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WELCOME ABOARD!
Welcome to the Spring 2007 Sixties "Tour"! This is a photo of me taken on our porch in Marshfield summer two years ago. Every teacher brings to the subject-matter their own interests, interpretations and biases. Me, too! And that's especially true in this case, since I was a participant and took sides myself in a number of the events we are going to be studying. Thus, this is a more personalized "tour" than you might experience in many other classes. You will discover fairly quickly where I am "coming from" so-to-speak. Moreover, the events and outcomes of the Sixties continue to be quite controversial. Just look at the recent comparisons of the Iraq War "quagmire" to Vietnam. That's one reason this subject is so very interesting; it's "hot". Anyway, I'm saying this upfront to indicate that I certainly don't expect you to agree with me. Nor, needless to say, do I discriminate gradewise. Don't hold back. Feel free to put forward your own positions, whatever they are, and we will discuss them as maturely and civilly as is our obligation in college.
For more background on me and insights into where I am "coming from", you can click on the icon provided on our Home Page, and you can also check out my UVM Web site. Somewhere on the latter I have a link to a rambling little piece I wrote a few years ago about my whole political and intellectual philosophy and my approach to teaching. Basically, pedagogically and otherwise, I'm still a practicing Sixties person. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, we didn't all "sell out".
These days my long-term partner and I live, with some sheep and cats, on a farm called "Pie-in-the-Sky" on the edge of Vermont's wild and wonderful Northeast Kingdom. The "vibe" here is perfect. It was a once Sixties-era commune, although we weren't living here at that time. We now operate the place as a B&B. But more about all of that later . . . . It's time for you to read the rest of this page and get started.
JAY
HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK:
You can take this course from school, from home,
or from your favorite vacation spot -- really from anywhere in the world where
you have access to a computer with a modem and an Internet connection. The
course will be run entirely online using some nifty, user-friendly software
called WebCT. (For more about WebCT, check out their
Web site.) Everything you need, except access to some videos, is right here online. There are no textbooks or anything else to buy.
This is going to be like total Sixties immersion. Modules with readings, audio clips, Internet
links for exploration, and questions for you to think about and write about
will be provided online, one after another. It will be sort of like following
the proverbial Yellow Brick Road from one educational adventure to the next.
What else do you need? Access to a TV and VCR,
along with a decent video store, will also be helpful so you can look at some
movies that go with each module. Otherwise, that's it.
Welcome aboard! Let's have fun and learn some
cool stuff!
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REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADE:
(1) Each student, after going through the online
lectures, will share thoughts and comments
about the materials and will participate frequently with other students and the
instructor in structured, asynchronous (no live "chats") online discussions (50%). The instructor will assess
learning progress and group participation and provide feedback at frequent
intervals. For models from previous semesters of what to write about and how to do it well, click here.
(2) Each student will do a Sixties project using the
Internet, libraries, and other possible sources and will share this with the
rest of the
class in the form of leading some discussion and making a smal Web site (50%). Don't worry about the technical aspects of that for now.
More
instructions will be forthcoming. Doing a Web site really isn't that hard.
Read UVM's Academic Honesty Policy.
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HOW TO GET STARTED:
To get started with the course, go to the "Calendar" and click on the first
assignment for the class.
If you're given that option, keep clicking "next" until you're through with
that assignment. Or, do whatever else it says to do.
Then, go back to the "Calendar" to see what's happening next and follow the
same procedure when it's the appropriate time.
Basically, what we're going to be doing at the heart of the course is chugging
through the lecture "modules" in a linear fashion -- please go through them one by one in the order they come in and don't skip any! -- with
opportunities to stop
and discuss things of interest along the way. Each week there will betwo or three topics from the lectures to discuss.
There are no textbooks to buy, beg or borrrow. All readings are located on the Web!
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SOME FURTHER SUGGESTIONS:
Check in and try to do some work frequently, at least once a day. Take my word
for it: It will become increasingly difficult if you begin to fall behind.
Try to pace yourself for going through each of the one or more assigned lecture
"modules" finishing them up by Friday each week.
Your contributions to the discussions on the lectures are due no later than
Friday
each week. But it would be better if you could do them sooner -- ideally right
after you
complete going through each module.
PLEASE, if you notice any bad links, notify me immediately by email so I can
try to fix them.
Admittedly, there is a lot of material here in these lecture modules. One of
the big pluses of using the Web for a class like this one is that students can
dig ("bore down" in Web terminology) as deeply, or peruse ("surf" or "browse")
the materials as broadly, as they choose to do.
Then, the natural question
for you is how much is really required for a good grade in the class? First of all, don't be overwhelmed.
Draw some limits of your own.
Do as much as you can. But what I expect minimally is for everyone to read
my introductory remarks on each lecture page, take a look at
everything I've got linked on the Web -- you may want to decide to follow an
interesting thread more extensively -- and to read more closely all the primary
sources.
The movies, a choice of one per week, are also required.
Please check your WebCT email everyday when you login. I will be using that system
to communicate with the group as a whole and, more personally, with particular
individuals.
You should likewise use WebCT's built-in email system when you need to communicate directly with me. I'll be checking in here usually every day myself, frequently more than once per day. If you need a faster turn-around time, or if it feels better to do it that old-fashioned way, pick up the phone and give me a call.
NEED TECHNICAL HELP?
Online Support
Help Line (M-F 8am to 5pm)
(802) 656-2604
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