After doing the blog post assignment for the last 2-3 months, I learned to articulate my own thoughts about the readings each class as well as have an opportunity to see what some of my peers think as well. I think the blog post assignment was particularly helpful. It forces you into micromanaging your time so that you plan when you are going to read/watch videos on the topic of each post. Without the blog posts being due at midnight before class, it also allows the student to read the novel at a gradual pace in order to emphasize on the magnitude of the topics discussed in Oluo’s book. Given that it is our own individual blog posts, I think it gives the students a lot more freedom for how they choose to do their work. Additionally, the individualized blogs emphasize the feeling that you are supposed to express your raw thoughts and sort of form them into an arguable opinion that you can use.
The blog assignments are also a beneficial supplement to the trade-offs of having several papers per semester. It forces you to stay consistent with the readings. With each blog post having a word range between 300-500 words, it allows you to keep writing a decent amount per week without the enormous stress that a paper would entail.
Jordan Hamilton 