ENGL 348: The Internet for Humanists

One of the best sources of information in almost any field is the e-mail discussion forum or "list." Lists exist on an exhaustive variety of topics--the Liszt Search Engine claims a database of more than 90,000 lists, 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. (Here's some help in finding a list. Be aware that Liszt classifies under "humanities" many lists that do NOT qualify as humanities 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 Friday, March 3. 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.

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