Cumberland Gap Listserv

Cumberland Gap

Listserv for Dr. Isern's Section of HIST 103

"Cumberland Gap" is the name of the listserv, or electronic discussion list, for Dr. Isern's sections of HIST 103. Its name derives from a famous passage written by the American historian Frederick Jackson Turner, who invited Americans to "stand at Cumberland Gap"--the pass connecting coastal Virginia to Kentucky and the western frontier--"and watch the procession of civilization." We, too, in this course, will go to Cumberland Gap and see History.

(In case you're wondering about the painting that appears on this page, it is the classic, Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap, by George Caleb Bingham. It always appears to me that it is really Daniel Boone's dog who is guiding the settlers through, but I may be biased.)

Participation in the list is key to your participation in the course--a required part, not something extra. This is for two reasons: because the list provides another avenue for communication and thereby learning of content in the course, and because the NDSU general education program calls on students to learn to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.

What Is This Thing?

If you haven't been part of a listserv before, let me explain what happens. You, as a student in this course, are subscribed to the list. You send us your e-mail addresses, and we instructors sign you up. As subscribers you, I, the other instructors, and the other students can send messages to the list, and all of us will receive the messages through our e-mail accounts. It's like a big bulletin board, only it's better than that; on this bulletin board you can interact, talk back and forth.

Prof. Isern and the other instructors are what is known as the "owners" of the list, that is, we add or delete subscribers and take care of problems as they come up. (Thanks to NDSU Information Technology Services for help in setting this up.)

What Are We Going to Do With It?

There are certain things that will be transacted on the list and are required elements of your participation in the course. To make sure that you keep up with these things, check your e-mail frequently.
  1. Everyone will subscribe, and thus receive the messages posted.
  2. We will post notices having to do with the business of the course, and you will be expected to read these and know what is going on.
  3. You will engage in on-line discussions of the Tocqueville text, Democracy in America, with fellow students in your discussion section.
Other things may happen on the list. Now and then we may pose a question, problem, or assignment to the list, and you may be expected to respond. You can communicate with one another for mutual benefit--organizing study sessions, and so on.

Discussion Sections

We want to keep the numbers reasonable in the e-mail lists (about, say, twenty students per list), so depending on enrollment, we may have several discussion sections within Cumberland Gap. When you send a message to the list, it will go only to the students in your discussion section, to me, and to an instructor assigned to your discussion section. You will receive all messages sent to your discussion section by the students in your discussion section, by me, or by your instructor.

At the beginning of the course you'll get an e-mail welcoming you to a discussion section of Cumberland Gap. The e-mail will contain specific instructions about operating in the list.

Rules to Remember When Traversing Cumberland Gap

Let me ask you, as you participate in the list, to observe two firm requirements: literacy and civility.
  • Remember that what you write to the list is part of your participation in the course, not some note you're sticking on the refrigerator. So be literate. Clean up the grammar and punctuation and write clearly.
  • Remember also to treat others with respect. Disagreements are cool; disparagements are not.
There also are more general considerations of e-mail etiquette and simple good sense to consider. We may note these as situations come up, but here are some initial points.
  • Remember that anything you send to a listserv address--including a reply to a message that came from the list--goes to the whole list. If you forget that, you can get yourself into a delicate situation.
  • Please don't send attachments. It's never a good idea to send attachments to a list.
  • Don't send junk mail to the list.
  • Use the "Reply" button sparingly. Use it only if you wish to quote back from a message you have received, and when you do, delete all material extraneous to your reply.

Now What?

So, you've received a message telling you that you have been assigned to a discussion section. Now what? You'll receive instructions in the welcome message, among which will be the news that your initial assignment is to send an introductory message to the list. You can tell us whatever you want (within the bounds of good taste) about yourself--your major, where you come from, what you like or dislike about NDSU so far. A couple of sentences will do--just enough to show that you're a person and you are connected to the list.

From there on, discussions of Tocqueville should proceed. Keep watching your e-mail from the list, also the weblog framed into the home page, and you'll know what's going on.

Evaluation of Participation in Cumberland Gap

Participation in Cumberland Gap, including discussion of the Tocqueville text, is a required element of the course. It counts for hard points. Indeed, it counts in two ways: your instructor evaluates both your individual contributions to the list (50 hard points possible) and the performance of the group overall (20 hard points possible). So you need to be in there, contributing; you also have a stake in seeing that discussions go well overall in your section, so that you get the group points, too.

Students have asked for specific criteria to be used in evaluating participation in the listserv, Cumberland Gap. Fair enough, here they are. Some aspects of the evaluation are quite quantitative, but others are qualitative. We have to read your work and make a judgment. Still, it is possible to say on what grounds we intend to make such judgment. Remember that participation is evaluated in two ways--as individuals and as groups (discussion sections).

Criteria for Evaluating Individual Participation
1. Number of contributions to the list. There is no set number required, but if you have less than ten, I would say you are below average.

2. Timing of contributions. The dates of receipt of your messages should show engagement throughout the semester. A bunch of messages right at the end of term, or any other time for that matter, will count for little if you are a non-participant the rest of the time.

3. Quality of contributions. It should be apparent from what you write that you have read the assignment and thought about it. And you should take care to communicate your thoughts clearly and cleanly to your peers.

Criteria for Evaluating Group Participation
1. All the same things as are applied to individual participation.

2. The fostering and practice of dialog. This is supposed to be a discussion. We want to see evidence that you are reading one another's contributions, thinking about them, and responding to them.

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