Welcome & First Exercise

Welcome to this place in the "blogosphere" set up for this course, Sociology 306: The Sociological Lessons of the Life and Times of Malcolm X. We will be using this space over the course of this semester for what I call "individual and group activities and exercises," and for occasional posting of lecture notes, reminders, and other comments. I will usually give you notice in class if I have or will be posting anything on this blog, but let me suggest that you get in the habit of checking this blog at least once a week anyway. Often, if I feel that I did not do a terribly good job presenting something in class or responding to a question, I may use this blog space to make amends and try to clarify or elaborate on some remarks I made in class. This blog will also be used near the end of the term to post some questions (and answers) that you will be asked to make up for the final exam. I hope you will feel free to use this space to post any questions or comments you may not feel comfortable verbalizing in class. Finally, this space will be used for any extra credit opportunities which may arise during the semester. FIRST EXERCISE Toward the end of our first class meeting on Tuesday (9/4) I am going to play a brief YouTube clip of Malcom X addressing the question, "Who Are You?" What I want you to do for this first exercise is post a comment about this clip, addressing the question of whether you believe what Malcolm X says is "ancient history" (i.e., no longer really relevant, or just of historical interest), or whether it continues to have some relevance for our time? You are welcome to make any other observations about it that you'd like to make. I am just looking for a paragraph or two at most. Please try to submit your comment by Tuesday, 9/11 (or one week after our first class meeting). This exercise is worth 5 activity points.