1st PERSONAL REFLECTION DISCUSSION - RENAISSANCE

DISCUSSION PARAMETERS

READ THE PARAMETERS FIRST BEFORE YOU POST A DISCUSSION. Invariably, a few students gloss the parameters, get it wrong, and then become very upset when the essay is rejected for failure to meet project requirements.

Need help? Or just want to discuss the posting? Write to my inbox! That's what I'm here for!

Strict, 400 WORD LIMIT on the initial post. Anything beyond that will not be graded. Edit. Be concise.

OK kids, what do you think? That's what I'll be asking you every few weeks or so. Your job for this discussion, and for all the rest, is pretty open-ended, within the stated parameters. I'll be doing this same assignment right along with you, since I never quit being a student of the subject. Please treat my postings as you would any other.

1. Select an image that represents the RENAISSANCE in Italy or in the north, as discussed in modules 1-4. 1299 - the early 1500s. Choose from the modules. You may also discuss a related Image that is not in the modules, but ask the professor first. Avoid the big, famous post-card stuff like "Leonardo's last Supper" or "The birth of Venus" because all of that is low-hanging fruit and previous students have done them to death. Show me that you've done a deeper dive into the material. Always select an image that is relevant to the discussion time frame. If you are unsure of your selection, just ask me. That's what I'm here for.

If you select an image not relevant to this discussion it will be deleted for being OFF-TOPIC. Off-TOPIC posts just confuse the discussion.

2. Do some research about the image and the artist and know something about them. Statements like " I don't know what that guy with the beard is holding but it looks like a stick maybe" just make you look foolish. Do a little work and find out who the guy is, what he's doing and so on.

3. Write a PERSONAL REFLECTION about what the image is and about what it means to YOU and how it informs YOUR your life or YOUR experience. This is the most critical item. DO NOT just write a high school book report about the image or the artist, informed by a few dull, Generic facts cribbed out of wikipedia or worse, padded with AI generated rhetoric. That's a rip off, and it's not what this assignment is about. I'm not going to give any student much for that sort of thing, so please be awaire

Write with your own voice. Don't try to sound like an Art critic or a travelogue reporter, god forbid. Proof read for sense and spelling by all means but never undermine your own voice.

Traditional testing tells me which facts about the course content you have have acquired, but discussions tell me how you're applying that knowledge. Both are vital, and weigh equally in your grade assessment. In fact, no student may pass this course without the ability to put thoughts into written English. Make no mistake, literacy is a big deal. It's also a project requirement. A few Students have tried to pass this course without doing any written assignments.

The end was sad, so please, don't go there.

4. Post the image you selected along with your personal reflection essay of 250 -400 words. ALWAYS post in the discussion window. Links will not be graded. If I see a link in your discussion it tells me that you didn't read the parameters.