The purpose of this page is to acquaint students with the web pages for American Studies C01, and to make sure that they are properly linked to the rest of the class. Please read it with care in its entirety. It is recommended that you print it out for easier and subsequent reference. Don't be daunted by all the details -- the site will be easy to use once you get going.

To get started, follow the instructions below:

1. How to subscribe to the class listserv, if you have not done so already.
2. How to register yourself on the class website.
3. Familiarize yourself with the website by viewing a brief description for each page as well as helpful contact numbers and e-mail addresses in case you need help.
4. Read over the Technical Notes below.
5. Proceed to the Syllabus, check out the class activities for Meeting One and follow the instructions there.

Subscribing to the Listserv

Electronic mail will be an essential means of conducting discussions and other class business, therefore it is essential that all students subscribe to the course listserv and that they check their e-mail regularly (ideally, every day). Listserv subscriptions need to be approved by Professor Smith. You should receive an e-mail indication of this approval within a few hours (at most a day) after you subscribe.

• To subscribe to the class listserv, whose name is "chicago," send an e-mail message to listserv@listserv.acns.nwu.edu
• The body of your message should read: subscribe chicago Yourfirstname Yourlastname
• If you drop the course, you can unsubscribe by sending an e-mail message to the address above that reads unsubscribe chicago
• To send a message to everyone in the class, address it to chicago@listserv.acns.nwu.edu
• You will know that you are properly subscribed if you start getting messages from the listserv. If you want to test it, send a "test" message to the listserv--you should receive a copy of it soon. If you have difficulty subscribing, please talk to or e-mail your instructor at cjsmith@nwu.edu.

Note: This is an unmoderated list, which means that anything that you send to the list will go out immediately to all the other subscribers (i.e., the other members of the class) without being approved or edited. If you receive a message from the listserv and you "reply" directly to it, your reply will go only to the person who wrote the message. In other words, if you want to send a message to the rest of the class, you should address your e-mail message to the listserv, and not simply use the "Reply" command.

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Registering on the Class Website

Register yourself for the class by entering your proper e-mail address and other information on the Class List. This will take you to a list of the members of the class, according to the Registrar. If your name is not on the list and you think it should be, tell Professor Smith directly (in person, by phone, 491-7136, or by e-mail) and send a message to this effect to Joe Germuska <j-germuska@nwu.edu>, Academic Technologies Support Specialist at the Vogelback Computing Center (467-3037).

Assuming that your name is on the list, click on your name, and you will see a partially completed registration form. This needs to include your name, your proper netid, your e-mail address, and various other information (if you need help in getting this information, go to the Vogelback Computing Center between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday). Click on the "Edit Author" link on the left-hand side of the page, and then complete and/or edit your entry. When you're done, click on the "Update" button beneath your entry.

Once you are class members are properly registered, you may send an e-mail message to anyone in the class by clicking on his or her name on the Class List and filling out the e-mail form. As you will see as you get deeper into the course's web pages, there are other ways of getting at the Class List.

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Familiarizing Yourself with the Website in General

Homepage: Provides an overview of the class as well as contact information.
Getting Started: This page. Provides information about the American Studies C01 web site.
Requirements: Description of required course work and the bases for evaluation.
Syllabus and Texts: List of course topics and texts.
Instructors: Contact information and office hours.
Credits: List of people who contributed to this site.

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Some technical notes:

a. Key sections of the website can only be viewed by using Netscape 3.0 (or higher) or Internet Explorer 4.0 (or higher). You may download versions of these browsers free of charge by going to the TSS Helpdesk's Software Download Page (make sure you download the version for your type of computer--Mac, Windows 95, Windows NT, etc.). More information on this will be given in class. The website will work best with a machine that is directly connected to the network (though everything but the video and audio clips will function reasonably well on a 28.8 or faster modem), that has a fast processor, and which has 16 MB (or more) of internal memory. Downloading audio and video clips will take a few seconds if you are connected to the network directly, considerably longer if you are using a modem. These audio and video clips will temporarily take up a good deal of space on a hard drive. No matter what your set-up is, the software for this course will work best if you turn off any other applications that you do not need. For cutting and pasting purposes, however, you might want to keep your word processor open.

b. Some of the pages may be under construction and incomplete at various times during the quarter. This course is still in the experimental stage, and there may be a few unforeseen problems. Please report any difficulties with hardware, software, etc., as soon as possible. The best place to send questions about technical problems is to a special e-mail address: C01-Chicago@nwu.edu. If that fails, you can also try to reach either Carl Smith (491-7136) or Joe Germuska (467-3037), though e-mail will probably provide the best results.

c. At certain points, especially when you want to examine and work with the "Class Notebooks" you will be prompted to supply your netid and your password. Your password is the same one you use for electronic mail. If you have any difficulties, get in touch with Joe Germuska <j-germuska@nwu.edu>(467-3037).

If you are unable to reach the Class Notebooks via these web pages, you may reach them directly by going to http://court.it-services.nwu.edu/ClassACT .

d. If you use a public lab, when you are done with a session, be sure to quit the web browser application, otherwise the person who follows you will have access to this password-accessible restricted site.

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Page designed by John Edward Martin <jem@nwu.edu>
Last Updated: 12/21/98