Every week, you'll have a weekly mix assigned: a combination of academic readings, popular readings, and sometimes video essays/multimedia. These are our core through-line in the class, and you need to have completed the weekly mix before our screening in order to be able to have them in mind while we watch. I've tried not to overwhelm with too many readings with the intent that you'll actually be able to read/watch them by class. A tip for how to approach these readings etc: try to pick out 3 key quotes that speak to you, 2 connections you make with the readings (personal connections, with other classes, with other things we've talked about etc.), and 1 question you have (either clarifying or expansive). If you do this for each piece, you can feel confident that you're sufficiently prepared for class. [I borrowed this 3-2-1 rule of thumb from the awesome Shawna Shapiro from our Writing & Rhetoric program.]
Every week, we’ll have an asynchronous discussion on Canvas where you will respond to and draw connections between the readings and screenings, and respond to one another. I will post a few prompts to get you started, but you’re welcome to take the conversation in other directions. Once you have made your initial response (by Friday night), respond to at least one fellow classmate’s comment (by Sunday). Any extra responses beyond that second response count as extra credit! Feel free to embed images, video, links, etc. No need to be overly formal in these conversations. Have fun with it!
In the first weeks of class, I will split you into groups for group-led in-class conversations based on your interest in the topics covered in the syllabus. Look over the weekly mix & screening for the various weeks to get a sense of what we’ll be covering each week.
These topics, which correspond with weeks in the syllabus, will include:
Together, you will coordinate as a group to discuss the readings (& screenings, if you wish) for your week in advance, and to explore extensions of your topic/other connections you might want to make. You can design these as pure discussion questions or collective activities we can do in class. You can use Google Slides (or another slide tool) to compile questions, example media, etc., though always be wary of too-much-text-on-a-PowerPoint syndrome. You can also go old school and incorporate handouts or even collective crafts.
Group led discussion should last about a half an hour to forty five minutes, though often it spins into larger class discussions for which I’ll take the lead. I will assign groups to specific weeks early in the semester, taking into account your interests as much as possible.
A week after your discussion-leading, a one page reflection will be due. In this reflection you can talk about how you feel your session went, what you contributed, what you learned, etc.