Nineteenth-Century Studies at SUNY Geneseo is a space for students and faculty to explore all aspects of the long nineteenth century in England, the United States, and the rest of the globe.
Interested in contributing? Join the Nineteenth-Century Studies group at English @ SUNY Geneseo. All members of the group are welcome to blog here.
Courses
How to blog here
Your blogpost can be a few words plus a link, graphic, or embedded video, or it can be a few paragraphs.
It can contain some personal reflection or indicate a particular point of view, but it shouldn’t read like an entry in a personal diary. It should be of interest to the group as a whole.
If you’re taking a course that’s using this blog to share ideas, your instructor may want you to follow additional guidelines.
No matter what you write, consider your audience: the whole community of folks at SUNY Geneseo (and perhaps beyond) who are interested in nineteenth-century literature, society, and culture. Say something or point to something that you think the community will find interesting. The bar isn’t terribly high. Don’t worry whether what you have to say is “important” enough. Just be sure to keep it relevant to the community’s common interest.
Blogging has become its own genre of writing. Typical blog style is informal, and that’s what’s in order here. If you write the way you would for an essay assignment, you’re likely to sound stiff. But informality is no excuse for sloppiness: be thoughtful about spelling, usage, punctuation, and the rhythm of your prose.
And take the time to follow the most important blogging conventions that have emerged in this new genre: for example, link by selecting text and entering the URL with the link button in the edit box’s toolbar (rather than dropping a long, ugly URL right into the middle of a paragraph); whenever possible, embed videos and images rather than simply linking to them; assign a category and some labels to your post.
Above all, though, have a good time writing.