Defining Others Through Images,
Part 1

DUE DATE:
week 2,
January 20th.

In-Class Assignment:

Purpose: To examine how we create codes of culture through the rhetoric of images. You’ll eventually have an entire project with images, sounds, and language. This assignment asks you to focus on images.

Assignment: In pairs, take 10 minutes to decide how you’ll define a particular “culture”. List your descriptors.

Does your topic include the land? Puppies? People? Regions? Economic Class? Ethnicities? Tribes? Gender? Sexual Preference? Take 5 more minutes to refine.

With your partner, take 15 minutes and type in your descriptors on any search engine of your choice. Are the images what you imagined? If not, what was different?

Copy 4 images and create a powerpoint presentation with 3 slides. (20 minutes)

Present your findings to the class (3-5 minutes).

Example: If you choose “American” your descriptors might be: mainstream culture, Anglo, TV culture, regional differences, etc. Since this is a very big category, you might restrict your search to a region, an ethnic group, an economic group, etc. For example, you could look at “baggers for grocery stores.” Your descriptors might include minimum wage earners, high school kids, part-time workers, exploitation, retirement, etc.

Defining Others Through Sound,
Part 2

DUE DATE:
week 5,
February 10th.

Purpose: To examine how we create codes of culture through the rhetoric of images including sounds. You’ll eventually have an entire project with images, sounds, and language. This assignment asks you to focus on sounds.

Assignment: With your partner consider the sounds associated with your images. Choose 3 to 4 different sounds that help communicate a fuller understanding of your images.

Insert your audio clips into the powerpoint, or press a c.d., or make a cassette tape, whatever the technology, come prepared with your powerpoint presentation accompanied with sound clips.

Present your findings to the class (3-5 minutes).

Defining Others Through Language,
Part 3

DUE DATE:
week 9,
March 9

Purpose: To examine how we create codes of culture through the rhetoric of images, sounds and language.

Assignment: With your partner consider the language associated with your images and sounds. Choose 4 to 6 different terms or language phrases that help communicate a fuller understanding of your topic.

Create a powerpoint that incorporates your images, sounds and language terms or phrases.

Present your findings to the class (5-7 minutes).

Defining Your Project with Theory, Part 4

DUE DATE:
week 11,
March 30th.

Purpose: To articulate the project with the help of theorists we’ve read in the class. This is practice for graduate school, and for publishing papers in academic journals. You're showing that that you've read other people's ideas, and that you understand what they meant, and that in fact that's what you're talking about as well.

Audience: Think of your audience as members of an academic community interested in finding out more about how we are influenced by what is going on around us and how we influence what others can see by the choices we make about images, sounds, and language.

Assignment:

Tasks for 3 group members:

Writer 1:
Introduction—1/2 – 1 page
Images and Theory (2-3 theorists)—3-4 pages

Writer 2:
Sound and Theory (2-3 theorists)—3-4 pages
Conclusion—1/2 – 1 page

Writer 3:
Language and Theory (2-3 theorists)—3-4 pages
Writing Center/Transitions

After Writer 3 goes to the Writing Center, please return the specific section to the appropriate writer for revisions.

Tasks for 2 group members:

Writer 1:
Introduction—1/2 – 1 page
Images and Theory (2-3 theorists)—2-4 pages
Sound and Theory (2-3 theorists)—2-4 pages

Writer 2:
Language and Theory (2-3 theorists)—2-4 pages
Conclusion—1/2 – 1 page
Writing Center/Transitions

After Writer 2 goes to the Writing Center, please return the specific section to writer 1 for revisions.

Be prepared to talk about your papers in class (7-10 minutes total).

Collaborative Paper Specifications

1. Cover page (1 to 2 pages where you both talk about your experiences writing the paper. Anything you want your reader to know? Any area that could use some work?)
2. Title page (both names included)
3. Discussion (body of paper)
4. Work Cited (not included in the 8 to 10 pages)