Requirements:
Reading responses: 20% total
Midterm 1: 15%
Midterm 2: 15%
Term paper: 20%
Class facilitation: 10%
Final presentation: 10%
Participation: 10%
Please note that ALL assignments must be completed in order to pass the class.
Grading scale:
94-100 A
90-93.99 A-
87-89.99 B+
84-86.99 B
80-83.99 B-
77-79.99 C+
74-76.99 C
70-73.99 C-
67-69.99 D+
64-66.99 D
60-63.99 D-
0-59.99 F
Assignment Particulars:
Reading responses: On the dates listed in the schedule, you will turn in a one-page, single-spaced (and please note: I’m serious about both of those conditions; one and only one sheet of paper, printed single-spaced) paper exploring one of the texts we have read in the preceding two weeks. These papers should focus on some critical question affecting the text’s meaning, and should use a close reading — with appropriate quotation, citation, and explication — of the text to support its points.
Term paper: Your final term paper will be 8 to 10 pages long, will involve substantial independent research, and will make a complex, well-defined argument about the meaning, significance, or function of a specific media text. You will submit a proposal for this paper before midterm, and an annotated bibliography shortly after. You will also submit a draft of your paper, both to me and to a peer reviewer, two weeks before the final due date. More details to follow.
Class facilitation: You will be divided, early this semester, into discussion groups, which we’ll use frequently for small group work during class. Each small group will facilitate our discussion of one day’s reading during the semester; more information about this assignment will follow.
Final presentation: During the last days of class, each of you will deliver a 5-minute polished presentation about your term paper, introducing your argument to the class and suggesting the importance of your analysis.