Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance"

First of all, here are a few resources you might find helpful: various definitions of Transcendentalism, and some background information about its history.

For today, you will write a new blog post about Emerson's essay focusing on this question:

How does (and should) a person define his/her place in society? (what does Emerson mean by "society" anyhow?)

Please be sure to use a quotation from Emerson in your response.

After your initial post, please go to the two blogs above your name on the list and post a comment in response to that person's post on this topic.

Thoughts about 9-11 and the First Amendment

With the 9th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks upon us, we thought it would be important for use to think about its meaning to us, as well as to explore the ways in which it continues to play a role in conversations about freedom, security, and liberty.

For today, we'd like you to visit the web site of the First Amendment Center.  Once there, please select and read one of the articles about the church in Florida that plans to burn copies of the Quran as part of their remembrance of 9-11.  Then, please post a response to the article on your blog. 
What are the Constitutional issues it raises? 
What is your personal response? 
Feel free to include any thoughts or memories about 9-11, from that day 9 years ago or any anniversary of it, or about its meaning to the United States overall.

Then, return to the main class blog and locate the "Blog Roll."  Here you will find links to everyone's individual blogs.  Please click on the link to the two blogs below your name, read their post about 9-11, and write a response (i.e. you are reading two different postings and writing two different responses).

Daily Updates

Want to know what is going on in our class?
Want to know what you missed on a day?

Each day one student will write a blog entry describing what happened in class on that day (each student will write one or two per semester).

After that, anyone can add in further comments about that day.