FYS 101B: The Internet and the Humanities

One of the best sources of information in almost any field is the e-mail discussion forum or "list" (derived from "listserv"). Lists exist on an exhaustive variety of topics--now outdated figures placed the number of lists at more than 100,000, and new ones form almost every day. The difficulty is to find the right list for your purposes. To aid your fellow humanities students in this search, I'm asking each person to write an extensive description and assessment of one humanities-related list. (For purposes of this assignment, "humanities" lists are those dealing with art, ancient studies, dance, history, languages, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, theater, and writing.) You should find a list on a topic that interests you and do the following:

1. Find an appropriate list. (See the Feb. 6th entry in the Schedule of Assignments for links to five large collections of email lists.)
2. Subscribe to the list (i.e., join)
3. Read the messages for a week or more. Take notes.
4. Write a paper in which you cover the following:
   
   

   a) Name of your list and dates your report covers

   b) Specific subscription instructions

   c) Description of the list's focus (i.e., what's it about?)

   d) Description of the participants (e.g., college professors, students, general public)

   e) Traffic (i.e., how many messages per day?)

   f) Kinds of topics

   g)Special resources (is a digest option available? are there archives of past messages? a FAQ? other resources?)

   h) The list's problems (e.g., off-topic messages, flaming) and strengths

   i) Who would find this list useful?

   j) Your overall recommendation (can be positive, negative, or mixed)

I'm not sure what to say about length. Probably 4-6 typewritten, double-spaced pages. But that's a rough guideline, not a requirement engraved in stone. Your paper is due Tuesday, March 4. And that is a requirement engraved in stone.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail. Here's how.

Return to FYS 101B Schedule of Assignments.

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