[blog post]

.goals
• apply critical reading skills to suggest connections between the week's readings and artifacts and to identify provocative questions and tensions
• prepare you and your classmates for your presentation by articulating a focused set of concerns

.process
By Wednesday, you should have read and considered the material on which you're presenting. At this point, your task is to map out stimulating avenues of inquiry, including elements that you don't understand. It's OK to be confused! You're expected to develop questions but not necessarily to answer them. Some general queries to consider are:

• what is the argument of the article(s) and how does the author make this argument?
• do you find these claims convincing and why?
• do other readings from this week or earlier in the semester complement or contradict this argument?
• what kinds of representational strategies does a/the media artifact use?
• how can the article(s) help us understand and analyze these representational strategies?

You may also consult the handout "Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing" (on myCourses) for guidelines on how to approach a text.

.format
The blog post may be a paragraph, an outline, or a set of discussion questions -- the important formal consideration is that it communicate the direction of your ideas intelligibly to your classmates. Due Wednesday at 10pm.


[class presentation]

.goals
• coherently and engagingly articulate your perspective on the material
• ground a productive discussion that moves toward answering some of your questions

.process
Before class on Thursday, make some more detailed notes for yourself based on your blog-post outline. You're advised not to write out your presentation word for word, because extemporaneous speaking is more engaging. This is your opportunity to solicit your classmates' perspectives on issues that are compelling and/or perplexing to you: consider what your goals are for the discussion.

.format
Your presentation should be about 10 minutes long (it will go by more quickly than you think!). Optionally, you may wish to bring in handouts or visual aids. Your respondent will then launch and facilitate the discussion, but you should be prepared to respond and participate (assuming 2 presentations per Thursday class, the total time is 40 minutes).


[essay]

.goals
• synthesize what you learned while preparing and conducting your presentation/discussion
• formulate your own analysis of a provocative connection, contradiction, or consequence within the week's reading and/or media materials
• communicate your analysis to an audience of your professor and classmates in clear, concise, and organized writing

.process
Your essay will have to be more narrowly focused than your presentation, so you should select and develop the particular angle(s) that you find most compelling. Often the problem that you find most difficult will be the most fruitful topic. Further brainstorming and outlining may help you distill your ideas and articulate your interpretation. An exemplary essay accomplishes the following:

• presents a unified, inventive argument that is focused enough to be supported in 4 pages but substantial enough to invite debate, that is, to pass the "so what?" test (the handout on thesis statements elaborates)
• demonstrates your understanding of course material
• considers HOW articles and media artifacts represent their ideas (formal analysis), not just WHAT they're saying (summary), with attention to medium and methodological specificity
• anticipates and addresses potential counter-arguments
• is written in coherent prose without careless grammatical errors -- it's not enough to have fascinating ideas; you have to convey them intelligibly to your readers

You're encouraged to incorporate your classmates' insights into your essay but if you do, make sure you credit them explicitly. And please, please proofread before you post!

.format
Your write-up should be about 4 pages double spaced. Your argument(s) should be stated explicitly and presented cogently and persuasively, in the structure with which you're most comfortable. Post your write-up to the blog by class on Thursday, one week after your in-class presentation. You may lock your post if you don't want it to be public; the professor's comments will be screened so only you can see them.


[respondent]

.goals
Ideally, every member of the class will be engaged in responding to each presentation. Practically, however, I realize that everyone will not be able to focus intensively each week. The purpose of having a designated respondent is to give one person a special responsibility to familiarize him/herself with the material and think through the presenter's take on it. This is the respondent's opportunity to practice moderating group discussion.

.process
The respondent's job is to act as midwife to the presenter's ideas and to our conversation. That is, you're on the same team as the presenter, not the opposing team, so the tone of your responses should be encouraging rather than critical and serve to open up rather than close down dialogue. This doesn't mean you should be a yes (wo)man however. You will support the presenter most productively by pushing them to go further. Here are some approaches that you could consider:

• Identify aspects of what the presenter says/writes that you don't understand.
• Suggest answers to or fruitful ways of engaging questions the presenter identified. Do you agree with the way those questions are framed or would you revise them?
• Identify additional elements or examples from course material that you think support the presenter's points.
• Identify additional elements or examples from course material that you think contradict the presenter's points.
• Did the presenter's post/presentation suggest further interesting connections, paradoxes, or questions to you? What are they?

.format
The respondent should read the presenter's blog post before class on Thursday and come to class with some responses in mind. You will be invited to launch the discussion after the presenter is finished speaking. Since your task is to facilitate rather than to present yourself, it's a good strategy to start by addressing some questions to the class. You may then follow up with your own remarks, working them into the conversation if possible. Finally, you're expected to write up some of your queries and/or reactions in a brief comment on the presenter's blog post -- due on Thursday, either before or after class.