Attendance, Class Participation and Weekly Mini-Assignments                      25% of the final grade           This course requires full class participation (including active listening, facilitating and question asking) to create

an environment of open and shared learning. It is through communication that ideas are formed, revised and developed. It is, therefore, crucial that you complete all readings prior to class and come prepared with discussion points. Your participation grade will not depend on how frequently you talk, but on your thoughtful comments and questions that show a grasp of the readings and films as well as insights that help others to learn.

 

Five weekly mini-assignments will be presented in class.

A) Ten examples of dramatized media events from the movie Children of Men. For example, you could describe social problems, living conditions, representation of culture, architecture and spatial relationships. Each example requires a 2-3 sentence explanation of how the event was portrayed dramatically or aesthetically. Due Jan. 16th.

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B) Top ten media stories from the last 5-years. Each example requires an explanation. Due January 23.

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Attendance will be taken regularly. Repeated, unexcused absence will seriously affect your participation grade. Absence from class (more than one time) should be accompanied by a Doctor’s note. 

 

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Mid-Term Essay — Due February 13, 5:30pm.                                                25% of the final grade

Select a film, or two films, from the class screenings and using the readings and class references to further your essay to combine critical observation with scholarly research. You must present a critique of a film(s) in relationship to a political/cultural meaning. Do not simply summarize the film’s story line or class discussions.

Your essay will be 2500 words approximately plus a bibliography with Works Cited.

 

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Website Group Project                                                                                    25% of the final grade

I will assign you groups and a general topic. You meet regularly, during and outside of class time, to focus the topic, organize subtopics for each member, and prepare a preliminary bibliography. Details posted separately.

 

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Final Project — Alternative Media Visions in your Community                       25% of the final grade

To develop plans for a media art project that speculates visionary alternatives to existing realities in our communities. You may work by yourself or with one other partner. Your project may consider any genre within the media arts, including video (single or multiple channel), site-specific installation, social media interventions, web design, photo-bombing, culture jamming, artist community talk or visionary essay. Your project must include a significant visual or sound component; it may incorporate documentary, fictional, experimental or activist forms. The focus of your ‘alternative or speculative vision’ media art project can be as specific as a personal intervention into a community issue or as broad as co-working with a campus or community group. Choose a focus topic that you have a personal interest and/or commitment to. Your project must be pre-approved by the instructor after submitting a short synopsis. You must be prepared to present your project in class.