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 Initially I was intimidated by the structure of this class. I was unsure of how the larger/smaller discussion groups would work and I felt uncomfortable with the idea of permanently posting my ideas for all to read and comment on. However, these two initial fears have ultimately made the class work for me. I am really enjoying the dynamic between our Tuesday and Thursday classes. I think it is working well to split into the smaller groups and have more intimate discussions. Kind of echoing what KT said, I think class discussions would benefit from everyone or at least more people sharing their thoughts. At certain points I also feel like we are debating between ideas rather than acknowledging each other’s ideas and then building off them together. In terms of Serindip I am a little bit torn about its effectiveness. Initially I was excited to see what others were thinking outside of class and I was curious to see how my thoughts would be responded to. However, again echoing many of the previous posters, I don’t think that as and individual or as a class we are maximizing the potential of Serendip seeing how we rarely comment or respond to one another. Like many of the posters before me one of my goals for the second half of this semester is to enhance online communication by commenting/responding to other’s ideas.

            I have learned a lot about how to read a book closely and not only understand, but contemplate and question the significance of certain ideas or assumptions made in the work. As a class I think we are also learning how to do this in a conversational form. While I think we have all learned the importance of questioning certain assumptions at times I think it is important to stick to a story or assumption in order to move on to a higher level of thought. Sometimes I think I/ we get so caught up on disproving a simple fact that we lose sight of it’s greater importance or how to think about more relevant concepts. One of the boundaries I have found regarding my learning style involves choosing a paper topic. On the one hand it is nice to be able to choose a topic I find interesting, and it motivates me to work harder and enjoy my paper more. On the other side I have a hard time finding a topic I find appropriate and relevant. It is important to me to write about an interesting and novel idea, and thus I struggle trying to find a suitable topic.

I am looking forward to tying the concepts that Dennet described into the evolution of literature and to the notions that exist in literature that reference evolution. While analyzing these interactions will be very interesting, I know I will miss a lot of the nuances and I am looking forward to the class discussion filled with each individual’s notes and observations.