Monday, August 27, 2012

Welcome and Hurricanes!

One of the perils of attending college in the tropics is that hurricanes can disrupt our schedule, and it appears that today is when that probability turns into an actuality. I am going to have to spend some time going over our syllabus when we meet next, but at this moment we will in all likelihood miss class today and on Wednesday. In the meanwhile, however, I would like you to spend a little time away from watching Bob Breck on TV and your Twitter feed to explore this blog.

You should notice a few "widgets" or links on the right-hand margin of the blog. This is where I keep some items that we will use frequently in class. The first link is to the course syllabus in Google Documents format. Please note that this syllabus and NOT the version on Blackboard will be the official version that I keep current with revisions. You will notice that it has already been modified, with a revision date and alternative color in place. If you are familiar with architectural documents, this is often how revisions appear. This link is your one-stop shop for finding out modifications to our calendar.

I have also posted a link to the Library of Congress's Historic American Newspaper database. We will be using this collection quite a bit this semester for your research paper, and it would be worth your while to spend some time browsing the website. We'll spend some time in class going over the mechanics of the site and searching techniques, but the more familiar you are with the database the better.

You may also notice a link to a Google Map that I use to cover the military campaigns of the Civil War. It is a work in progress, and I will be enriching it further over the course of the semester.

There is also a link to our Meebo chat room, which I will explain more about when we meet. It would have been great, in fact, for all of us to be up to speed with Meebo for today, as it would have allowed us to have a virtual class meeting. Alas, we will get to it when we reconvene.

Please keep up to date with all news from the university, and stay safe.

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