Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- media_activism [2021/12/03 19:53]
ntnsndr [Agreements]
+++ media_activism [2022/01/06 18:34]
ntnsndr [Instructor]
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ## Instructor
-Nathan Schneider
+Nathan Schneider (he/him)
 <nathan.schneider@colorado.edu>
-Armory 1B24 (in theory!)
+Armory 1B24
-Office hours Wednesdays 3--4 pm or by appointment
+Office hours Wednesdays 3--5 pm or by appointment
 Website: [nathanschneider.info](https://nathanschneider.info)
@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Students are expected to complete the weekly reading assignments. This does not necessarily mean microscopic reading of every page, but it does mean engaging rigorously with portions of particular interest, as well as familiarizing oneself with the works as a whole and thinking critically about their interconnections.
-#### Interventions
+#### Interventions (30%)
-Each week, students are expected to turn in what we'll call an Intervention. These Interventions are simple, informal media sketches that contain a) a challenge or problem related to the week's texts and b) an outline for an original strategy that addresses it. Interventions need not be realistic for students to carry out; students may imagine themselves as representing better-resourced organizations, real or imaginary. The purpose of this assignment is to explore our own sense of agency and to exercise adventuresome thinking. Over the course of the semester, a student's Interventions may address various topics, or they can connect in a way that builds toward the final project.
+Each week, students turn in an Intervention. These Interventions are simple, informal media sketches that contain a) a challenge or problem related to the week's texts and b) an outline for an original strategy that addresses it. Interventions need not be realistic for students to carry out; students may imagine themselves as representing better-resourced organizations, real or imaginary. The purpose of this assignment is to explore our own sense of agency and to exercise adventuresome thinking. Over the course of the semester, a student's Interventions may address various topics, or they can connect in a way that builds toward the final project.
-Projects may take the form of a drawing, infographic, game, video, skit, text, art installation, business plan, social media campaign, or other media, digital or otherwise. In any case, they must be submitted digitally as a new thread in the appropriate discussion topic for each week's unit.
+Interventions may take the form of a drawing, infographic, game, video, skit, text, art installation, business plan, social media campaign, or other media, digital or otherwise. In any case, they must be submitted digitally as a new thread in the appropriate discussion topic for each week's unit. They should amount to the equivalent of one interesting page's worth of material.
-#### Discussions
+  * Demonstrate a sophisticated grasp of one or more assigned texts
+  * Communicate a problem and a creative proposal by which to address it
+  * Practice adventuresome thinking in both concept and presentation, using compelling media techniques to communicate the proposal
+#### Discussions (30%)
 Students should be active participants and make contributions to the oral discussion that reflect strenuous [[engagement with assigned sources|engagement]] with the assigned texts. Please come prepared to contribute original analysis, reflections, and critique. Inform the instructor ahead of time about any missed classes.
-Evaluation of discussion contributions takes place twice—at the middle of the semester and at the end.
+Evaluation of discussion contributions takes place twice: at the middle of the semester and at the end.
+  * Engage actively and strenuously with the bulk of each unit's assigned texts over the course of that unit's comments, with direct quotations, evidence of close reading, and thoughtful analysis
+  * Interact respectfully and critically with fellow students, demonstrating careful attention to others and presenting reasoned articulations of one's views
-### Final project
+### Final project (40%)
 Each student will complete a final project that is ready to deploy upon completion, in partnership with a relevant organization, community, or company. Projects might consist of anything in the same range of media as the weekly Interventions---except, rather than mere sketches, this project must be fully implemented.
@@ Line 47: / Line 56: @@
 Students will constructively review complete drafts of each other's projects before submitting the final draft. Students may choose to form groups of connected projects, but each student is responsible for turning in their own contribution independently.
-### Evaluation
+  * Proposal: **(40%)**
+    * Explain and justify the project idea in a 1,400-to-1,600-word text with scholarly [[citation standards]] and a high degree of stylistic quality
-Coursework is evaluated according the following rubrics:
+    * Describe the community collaboration underway; propose an intended medium and the scope of project deliverables, including rationale for each
+    * Articulate a clear objective for impact, reflecting an understanding of the intended audience, a relevant theory of power, and a theory of agency
-  * Weekly Interventions **(30%)**
+    * Include strong evidence of background research, citing relevant primary and [[:scholarly sources|scholarly sources]], while engaging with at least two assigned texts from the course
-    * Demonstrate a sophisticated grasp of one or more assigned texts
+  * Project draft: **(10%)**
-    * Communicate a problem and a creative proposal by which to address it
+    * Complete a draft of the project that meets the expectations discussed in the proposal process
-    * Practice adventuresome thinking in both concept and presentation, using compelling media techniques to communicate the proposal
+  * Peer review: **(10%)**
+    * Provide feedback for at least two fellow students' drafts, of at least two paragraphs each, with [[:peer review|these suggestions]] in mind
-  * Weekly discussions **(30%)**
+  * Final draft: **(40%)**
-    * Engage actively and strenuously with the bulk of each unit's assigned texts over the course of that unit's comments, with direct quotations, evidence of close reading, and thoughtful analysis
+    * Produce a project that is polished, compelling, informed by peer review, and ready to deploy
-    * Interact respectfully and critically with fellow students, demonstrating careful attention to others and presenting reasoned articulations of one's views
+    * Reflect rigorous [[engagement with assigned sources|engagement with assigned sources]] and course themes
+    * Integrate collaborative engagement with community partner
-  * Final project: **(40%)**
+    * Demonstrate a plausible strategy for circulation, audience, and social change
-    * Proposal: **(40%)**
-      * Explain and justify the project idea in a 1,400-to-1,600-word text with scholarly [[citation standards]] and a high degree of stylistic quality
-      * Describe the community collaboration underway; propose an intended medium and the scope of project deliverables, including rationale for each
-      * Articulate a clear objective for impact, reflecting an understanding of the intended audience, a relevant theory of power, and a theory of agency
-      * Include strong evidence of background research, citing relevant primary and [[:scholarly sources|scholarly sources]], while engaging with at least two assigned texts from the course
-    * Project draft: **(10%)**
-      * Complete a draft of the project that meets the expectations discussed in the proposal process
-    * Peer review: **(10%)**
-      * Provide feedback for at least two fellow students' drafts, of at least two paragraphs each, with [[:peer review|these suggestions]] in mind
-    * Final draft: **(40%)**
-      * Produce a project that is polished, compelling, informed by peer review, and ready to deploy
-      * Reflect rigorous [[engagement with assigned sources|engagement with assigned sources]] and course themes
-      * Integrate collaborative engagement with community partner
-      * Demonstrate a plausible strategy for circulation, audience, and social change
 #### Final grades
@@ Line 88: / Line 83: @@
 For the final project:
-  * Consult with the instructor on the final project concept, via email or meeting, by Tuesday, March 2
+  * Consult with the instructor on the final project concept, via email or meeting, by Tuesday, March 1
-  * Proposals are due on Canvas at noon on Tuesday, March 9
+  * Proposals are due on Canvas at noon on Tuesday, March 8
-  * Drafts are due in the online discussion at noon on Tuesday, April 20
+  * Drafts are due in the online discussion at noon on Tuesday, April 19
-  * Peer review comments are due in the online discussion at noon on Thursday, April 22
+  * Peer review comments are due in the online discussion at noon on Thursday, April 21
-  * Final drafts are due in Canvas at noon on April 27
+  * Final drafts are due in Canvas at noon on April 26
 ## Agreements
@@ Line 115: / Line 110: @@
   * Donella Meadows, "[Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System](http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/)," (Donella Meadows Institute, 1999)
   * Marshall Ganz, "[Public Narrative, Collective Action, and Power](https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/29314925/Public_Narrative_Collective_Action_and_Power.pdf)," in Sina Odugbemi and Taeku Lee (eds.), _Accountability Through Public Opinion: From Inertia to Public Action_ (The World Bank, 2011)
-  * Stuart Hall, "[Encoding/Decoding](https://we.riseup.net/assets/102142/appadurai.pdf#page=202)," in Durham and Kellner (eds.), _Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks_, revised edition (Blackwell, 2006) [1980]
+  * Franz Fanon, "[Spontaneity: Its Strength and Weakness](http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/Reader.101/Fanon.IV.pdf)," in _[The Wretched of the Earth](https://abahlali.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Frantz-Fanon-The-Wretched-of-the-Earth-1965.pdf)_ (Grove, 1963 [1961])
 ### 2. "A networked public"
@@ Line 133: / Line 128: @@
   * Part III and Epilogue in Tufekci, _Twitter and Tear Gas_
-### 6. "Fractals"
+### 6. Case study
+Choose an historical example of a social movement from [Beautiful Trouble](https://beautifultrouble.org/case/), [Beautiful Rising](https://beautifulrising.org/type/story), or the [Global Nonviolent Action Database](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/). Consider it in light of the book we just read. Do some additional research to examine the mediated components of it, and prepare to present an analysis in class as your Intervention.
+### 7. "Fractals"
   * "introduction"--"interdependence and decentralization" in brown, _Emergent Strategy_
-### 7. "Resilience"
+### 8. "Resilience"
   * "nonlinear and iterative"--"thank you" in brown, _Emergent Strategy_
-### 8. "The Matrix of Domination"
+### 9. Case study
+Choose an historical example of a social movement from [Beautiful Trouble](https://beautifultrouble.org/case/), [Beautiful Rising](https://beautifulrising.org/type/story), or the [Global Nonviolent Action Database](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/). Consider it in light of the book we just read. Do some additional research to examine the mediated components of it, and prepare to present an analysis in class as your Intervention.
+### 10. "The Matrix of Domination"
   * Introduction and chapters 1--2 in Costanza-Chock, _Design Justice_
-### 9. "Narratives" and "Sites"
+### 11. "Narratives" and "Sites"
   * Chapters 3--4 in Costanza-Chock, _Design Justice_
-### 10. "Pedagogies"
+### 12. "Pedagogies"
   * Chapter 5 and "Directions for Future Work" in Costanza-Chock, _Design Justice_
-### 11. Protagonism
-Choose between one of the following pairs of films (and a critical essay) with an eye to how agency is expressed.
-First, resistance to slavery:
-  * _Lincoln_, directed by Steven Spielberg (2012)
-  * _Django Unchained_, directed by Quentin Tarantino (2012)
-  * Adolph Reed, "[The James Brown Theory of Black Liberation](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/10/adolph-reed-black-liberation-django-lincoln-selma-glory/)," _Jacobin_ 18 (Summer 2015)
-Second, labor organizing:
-* _On the Waterfront_, directed by Elia Kazan (1954)
-* _[The Salt of the Earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dt2PKU4yLg)_, directed by Herbert J. Biberman (1954)
-* Enid Sefcovica, "[Cultural Memory and the Cultural Legacy of Individualism and Community in Two Classic Films about Labor Unions](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07393180216562)," _Critical Studies in Media Communication_ 19, no. 3 (2002)
-Third, climate change:
-* _An Inconvenient Truth_, directed by Davis Guggenheim (2006)
-* _This Changes Everything_, directed by Avi Lewis (2015)
-* Ashley Dawson, "[Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor: An Interview with Rob Nixon](https://socialtextjournal.org/slow_violence_and_the_environmentalism_of_the_poor_an_interview_with_rob_nixon/)," _Social Text_ (August 31, 2011)
-### 12. Confession
-Choose *one* of the following classic memoirs:
-  * Dorothy Day, _The Long Loneliness_ (Harper & Brothers, 1952)
-  * Mohandas K. Gandhi, _[The Story of My Experiments with Truth](https://archive.org/details/AnAutobiographyOrTheStoryOfMyExperimentsWithTruth)_ (1925–28)
-  * Assata Shakur, _[Assata: An Autobiography](https://libcom.org/library/assata-autobiography-assata-shakur)_ (Lawrence Hill Books, 2001)
 ### 13. Case study
-Choose a historical example of a social movement from [Beautiful Trouble](https://beautifultrouble.org/case/), [Beautiful Rising](https://beautifulrising.org/type/story), or the [Global Nonviolent Action Database](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/). Use those and other sources to examine the mediated components of it, and prepare to present an analysis in class as your Intervention.
+Choose an historical example of a social movement from [Beautiful Trouble](https://beautifultrouble.org/case/), [Beautiful Rising](https://beautifulrising.org/type/story), or the [Global Nonviolent Action Database](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/). Consider it in light of the book we just read. Do some additional research to examine the mediated components of it, and prepare to present an analysis in class as your Intervention.
 ### 14. Aftermath