Assignments

This course is based on the idea that to understand a medium, you need to learn how to create and express yourself with it. All of the assignments are designed to create pieces of media analysis and criticism that use media other than the traditional essay. See below for some examples of videos that accomplish this task.

Each medium we’ll explore has a specific assignment, as well as two more open-ended assignments. Most of these projects will be undertaken by teams of 2-3 students. Grades will be based on the final portfolio of work produced by each student. As the semester progresses, there will be more detailed information about each of these assignments:

Examples of Media Criticism/Analysis in Video Form:

A classic example of a “meta-media object” from students and faculty at Kansas State University, “The Machine is Us/ing Us”:

[youtube NLlGopyXT_g]

Another common strategy is satire, as with this clip from British comedian Charlie Brooker:

[youtube YtGSXMuWMR4]

Media companies can also present their own vision of themselves using this form, such as in Google’s advertisement that doubles as a mission statement for the search engine:

[youtube nnsSUqgkDwU]

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