IGED391_Sum15_1.4

8/20/2019 IGED391_Sum15_1.4

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University of the District of ColumbiaInterdisciplinary General Education

Frontier Capstone — Critical Theory & Media Literacy IGED-391 & 392 (03) Summer 2015 31222 & 31224 version 1.4 06/30/15

Class Meetings: Class Websites:

Thursdays & Fridays: 2:30pm–5:20pm http://udc.blackboard.com/ Location: Building 38, Room 104 http://my.udc.edu/

Instructor: Posted Office Hours:William A. Hanff, Jr. Ph.D. Thursdays & Fridays 12:30pm–1:30pm Assistant Professor Building 42, Room B-14-E & via Blackboard/Wimba (202) 274-7370 (office)

[email protected]

(email responses within 36 hours )

“In the name of ‘progress’ our official culture is striving to force the new media do the work of the old.” “The medium is the message.”“The ‘content’ of any medium is always another medium. The content of writing is speech, just as the written word is the content of

print, and print is the content of the telegraph.” H. Marshall McLuhan – Understanding Media (1964)

Course Description:

Frontier Capstone seminars are 3!credit Interdisciplinary General Education courses that offer students the

opportunity to pursue an in!depth project on a subject of deep interest. The goal of these courses is to teachstudents how to cope effectively with new situations, information, and experiences, using skills in critical thinking,problem solving, and creativity. Following exposure to a wide variety of scholarly subjects, students demonstratethrough academic work the ability to obtain and appropriately use information retrieved through many formal andinformal methods.

Course Goals:

Students completing a Frontier Capstone Seminar will be able to:

1.

Articulate benefits of the arts, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, business, natural sciences, computerscience, engineering and applied sciences and other fields.

2. Demonstrate an ability to analyze unfamiliar material in familiar and unfamiliar fields. This will include the ability to:a.

plan an orientation and research process,b.

learn new vocabulary,c.

obtain relevant information,d. reference new exposures against known information and draw parallels,e. identify patterns and draw conclusions,f. generate new questions based on learning, and recommend further study.

3. Utilize scientific methods to collect, analyze, and discuss information across a wide variety of subjects.

Additionally, students completing this particular capstone experience should be able to:!

engage, deliberate regarding, and choose between competing visions of what it means to be human! engage, deliberate regarding, and choose between competing social theories and understandings of the human

civilizational project and the current situation.! think with strategic, operational, and tactical sophistication.

To thrive in your chosen discipline you will need to understand how broadcast media, social media, legacy media andstrategic communications will effect your profession and your career. Being critical of media messages and how they areconstructed and distributed will allow you to continue your exploration of new ideas across your lifespan. This FrontierCapstone will bring together the ideas and skills from your specific discipline, your Technology and Ethics courses, andintegrate knowledge of Critical Philosophy and Media Production. Projects may include written papers, web videoproductions, scriptwriting/press releases, event planning/coordination, nonprofit entrepreneurship, academic research andservice learning projects.

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Prerequisites:Please see UDC General Education website for specifics

Required Materials:! All students may be required to access this course via UDC’s Blackboard twice per week.! The required texts for reading and in-class and online discussion:

Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity . Penguin, 2005. ISBN: 0-143-03465-0McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. Ginko Press, 2005. ISBN: 1-584-23070-3Simm, Stuart. Introducing Critical Theory . Totem Books, 2001. ISBN: 1-840-46264-7

Project Objectives:For your topic/presentation create recombinant modules that include:! Weblog posting & reseach - Find the Saint/Inventor, the Everyman/Vox Populi and the Mentor/Guide! Take and Review a MOOC & find a TED talk (or a discipline-specific alternative)! Create a game, app or lesson-plan to teach your idea! Write a script & research graphics/gifs/videos for a podcast! Create an ignite-style presentation & elevator pitch! Edit Wikipedia (or other wiki) article in collaboration w/ editors

• clear meaning and value commitments and the ability to defend them in the context of humanity’s ongoing

conversation,• clear analysis of the current situation and the ability to defend it in the context of current debates, and

• strategic, operational, and tactical reasoning appropriate to the project.

Projects may be individual or collective. I may also offer some options for those having difficulty finding an appropriateproject. In any case, the responsibilities and contributions of each participant in a group project must be well defined.

Individual/Small Group Project Proposal: After your interview and after reviewing the feedback you get on in, you shouldprepare a brief concept paper for their project in which you explain the problem they hope to solve, how their project willcontribute to the solution, and how you will go about developing their solution or contribution to a solution.

Writing Objectives: (or other forms of scholarly, creative, or organizing activity) The principal assignment for this simulation will be a final project in which participants bring to bear both theirliberal education and their specialized training or professional preparation on some problem which bears on “thenext steps in the human civilizational project.” It may be either supportive of the aims of the commission or criticalof or adversarial to those aims. The project may theoretical, scholarly, scientific, artistic, or practical (political,business, professional).

The paper must situate the problem and the proposed solution in the context ongoing debates regarding the questionsidentified above.

Final Project/Paper:Students prepare and present a paper or other work (performance, public art project, business plan (profit ornonprofit) etc.) documenting the results of their project. In the case of projects which are primarily scholarly orresearch focused, the paper will constitute the project and should be of the scope and complexity of a Bachelor’sthesis. In the case of projects which are primarily practical in character the paper should describe the project in

detail, evaluate the results, and situate it in the context of the “big-picture” questions posed by the course. Whileprojects may be collaborative, every student must complete an individual, well defined work on which they will beevaluated.

AssessmentYour participation in this media project will be evaluated in terms of where you stand with respect to the expectedoutcomes at the end of the semester. That means that your grade will be determined primarily by the quality of your finalproject and presentation and by the quality of your participation in deliberations towards the end of the semester.However, in order to protect you against subjective grading and to provide documentation in the event of a dispute, yourgrade will be no lower than the average of your grades in the following activities, weighted as indicated.

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All assignments will be graded on a 100 point scale:

•

100% indicates outstanding work involving highly original insights sustained by rigorous argument presented ingrammatically correct, rhetorically sophisticated, prose. Only rarely awarded.• Above 90% indicates authentic mastery of the skills required by the particular assignment (textual analysis or

interpretation, sociohistorical analysis, scientific, philosophical, or theological argument) presented in prose whichshows few grammatical errors and is rhetorically effective.

•

Above 80% indicates an incipient ability to carry out the tasks required by the particular assignment (textualanalysis or interpretation, sociohistorical analysis, scientific, philosophical, or theological argument) presented inprose which is free from grammatical or rhetorical errors which compromise its basic clarity.

• Above 70% indicates significant familiarity with the subject matter, terms, definitions, etc., and an ability to

communicate that familiarity in writing, but no real evidence that the skills required by the assignment are beingmastered, OR serious grammatical or rhetorical errors which mean that such mastery is not being communicated.

• Above 60% indicates only very limited familiarity with the subject matter OR very serious grammatical or

rhetorical errors which mean that basic familiarity with the subject matter is not being communicated.•

Less than 60% indicate no real familiarity with the subject matter or such serious grammatical or rhetorical errors

that there is global failure to communicate.

In the context of this course, the highest grade at each level will be awarded only for work which meets the criterionacross all of the expected outcomes.

Grade Scale:A 90 – 100B 80 – 89C 70 – 79D 60 – 69 (lower grades will result in failure or incomplete)

Please review the student handbook for Americans With Disabilities, Equal Opportunity , Affirmative Action

and Academic Honesty guidelines and requirements: http://www.udc.edu/docs/handbook_complete.pdf

o

The University will not tolerate cheating or attempts to cheat in oral or written assignments on the part of University students. Cheating is definedas the unauthorized use of assistance and material by a student, giving unauthorized assistance and material by one student to another, copying froma paper of another, obtaining unauthorized advance knowledge of examination questions, or bringing or using prepared answers to examination ortesting sessions, or representing the work of others as one's own product. Faculty advisors and instructors should remind students in the first classmeeting of the standards of behavior and conduct to which the students are expected to adhere.

o Students have an obligation to pursue conscientiously the academic objectives they have set for themselves within the policies and procedures of theUniversity, the college and the department. Further, it is expected that a student will complete all examinations, test, and written assignmentspunctually, to the best of their abilities and without unauthorized assistance. Violations of the Standards of Academic Conduct: In cases of cheating orother academic offenses, the instructor is expected to report the offense in writing to the department chair immediately who will notify the dean.The written report should contain the supporting documentation regarding the offense.

o The dean or department chair will investigate the facts in each case. Interviews may be conducted with any person or persons who can be ofassistance in determining the facts or the innocence or guilt of the student. Students so charged must be provided an opportunity to respond inwriting to the charge. The dean or department chair may convene a faculty committee to (1) conduct the investigation and to provide informationregarding the validity of the charge, and (2) to recommended a course of action.

o

Regardless of the procedure used, the dean or department chair must assume exclusive responsibility for the decision and the penalty, if any, to beinvoked except that the penalty of expulsion must have the approval of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.

o Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should contact the Disability ResourceCenter at (202) 274-6000 (voice) or (202) 274-6152 (TTY for users who are deaf or hearing-impaired) as soon as possible to request an officialletter outlining authorized accommodations.

Copyright & Fair Use Policy:Students are expected to understand the use of copyrighted material and intellectual property. Although students may utilize copyrighted material inlimited amounts in ‘Academic Fair Use’ – each use of copyrighted must be accompanied by a usage clearance form. The use of the copyrighted material isallowed at the Instructor’s discretion. There is no appeal of this decision. Public Domain footage may be used freely. GNU/GLP, Copyleft and CreativeCommons materials may be used in accordance with their user license specifications. All non-original materials must be attributed and/or cited and appeareither in ending credits or in in-program citation or link. Please see Best Practices for further information:http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/fair_use_final.pdf http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FFAQ

Letter of Introduction and Interview 10%

Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation/Participation 20%

Project Proposal 10%

Project 60%

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Course Outline/Schedule: Module 1 July 2

Reading—“How Luther Went Viral” The Economist, Dec. 2011 http://www.economist.com/node/21541719

! Exercises: Finding & Analyzing Memes & Readymades! Videos: Memes & Internet Culture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNBOkp346G8 Jenkins & Lessig TED Talks! Syllabus & Course Overview! Letter of Introduction Assigned

Module 2 July 9 & 10

Reading— Introducing Critical Theory (p. 58–67 & 76-77, 88-91, 96-103 & 106–117)! Exercises: Confucius & Madison Ave.! Videos: R.i.P: A Remix Manifesto! http://vimeo.com/8040182 ! Written Proposal Assigned

! Letter of Introduction Due

! Student Deliberations & Group-Formations

Reading— Introducing Critical Theory (p. 128-131,136-137, 140-143 & 156–173)! Exercises: Remix Culture & Bricolage! Videos: PBS Frontline: Generation Like http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/ !

Written Proposal Due & Student Topic Pitches! Annotated Bibliography Assigned


Reading— Free Culture Introduction (p. 1-13), Chapts. 1&2 (p. 21-47)! Exercises: Group-Mind Story & Equisite Corpse! Videos: Using Zotero & Thoughts on MOOCs! Annotated Bibliography Due

! Rubric Building Exercise

Reading— Free Culture Chapts 11&13 (p. 177-182 & 213-228)! Take free Online Module from a relevant MOOC or discipline-specific alternative!

Written Paper Assigned!

Videos: Gamification! MOOC Review Essay Assigned


Reading—Medium is the Massage (p. 1–50)! Video: PBS Idea Channel & Celebrity Culture https://www.youtube.com/user/pbsideachannel

! MOOC Review Essay Due

Reading—Medium is the Massage (p. 50-100)! Video: McLuhan’s Wake

! App/Lesson Plan Essay (or Wiki Essay) Assigned


Reading—Can the Subaltern Speak?! Exercises: Getting Outside your Filter Bubble! Video: McLuhan’s Wake

! Ignite!-style Presentation Assigned

! App/Lesson Plan Essay (or Wiki Essay) Due

Reading—Henry Jenkins on Participatory Learning! Exercises: Addressing the Participation Gap

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Module 6 August 6 & 7

Reading—TBD! Exercise: student-determined! Videos: student-selected! Presentations/Elevator Pitches Due

! Final Paper or Deliverable Due

Course Policies:

1)

Attendance will be taken TWICE during each class meeting. First attendance will be taken 15 minutes into the class

meeting after a media screening and/or reading. Second attendance will be taken 5 minutes before the end of the class

where each student must explain their contribution and participation to the class for that session.

2) Any missed exams, late assignments or projects will result in an automatic zero except in the case of an extreme

medical emergency, supported by written documentation. (medical or military orders, police/court documents)

Please discuss any problems with the instructor in advance, to work out the problem before it becomes a crisis.

3)

Changes to the syllabus or schedule will be announced in class. Each student is responsible for such information

whether he or she is in attendance or not. The instructor is not responsible for repeating any information that was

discussed in the class in the student's absence.

4)

Eating, drinking, sleeping, tobacco use and prolonged public displays of affection are not allowed in the classroom area.Dress code and behavior standards will be enforced. No hats or non-corrective eyewear are permitted.

5) All assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting of the due date or online according to the postedinstructions. All written materials must be typed and follow Standard American English syntax and grammar.

6) Graphics illustrations must be formatted in accordance with the AP style manual. All copyrighted images must becorrectly attributed. (See “Copyright & Fair Use Policy”)

7)

Students may be required to log onto the UDC Blackboard site twice per week to obtain assignments, readings and toperform peer-evaluations of written work. Instructions and/or Evaluation Rubrics will be provided for each assignment.

8)

More than six (6) unexcused absences will earn a failing (F) grade. This class requires student-feedback for many of theactivities and presentations – your participation helps grade other students!

9) Non-Regularly scheduled meeting times and places will be announced two weeks before the event.

10) Participation in Class Discussions is Mandatory. Assigned Reading is Due Before class discussion begins.

11) All mobile devices are to be Silent Mode or in Airplane Mode for the duration of each class. Anyaudible phone alert (e.g. ringing or loud buzzing) will be marked as tardiness. Any vocal use of mobilephones will be marked as an unexcused absence. Text messaging and other silent uses of phones, laptops,tablets or other devices is allowed and encouraged provided it does not distract students.

12) Audio and video recording of lectures and presentations is allowed under the following conditions:

a. You must inform the speaker if you are making a recording.

b. You must receive permission of the speaker to make a public posting of the recording

c. Copyright remains with the speaker, even if you have permission to post.

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Individual Assignment Rubrics:[will be provided with individual assignment worksheets]

Above 70% | Above 80% | Above 90%Play

Performance

Simulation

Visualization

Above 70% | Above 80% | Above 90%Transmedia Navigation

Networking

Negotiation

Above 70% | Above 80% | Above 90%Collective Intelligence

Distributed Cognition

Above 70% | Above 80% | Above 90%

Judgment

Appropriation

Multitasking

How does the Project address the:Participation Gap: inequalities in access and opportunities for participation –

Transparency Gap: assumes active reflection & ability to articulate learning –

Ethical Gap: assumes the self-development of ethical norms & coping with diversity –

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Project Description:• clear meaning and value commitments and an ability to defend them in the context of humanity’s ongoing conversation•

clear analysis of the current situation and the ability to defend it in the context of current debates and critical theory•

strategic, operational, and tactical reasoning appropriate to the projectProjects may be individual or collective. The responsibilities of each participant in a group project must be well defined.The “topic” must be defined in one single, grammatically correct and concise sentence which articulates precisely what is atstake, and what steps the audience can take with the information. Topics must:

1.

Solve a problem. It should not be a paper just summarizing the results of other scholars’research or a community service project operating wholly with the framework of an existingoperating program. It must add something new , whether theoretical insight, empiricalknowledge, or a new strategic, operational, or tactical approach.

2. Be interdisciplinary . While it is fine to choose a project closely related to your major fieldof study, you must approach the problem in a way which draws on other disciplines, includingat least some which you have engaged in the course of your liberal education.

Components: (60% of grade)For your topic project you should create recombinant modules that include:

1.

Written Research & Annotated Bibliography – Describe audience, Find reviewed Sources

• 250-400 words• Due Week 3

2. Take and Review a free online course module (or MOOC) or find a TED talk (or alternative) on Topic(s)• 250-400 words• Due Week 4

3. Create and/or Describe a Game, App or Lesson-plan to teach your ideaOREdit a Wikipedia (or discipline-specific wiki) article or create a Concept Map (in collaboration w/ editors)

•

300-500 words•

Due Week 5

4. Create an Ignite (or PechaKucha) presentation (5mins, 20 graphics*) or Elevator Pitch (1 min, Ø graphics)• Ignite: 600-700 words * presentation graphics will auto-advance every 15-20 seconds

• Pitch: 150-200 words• Due Week 6

5. Written Paper or Final Deliverableo TBD – based on proposal ("2,000 words; "15 citations)o Due Week 6

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Individual/Small Group Project Proposal: After your interview and after reviewing the feedback you get on in, you shouldprepare a brief concept paper for their project in which you explain the problem they hope to solve, how their project willcontribute to the solution, and how you will go about developing their solution or contribution to a solution.

Proposal: (10 % of grade) Once you have submitted your letter, and spoken with the instructor and your potential group

members, your next step is to develop a project proposal. This proposal should do the following:

1. Explain clearly the problem you are trying to solve or the question you want to answer.2. Demonstrate both that the problem or question is important and that it has not already been

definitively resolved or answered.3. Explain what you propose to do and how you propose to do it. Generally this should include:

a. A literature review and/or for practical projects, meetings with key players in the arena inwhich you are planning to work in order to define precisely the current state of thequestion or problem.

b. If you are doing a creative project you should present a review of existing work in themedium or form which engages similar themes and show how you will build on this work

and differentiate your project from it.c.

A statement of what methods you plan to use and why they are appropriate.d. A statement of how much you propose to accomplish as part of this course.

(Some excellent questions may require major research projects involving hundreds of interviews. In suchcases you may propose simply to prepare a detailed research design, including an interview protocol orother appropriate instrument, and perhaps test it. Similarly, some operating projects requireorganizational and financial resources you don’t have. In such cases a strategic, operating, tactical, or“business” plan might well be sufficient for this course. Similarly, you might want to write and product aplay or paint a major outdoor mural but lack the resources. A script and production notes or a smallerset of studies and a plan to eventually paint the mural might suffice.)

e. A statement of how you will meet Institutional Review Board requirements, if applicable(We are still working on a clarification of what these will be and what our options are in meeting them).

4. Describe your proposed final product. For scholarly or research projects this should be a paper.

For practical projects it may be an extended plan of comparable length, or if the project is actuallyimplemented, a briefer reflection on what was done that addresses the aims of the course. Forcreative projects it will include an artifact or performance and a brief artist’s statement explaininghow the work addresses the themes of the course.

5. Be in the form of a single typewritten essay for both individual and collective projectsa. 250-400 wordsb. Due Week 4c. Used for Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation/Participation

Deliberation: (20 % of grade) In week 2 each individual must participate in the Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation for their project. Using the

written proposal and written research and defend their proposal topic to the other student participants of theclass. Students will evaluate each other’s proposals and give significant feedback for the advancement of theproject and connection to an audience. Deliberation will help situate the problems or questions that proposedprojects address philosophically, scientifically, artistically, strategically, etc. Since this may be the most difficult partof the proposal, individuals or groups will have an opportunity to revise once you have feedback.

All written assignments are due via the ‘Assignments’ section of UDC’s Blackboard LMS. Allassignments are due before the class meeting. Please contact the Instructor if you have any questions.Please contact tech support if you need technical assistance:

[email protected] | 202.274.6628 or contact toll free at (877) 736-2585. Support is available 24x7x365.

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IGED391_Sum15_1.4