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media_activism [2021/01/06 00:49]
ntnsndr [11. Protagonism]
media_activism [2024/01/09 16:58] (current)
ntnsndr [8. "The Matrix of Domination"] Capitalization
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 **MDST 5002** **MDST 5002**
  
-Depending on whom you ask, media-powered activism can sound like either a silver bullet or a lost cause. It's often both at the same time and more in between. Through ​hands-on examination of the strategies and tactics of movements, past and present, we'll discover how media can shape social change and how we can become more savvy media practitioners ourselves.+Depending on whom you ask, media-powered activism can sound like either a silver bullet or a lost cause. It's often both at the same time and more in between. Through ​examining ​the strategies and tactics of movements, past and present, we'll discover how media can shape social change and how we can become more savvy media practitioners ourselves.
  
-The central ​themes ​of this course ​are power, agency, and narrative in media for social change. ​Whom does particular media choice empower, and whom does it render as a passive consumer? How do we choose our heroes, and what are the consequences of those choices? How can we tell stories of change that invite people to take part in changing the world? Our work will consist of close reading, ​familiarizing ourselves with relevant debates, and honing our own practice.+The central ​challenge ​of this course ​is to develop a working theory of how social change ​can happen and the role of media in itWhen is spreading ​message sufficient, and when is building institutional power necessary? How can we design media with accountability to affected people? How can we tell stories of change that invite people to take part in changing the world? Our work will consist of close reading, ​forming a space of mutual support, and honing our own practice ​in collaboration with community partners.
  
 ## Instructor ## Instructor
  
-Nathan Schneider ​  ​+Nathan Schneider ​(he/​him) ​   ​
 <​nathan.schneider@colorado.edu> ​   <​nathan.schneider@colorado.edu> ​  
-Armory 1B24 (in theory!) ​   +Armory 1B24 
-Office hours Wednesdays 3--pm or by appointment ​  +Office hours Wednesdays 3--pm or by appointment ​  
 Website: [nathanschneider.info](https://​nathanschneider.info) Website: [nathanschneider.info](https://​nathanschneider.info)
  
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   * Cultivate habits of media activism by doing it through passionate, strategic, pragmatic advocacy   * Cultivate habits of media activism by doing it through passionate, strategic, pragmatic advocacy
   * Analyze theories and lessons from a wide range of social-change campaigns throughout history and around the world   * Analyze theories and lessons from a wide range of social-change campaigns throughout history and around the world
-  * Create a ready-to-deploy media intervention ​through ​collaboration with a social-change agent+  ​* Articulate a theory of change that informs media practice 
 +  ​* Create a ready-to-deploy media intervention ​in collaboration with community partners
  
 ## Expectations ## Expectations
  
-### Weekly+As a foundation, 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. Come to class prepared with notes on specific quotations and ideas that you want to discuss.
  
-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 (30%)
  
-#### Interventions+Most weeks, students turn in an Intervention. These Interventions ​are simple, informal multimedia 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 weekstudents are expected to turn in what we'll call an InterventionThese Interventions are simpleinformal 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 itInterventions 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.+Interventions may take the form of a drawinginfographic,​ game, video, skit, text, art installation,​ business plan, social media campaign, or other media, digital or otherwiseIn any casethey must be submitted digitally as new thread in the appropriate discussion topic for each week'​s ​unitThey should amount ​to the equivalent ​of one interesting page'​s ​worth of materialEach Intervention should:
  
-Projects may take the form of a drawinginfographic,​ game, video, skit, text, art installation,​ business plan, social ​media campaignor 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.+  * Demonstrate a sophisticated grasp of assigned texts 
 +  * Communicate ​problem and a creative proposal by which to address itexpressed through appropriate and engaging ​media 
 +  * Practice adventuresome thinking in both concept and presentationusing compelling ​media techniques to communicate ​the proposal
  
-#### Discussions+Students are invited to view and comment on each other'​s Interventions.
  
-Students should be active participants and make contributions to the oral discussion that reflect strenuous 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.+### Class discussions (30%)
  
-### Final project+Students should be active participants and make contributions to the oral discussion that reflect strenuous [[engagement with assigned sources|engagement]] with the assigned texts. Come prepared to contribute original analysis, reflections,​ and critique.
  
-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.+Evaluation ​of discussion contributions takes place twice: at the middle ​of the semester and at the endStudents are expected to:
  
-After discussing the topic with the instructor or teaching assistant, students will turn in a proposal that explains and justifies the project'​s ​objective and medium. The proposalas well as the final project itselfshould reflect a sophisticated grasp of the themes ​and texts of the course. In particular, projects should convey an analysis ​of power and agency through which they interveneresulting in a plausible case for making effective social change.+  * Engage actively and strenuously ​with the bulk of each unit'​s ​assigned textsdemonstrating direct quotationsevidence ​of close reading, ​and thoughtful ​analysis 
 +  * Interact respectfully ​and critically with fellow studentsdemonstrating careful attention to others and presenting reasoned articulations of one's views
  
-Students will constructively review complete drafts of each other'​s projects before submitting ​the final draftStudents may choose to form groups of connected projectsbut each student ​is responsible for turning ​in their own contribution independently.+Participation in all sessions is an expectation for the courseFull or partial absences from classdue to circumstances beyond the student's control, should be discussed with the instructor ​in advance.
  
-### Evaluation+Before this assignment is due, you are welcome to propose the grade you think you have earned with a one-paragraph explanation. The instructor will determine final grade, taking your input into account. ​
  
-Coursework is evaluated according the following rubrics:+### Final project (40%)
  
-  * Weekly Interventions **(30%)** +Each student will complete ​final project that is ready to deploy upon completion, ​in partnership with a relevant organizationcommunity, or mentor. Projects might consist of any sort of media intervention appropriate ​to the student'​s social-change goals. Projects do not need to be publicly released, but they should be plausibly ready for doing so. Accountability to partners is paramount; it is natural and expected that the project will evolve through the dynamics of collaboration.
-    * Demonstrate ​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 presentationusing compelling ​media techniques ​to communicate ​the proposal+
  
-  * Weekly discussions **(30%)** +After discussing the topic with the instructor, students will turn in a proposal that explains and justifies ​the project'​s ​objective and medium. The proposalas well as the final project itselfshould reflect a sophisticated grasp of the themes and texts of the course. In particularprojects should convey an analysis ​of power and agency through which they interveneresulting in a plausible case for making meaningful social change.
-    * Engage actively and strenuously ​with the bulk of each unit's assigned texts over the course of that unit'​s ​commentswith direct quotationsevidence ​of close readingand thoughtful ​analysis +
-    * Interact respectfully ​and critically with fellow studentsdemonstrating careful attention to others and presenting reasoned articulations of one's views+
  
-  * Final project: **(40%)** +Students will constructively review complete drafts of each other'​s projects before submitting ​the final draft. A project ​statement must be turned ​in with the final project, ​in both the draft and final stageswhich may be revised ​and updated reworking ​of the proposal.
-    * Proposal: **(15%)** +
-      * 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 ​deliverablesincluding 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 [[:​scholarly sources|scholarly]] and primary resources, while engaging with at least two assigned texts from the course +
-    * Project draft: **(5%)** +
-      * Complete a draft of the project that meets the expectations discussed in the proposal ​process +
-    * Peer review: **(5%)** +
-      * Provide feedback for at least three fellow students'​ drafts, of at least two paragraphs each, with [[:peer review|these suggestions]] in mind +
-    * Final draft: **(15%)** +
-      * Produce a project that is polished, compelling, informed by peer review, and ready to deploy +
-      * Reflect rigorous engagement with course themes and assigned texts +
-      * Demonstrate a plausible strategy for circulation,​ audience, and social change+
  
-#### Final grades+  * Proposal: **(40%)** 
 +    * Explain and justify the media intervention in a 1,​800-to-2,​000-word text with scholarly [[citation standards]] and a high degree of stylistic quality 
 +    * Describe the partner collaboration underway and the structure of accountability with the partner; articulate a clear objective for impact, reflecting an understanding of the intended audience 
 +    * Propose an intended medium and the scope of project deliverables,​ including rationale for each, in the context of an explicit theory of change 
 +    * Include strong evidence of background research, engaging relevant primary and [[:​scholarly sources|scholarly sources]], along with at least two assigned texts from the course 
 +  * Complete draft: **(10%)** 
 +    * Draft of the project that fully represents the intended scope and quality 
 +    * Updated project statement with the same specifications as 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 
 +  * Final draft: **(40%)** 
 +    * Produce a media intervention that is polished, compelling, informed by peer review, and ready to deploy 
 +    * Include a project statement that meets the same specifiations as the proposal 
 +    * Demonstrate collaborative engagement with community partner, such as through testimonies or other evidence of their participation 
 +    * Present a promising strategy for circulation,​ audience, and social change
  
-Based on the stated point structure, grades will be awarded as follows: A (94-100), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), F (0-59). ​ The minimum passing grade is 60 for undergraduates and 70 for graduate students.+### Evaluation
  
-#### Schedule+Based on the stated point structure, grades will be awarded as follows: A (94-100), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), F (0-59). The minimum passing grade is 60 for undergraduates and 70 for graduate students.
  
-Each week: +Extensions under extenuating circumstances ​are possible by arrangement ​with the instructor ​prior to the due date; otherwiselate work is subject to a penalty of one letter grade per day.
- +
-  * Interventions ​are due in the appropriate online discussion unit at noon on Tuesdays +
- +
-For the final project: +
- +
-  * Consult ​with the instructor ​on the final project concept, via email or meeting, by Tuesday, March 2 +
-  * Proposals are due on Canvas at noon on TuesdayMarch 9 +
-  * Drafts are due in the online discussion at noon on Tuesday, April 20 +
-  * Peer review comments are due in the online discussion at noon on Thursday, April 22 +
-  * Final drafts are due in Canvas at noon on April 27+
  
 ## Agreements ## Agreements
  
-  * We will work together to foster a respectful, ​accessible ​community based on creativity, accommodation,​ and attention. +  * We work together to foster a respectful, ​mature, convivial ​community based on mutual learning through our diverse perspectives.
-  * When problems arise, we will seek to address them collaboratively whenever possible.+
   * We respect one another'​s privacy. Content shared in class or online will not be shared with anyone outside of the class without permission.   * We respect one another'​s privacy. Content shared in class or online will not be shared with anyone outside of the class without permission.
-  * We adhere to all [[university policies]] ​regarding accessibility and academic ​integrity; we take responsibility for understanding them and the relevant procedures.+  * We adhere to all [[university policies]], as well as course guidelines on [[academic ​honesty]]; we take responsibility for understanding them and the relevant procedures
 +  * We strive to accommodate disabilities and other diverse needs, making use of our own capacities and [[campus resources]]. Please discuss any particular support you require with the instructor.
  
 ## Shared texts ## Shared texts
  
-Throughout the course we will be reading ​three books together:+Throughout the course we will be reading ​classics in social-change theory alongside two books by leading media scholars:
  
-  * Zeynep Tufekci, ​_Twitter ​and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked ​Protest_ ​(Yale University ​Press, 2017) +  * Zeynep Tufekci, ​_[Twitter ​and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked ​Protest](https://​www.twitterandteargas.org/​downloads/​twitter-and-tear-gas-by-zeynep-tufekci.pdf)_ ​(Yale University Press, 2017) 
-  * adrienne maree brown, _Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds_ (AK Press, 2017) +  * Sasha Costanza-Chock, ​_[Design ​Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need](https://​design-justice.pubpub.org/​)_ ​(MIT Press, 2020)
-  * Sasha Costanza-Chock, ​_Design ​Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need_ (MIT Press, 2020)+
  
 +### 1. Theories of change
  
-### 1. Points ​of intervention +  * Saul Alinsky, "[The Education ​of an Organizer](https://​archive.org/​details/​RulesForRadicals/​page/​n77/​mode/​2up),"​ in _Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals_ (Random House, 1971) 
 +  * Audre Lorde, "​['​The Master'​s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master'​s House,'​](https://​monoskop.org/​images/​2/​2b/​Lorde_Audre_1983_2003_The_Masters_Tools_Will_Never_Dismantle_the_Masters_House.pdf)"​ in Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua (eds.), _This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color_ (New York: Kitchen Table Press).
   * 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)   * 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] 
  
 ### 2. "A networked public"​ ### 2. "A networked public"​
  
-  * Introduction ​and chapters 1--2 in Tufekci, _Twitter and Tear Gas_+  * Prologue, introduction, ​and chapters 1--2 in Tufekci, _Twitter and Tear Gas_
  
 ### 3. "​Making a movement"​ ### 3. "​Making a movement"​
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   * Part III and Epilogue in Tufekci, _Twitter and Tear Gas_   * Part III and Epilogue in Tufekci, _Twitter and Tear Gas_
  
-### 6"​Fractals"​+*By this time, consult with instructor on final project topic.*
  
-  * "​introduction"​--"​interdependence and decentralization"​ in brown, _Emergent Strategy_+### 6. Case study
  
-### 7"​Resilience"​+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.
  
-  * "​nonlinear and iterative"​--"​thank you" in brown, _Emergent Strategy_+### 7. Media tactics
  
-### 8. "​The ​Matrix ​of Domination"+  * Paulo Freire, chapter 2 in _[The Pedagogy of the Oppressed](https://​envs.ucsc.edu/​internships/​internship-readings/​freire-pedagogy-of-the-oppressed.pdf)_ (Continuum, 2005 [1970]) 
 +  * 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) 
 +  * Martin Luther King, Jr., "​[Letter from Birmingham Jail](https://​letterfromjail.com/​)"​ (April 16, 1963) 
 + 
 +### 8. "​The ​matrix ​of domination"
  
   * Introduction and chapters 1--2 in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_   * Introduction and chapters 1--2 in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_
 +
 +*Project proposal due; no Intervention.*
  
 ### 9. "​Narratives"​ and "​Sites"​ ### 9. "​Narratives"​ and "​Sites"​
  
   * Chapters 3--4 in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_   * Chapters 3--4 in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_
-  ​+
 ### 10. "​Pedagogies"​ ### 10. "​Pedagogies"​
  
   * Chapter 5 and "​Directions for Future Work" in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_   * Chapter 5 and "​Directions for Future Work" in Costanza-Chock,​ _Design Justice_
  
-### 11. Protagonism+### 11. Case study
  
-Choose ​between one of the following pairs of films (and a critical essaywith an eye to how agency is expressed+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.
  
-First, resistance to slavery:+### 12. Glimpses of change
  
-  * _Lincoln_directed by Steven Spielberg ​(2012) +  * Walidah Imarisha"[All Organizing Is Science Fiction](https://​archive.org/​details/​podcast_umass-amherst-history-departme_walidah-imarisha-all-organiz_1000423858347)," History Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst ​(November 13, 2018
-  * _Django Unchained_directed by Quentin Tarantino ​(2012+  * Ursula K. Le Guin, "​[The ​Day Before the Revolution](http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/hmcl3230/​3230anth/​day.html)" (1974)
-  * 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) +*Project drafts dueand peer review feedback due by Wednesday; no Intervention.*
-* _[The Salt of the Earth](https://​www.youtube.com/​watch?​v=i9oY4rmDaWw)_,​ 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:+### 13. Final reflections
  
-* _An Inconvenient Truth_, directed by Davis Guggenheim (2006) +Choose an historical example of a social movement closely related to your final project. Consider it in light of the last set of readings. Reflect on your final project in light of the case.
-* _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 +*Final projects due; no Intervention.*
- +
-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. +
- +
-### 14. Aftermath +
- +
-  ​Wu Hung, "​[Tiananmen Square: A Political History of Monuments](https://​www.jstor.org/​stable/​2928718),"​ _Representations_ no. 35 (summer 1991) +
-  * Ursula K. Le Guin, "[The Day Before the Revolution](http://​www.d.umn.edu/​cla/​faculty/​tbacig/​hmcl3230/​3230anth/​day.html)"​ (1974)+
  
 --- ---
  
 [ [[note:​media_activism|Notes]] ] [ [[note:​media_activism|Notes]] ]
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