection of these conflicts and also refutation of them as well. You will meet interesting men and women who will challenge the way you think, and perhaps even change your mind about some things (and that's OK). I ask you to participate in this blog (and yes, you can use "pen names" such as mine, Mariestaad, in fact I encourage you to do so--do not reveal your full name).
I am also reaching out to bloggers such as Bad Vilbel, Trevor, and Treasure of Baghdad, to, if you have time, write about your experience and your perceptions of what is happening in Iraq and Lebanon. If you email me a short essay or post about what you believe the one thing my students should know about the middle east, I will post it. You are eloquent writers! In fact, I'm encouraging any blogger who has insight to write. It doesn't matter where you live.
So, to my students, explore the blogosphere, post questions opinions, but always, always be respectful. Don't be a "troll"--someone who is rude, crude, and cares not for meaningful dialogue.
I am going to use this post to welcome aboard my students. I hope your summer went well and that you are getting settled into your new (or old) digs. It has been a gloomy welcome week as the weather has been dank and cool, but aside from that I'm really excited about this coming semester and meeting all of you.
As you can see, this blog has many links to bloggers around the world--mostly in the states and in the middle east. As the world seems convulsed by conflict and strife, the blogosphere has been both a reflection of these conflicts and also refutation of them as well. You will meet interesting men and women who will challenge the way you think, and perhaps even change your mind about some things (and that's OK). I ask you to participate in this blog (and yes, you can use "pen names" such as mine, Mariestaad, in fact I encourage you to do so--do not reveal your full name).
I am also reaching out to bloggers such as Bad Vilbel, Trevor, and Treasure of Baghdad, to, if you have time, write about your experience and your perceptions of what is happening in Iraq and Lebanon. If you email me a short essay or post about what you believe the one thing my students should know about the middle east, I will post it. You are eloquent writers! In fact, I'm encouraging any blogger who has insight to write. It doesn't matter where you live.
So, to my students, explore the blogosphere, post questions opinions, but always, always be respectful. Don't be a "troll"--someone who is rude, crude, and cares not for meaningful dialogue.
posted by mariestaad at 3:32 PM
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