The curriculum this week focuses in on Svetlana Alexievich's oral history of Russian women during World War II.  Although the book is somewhat out of sequence chronologically, I placed it quite early in the semester because I think it is an exceptional book that serves as an appropriate focus for your first substantial writing exercise.  Your Journal is also due for an in-progress check-in this week.

Your responsibilities this week are the following:

1)  Hand in your Journal-in-Progress on February 8th (it's ok to take a couple of extra days if needed).  You should submit your work through the Blackboard Learn site as a single file.  Hand-written assignments are acceptable but must be legible, neatly organized, and in a single file.  Your Journal will not be graded at this time and you do not need to be completely up-to-date with your entries.  However, it is mandatory that you hand in your Option 1 or Option 2 Journal and I do expect to see that you are working regularly on this assignment.

2)  Read Alexievich's Unwomanly Face Of War: An Oral History Of Women In World War II.  Your mini-essay in response to this book is due on February 18 (15% of course grade).  Those of you who are doing an Option 2 Journal should take some notes on the book.  You can use those as a foundation for your reading response but then the notes can also contribute towards your Combo Assignment.

3)  Make at least one thoughtful Discussion Forum Contribution.  I have provided you with some flexibility with the Discussion Forums.  I do not expect you to contribute each to a Discussion Forum each and every week.  But I do expect you to offer written comments on a regular basis.  I will also be expecting to see some match between what you write in the Discussion Forums and in your Journal.  I think you should go into Reading Break with at least four Discussion Forum contributions overall, including at least a couple of Pandemic Playhouse responses.  A number of you are entirely neglecting this particular course responsibility, which does make me wonder about your overall approach to the course.

4)  We will not be reading our second book, Inglorious Empire, until significantly later in the semester.  Copies are available at the North Island College Bookstore, but these will be returned to the publisher on February 24.