December 22, 2019

Major Updates

’Tis the season for web site work. Fa la la la la. It may not seem like it, but I’ve done some major updates. It’s now running MediaWiki 1.33.2. Updating the software is mostly easy, but my theme, Chameleon, sometimes breaks my install. This time, I was able to upgrade with no issues. Yay, me.

he major updates are on syllabi. I’m getting good at building them using templates for boilerplate, tabs for smaller pages, and images for visual appeal. I’m trying to keep things simple in my designs and requirements for each class. I’ve updated all my policies so that they’re current—especially attendance and conduct policies. I designed an all-new class (my first time teaching it) Studies in Modern Drama that I’m actually looking forward to teaching. Some of the plays I chose will be all-new to me, while many I’ve read in graduate school. So really, it’ll all be pretty new to me. Maybe I’ve read Waiting for Godot since graduate school (I saw it in London in 2009), but yeah.

My grad students will be writing a Wikipedia article for Mailer’s The Faith of Graffiti in January and February. I’ve redesigned my approach to New Media (again), backing off on some of the reading and requirements, and focusing on just a couple of key texts. It has a Wikipedia component, too, but rather than all the students writing or editing their own articles, we will write as groups on just four. Again, to KISS. World Lit remains the same, but it’s a pretty good course the way it is.